2007 was another fantastic year for us and as with every previous year we were revisited by many old friends and made a host of new ones, most of which have expressed their wish to return again and as January moves along we find ourselves busy with old and new clients booking for 2008. We still have all the usual properties available. Homa and Thalassa Villas along with the Ourano and Ilios Apartments having the kitchens refitted and the day bed in the lounge area being replaced with sofa beds.

A NEW DESTINATION FOR 2008

Towards the end of the 2007 season Helen visited some of the nearby islands with a mission to find other properties our clients would enjoy. After a few days of searching she visited the island of Ithaca which is a beautiful small island north of Zante. Working her way around the island she came upon a beautiful little village called Kioni. Kioni is situated at the end of a road and so remains quiet and is a small harbour with a few shops and taverna’s. The accommodation we have selected are called Kioni Apartments and are situated at the edge of the village overlooking the bay with a number of beaches close by. Katherine, the owner, speaks excellent English and is always happy to help with any arrangements for excursions that you may want to make. If you still want to enjoy the beauty of Gerakas but would like to visit Ithaca you can always make it part of a two centre package as we can arrange your holiday to suit your requirements. For more information on please visit our web site or call Rachel at the Lincoln during office hours.

RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AWARDS 2007

We finished the season with confirmation that we had been short listed for a Responsible Tourism Award sponsored by Virgin Holidays. These awards are a real mark of achievement as it is the tourists that nominate companies that they feel provide an outstanding holiday that also benefits the local people as well as the surrounding area. With a total of 1,700 nominations worldwide for the 12 categories we had some stiff competition. Ionian Eco Villagers, Earth Sea and Sky and Nature world Travel had been jointly nominated for Best for Conservation of Endangered Species. We were invited to the World Travel Market Exhibition 2007 at ExCel Centre in Docklands, London where the winners were to be announced. We are proud to inform you that we were awarded second place with a Highly Commended. This is a real achievement and confirms that the work we do to help protect Gerakas Beach and the Turtles has been a worth while project and that visitors to Gerakas also believe in what we are trying to achieve. Justin Francis, Managing Director of responsibletravel.com said "We all recognise that tourism brings both positive and negative impacts to local people and the planet. Responsible tourism is about holidays that strive to improve the benefits of tourism to local people while minimising negative environmental and cultural impacts in destinations." We hope that as a Company we can continue to protect the natural beauty of Gerakas and encourage visitors that are staying elsewhere on the island to help protect the whole of Laganas Bay so that the Turtles can continue to nest on the beaches as they have done for thousands of years before we intruded on their nesting sites. The certificate and photograph will be on display at the Wildlife Information Centre at Gerakas next to our Highly Commended certificate for Best in Marine Environment 2005.

From left to right:- Rachel Hallam, Yannis Verdakastanis, Helen King being presented with the award from Amanda Wills, Managing Director of Virgin Holidays along with Justin Francis, Managing Director, responsibletravel.com

EARTH, SEA AND SKY NEWS

Dear Friends
2007 was another really good year for the information kiosk and with the cooperation between Earth Sea & Sky and Archelon we estimate that we have informed about 25,000 people of the important conservation work that is needed to protect the turtles and their nesting beaches on Zakynthos. Lets hope that all the hard work done by all concerned is maintained and the number of nests at Gerakas and all other beaches continues to increase.

We ended 2007 on a high with Earth Sea and Sky, Nature World Travel and Ionian Eco Villagers Ltd coming second place and receiving a Highly Commended Award in the category of Best for Conservation of Endangered Species in the Responsible Tourism Awards sponsored by Virgin Holidays. We were amongst 1,700 nominations worldwide for 12 categories. this is the second time we have been received an award, the first being Highly Commended in 2005 for Best in Marine Environment

At the beginning of 2007 we received an email from Global Vision International re potentially offering us some volunteers. We were then visited a couple of weeks later by their European Coordinator and became one of their first ever European projects. Fourteen volunteers joined us for the 2007 season some as far away as Australia and the USA. One of the volunteers who had signed up for 6 weeks enjoyed it so much she ended up extending her stay to 9 weeks and has vowed to come again for the 2008 season.

Towards the end of the 2007 season Archelon and Earth Sea & Sky discussed the possibilities for the Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre. It was decided that the best course of action is to have the hospital in a more central location where the visitors need to be made aware of what has to be done to protect the Turtles and what the consequences of being irresponsible can have on there existence. Gerakas already has an Information Centre and is well managed so after viewing a number of possibilities around Laganas and Kalamaki, a site at Porto Koukla was found. It is an old bar/nightclub which has plenty of outside space for the treatment and rehabilitation tanks as well as room for tanks to store the food to feed the turtles in for treatment. Inside, this location also enables us to provide a Information Centre with a film and lecture room so that the tour companies can include it on their Island excursions and we will be able to educate even more visitors to the needs of the turtles. Other advantages include using the Rehabilitation Centre as a wildlife Centre and having the facility to provide living accommodation for the volunteers, thus reducing accommodation costs and providing the rescue centre with round the clock supervision.

Work is already underway transforming it. The old fixtures and fittings have been removed and new areas such as treatment rooms and accommodation areas are being created. The foundations for the treatments tanks have been laid and everything seems to be going to schedule to be open for the beginning of the nesting season this year.

We are still along way off reaching our target of £500,000 but we are a lot closer to being able to save at least some of the injured turtles that might otherwise die if they were taken to Athens by ferry and car. Therefore, we are now appealing for any donations towards the fitting out of specialist equipment to enable us to successfully treat the growing amount of turtles that are found with propeller injuries or fishing line entanglement or ingestion and to go towards the running costs.

The appeal is Europe-wide in all SeaLife Centres, online and at the Wildlife Information Station at Gerakas. If you would like to make a donation please send a cheque to Earth Sea & Sky Ltd, PO Box 1063, Saxilby, Lincoln, LN1 2TN or you can donate online at www.earthseasky.org and click on ESS Appeal. Please give whatever you can to make this project reality. Every little helps and with your help we really can make a difference. Thank you.