What would you do if you could enjoy the exclusivity of an antique Greek village for an evening? We opted for a cheeky photo shoot among the stone columns, followed by a skinny dance with the fishes in the ruins of the old port, submerged by the rising waters.

In terms of the photogenic beauty of the site overlooking the Aegean Sea, the clarity and gentleness of the water, and the variety of marine fauna, you can hardly dream of anything better than Karthea, on Kea, the island suggested by Daphnee, whom we had met on Sifnos a few days earlier (cf. Thumbs up in Sifnos).

Incidentally, the view of Paralia Kalistra bay, where we were anchored and which we were also able to claim for a few days, before two other yachts joined us there, was quickly promoted to my my screen saver, having nothing to envy the superb images offered by my operating system. Its crystal-clear water and caves offered an idyllic setting, where Azur turned a smooth, flat rock into a kayak waterslide, and we found an amphora while diving.

The archaeological site, some twenty minutes away, was accessible by an olfactory stroll through bushes of wild sage, thyme and oregano, and we visited it twice, the first in the middle of the day, sharing it with a few intrepid tourists, and the second at sunset, alone. We were presented with the amphitheatre, the white columns left over from the temples of Apollo and Athena (or added for a faithful reconstruction), and the bases of statues, now missing, calling for new heroes to take their places, forcing us to comply, not without a malicious pleasure in moving through this sublime setting.

Returning from this second walk, Dad, who had stayed behind on the boat, had prepared a sweet and sour Poké bowl which delighted us, and was certainly more generous than the previous day’s fish. In fact, in addition to the relative seclusion of this cove, which lent itself ideally to our Robinson game, we had a makeshift barbecue set up on the beach with a few stones and a metal grill, which had encouraged Thomas to bring back some fish, alas reduced to homeopathic quantities once filleted. However, with the rice, the hollandaise sauce, and the dessert of pinnbrød (Norwegian stickbread baked over a fire at the end of a stick like marshmallows) brought back on the beach, the meagre catch had more than made up for it and filled us up; it’s rare that we starve to death on Obelix.

In short, this stopover of a few days, reclusive and happy to be so, charmed us all, and we debated with Thomas and Dad about the impact of divulging this little-known corner of paradise, which charm we wanted to preserve by remaining secret. Judging my audience too small to cause a tourist storm, I felt there was little risk in naming it here. If you’re ever in the area, make sure you drop by Kea and in particular the archaeological site of Karthea, I promise you won’t be disappointed.