The most photographed and award-winning beach of Zakynthos, perhaps the whole country, is located in the northwestern part of the island, in the wider area of Volima, at a distance of 22 km from the city center of Zakynthos.
The reason for the famous Shipwreck of Zakynthos, a beach that has rarely been included in global lists of international travel destinations and sites with the top beaches in the world. TripAdvisor, Conde Nast Traveler, Evening Standard among those who have included them in their established, annual, awards or in the top proposals for their readers.
The impressive landscape of Navagio beach is enchanting with the rusty trunk of the ship being "lying" on the golden beach, which is surrounded by the turquoise waters of the Ionian Sea, while on the back of the bay rise imposing, steep cliffs.
The beach is reached by sea by boat from the port of Agios Nikolaos Volimon, as well as by a tourist boat from the port of the city of Zakynthos and the beach of Laganas.
If you want to enjoy the magnificent image of the Shipwreck from above, you will reach it by road to the monastery of Agios Georgios of Gremna. From the iron platform just below the monastery you will have the opportunity to take panoramic photos.
Have you ever wondered, however, what is the dark story behind this spectacular spectacle? Where does its name come from and why did it sink the ship, which is now a real attraction for the island?
For the record it is worth mentioning that the "godfather" of the beach was himself shipwreck, as its previous name was "Agios Georgios", a beach quite inaccessible, as it is today, but also unknown to the general public.
So it all started in the early 80's. Sometime in the mid-1980s the merchant ship "Panagiotis" ran aground after a "fight" with the stormy sea and after being left without fuel on the sandy shore of Agios Georgios loaded with thousands of boxes of duty-free cigarettes - their value later, according to Thalasia Economic Police, a patrol boat of which also located the ship, was estimated to reach 30 million drachmas!
The ship, owned by a Kefalonian named Charalambos Kompotekla, was smuggling cigarettes into Italy. The crew picked up the goods from the ports of Albania and Yugoslavia and after being transhipped in smaller boats, the goods were transported to the neighboring country.
Both the captain and the crew of the ship were originally from Kefalonia, while during the deliveries of the illegal cargo, two Italians always supervised smugglers.
More specifically, the "Panagiotis" had started on the night of September 12 from the port of Argostoli in Kefalonia in the direction of Piraeus, with the motor ship finally setting sail for Malta, where according to the conclusion of the Maritime Accident Investigation Council was loaded with 2.000 boxes cigarettes, which he transferred on behalf of the Camorra off the coast of Naples.
However, things did not go as originally planned with the mobsters refusing to pay what was agreed to the shipowner and the captain being forced to wait for newer instructions off Zakynthos.
In fact, according to a report by Maria Karhilaki about Mega in 2000, the captain of "Panagiotis" Kyriakos Varvatakos had revealed that at that time the ship was pirated. Thus, the crew (a total of seven people plus two representatives of the Italian mafia who supervised the cargo) after arresting the two Italians, decided to sell the cargo on his own account.
The two hostages remained locked in a cabin for 13 days (drawing lines on a sheet metal so as not to waste days), while the captain ran aground the ship in the bay of Spyrilis, waiting for new ones.
In time not to be their ally, the "Panagiotis" runs aground in the bay of "Spyrilis" and the ship's crew begins to unload the cargo on the small sandy beach of Agios Georgios, in order to try to detach the boat.
The efforts proved fruitless, while the boxes that were swept away by the waves and thus washed away in the surrounding areas were not few.
In order to save themselves from the bad weather, they left behind the ship and its cargo, climbed the steep rock and managed to approach its city. Zakynthos. Meanwhile, it had dawned and the inhabitants of the village of Volimes began to observe the floating boxes in the sea and collect them, hiding them in their houses, warehouses and stables.
What is worth mentioning is the fact that the packages were wrapped in such a way that their interior was not damaged, in case they for any reason (good time) ended up in the sea.
As soon as the incident became known, the authorities arrested the crew and the shipowner, while a trial was held in which everyone was convicted, except the Italians, who were deported to their country. As for the "stolen" packages from the villagers of Volimes? After a police investigation, everything was found and sold at auction.