Dafni

We had a wonderful relaxing day at Dafni beach, on one of Zante's peninsulas. It requires a treacherous drive on rugged tracks; tricky in a not-very-robust Suzuki Celerio.

The beach was tranquil and is within Zante's marine national park, likely designated because of significant turtle nesting beaches. The authorities put a lot of faith in tourists not to disturb the nests, and the beach is littered with these wooden frames stationed over spots where nests have been laid. We ate delicious food at a beachside restaurant, swam in the sea as fish nibbled at us and admired the turtle shaped island in the far distance that's also within the marine park. Dafni is a must for visitors to Zante and a world away from the tacky strip development of some of the island's resorts. No novelty penis souvenirs or huge dinosaur inflatables here.

At dinner there was an older English couple on the adjacent table, who, not content with taking advantage of Greece's lax smoking laws by blowing smoke into our faces as we ate, were keen to impart their advice about visiting Zakynthos, which they'd been doing for 25 years. They advised us that chatting to the locals was a way to ingratiate ourselves and that Eastern Europeans had started coming to the island in greater numbers, but 'not contributing to the economy'. By this point we hadn't encountered the hordes of Poles steadfastly refusing to partake in typical island activities.

They proffered their opinions on different Greek islands, including Mykonos. 'Unfortunately there's a lot of gaydom there now' [he hesitated whilst wondering if gaydom is a word. We don't think it is]. 'Lots of gays go there. But it's still a lovely island.'

If gay people are uncomfortable to be around, rest assured that they themselves find homophobes more unappetising. With the number of times gay people have to hear that they're still loved regardless of their sexuality, or that an island is still beautiful despite it becoming a place where they hang out, it's not hard to see why some elements of the LGBT community have developed a persecution complex or view themselves as inferior.

The man of the couple went on, talking about childhood experiences in Guernsey, where his grandmother owned a house on a quay.

'It's given me a small island mentality.'

Really? No shit.