Fournoi

Fournoi is the Aegean at its most authentic. The ferry from Ikaria lands at the little port, where the fishing boats crowd the harbour and the white houses climb the hill. The archipelago is small — a handful of inhabited islands and dozens of islets — and the main town, also called Fournoi, is a place of narrow lanes, a few tavernas, and a life still ruled by the sea. The coves of the coast have clear water and nearly empty beaches, and boats go out to the surrounding islets, where the fishermen work the same grounds their ancestors worked. Fournoi is famous among archaeologists for the extraordinary number of shipwrecks lying in its waters — more than any other place in the Mediterranean — and its history is written on the seabed. For the visitor, though, its charms are simpler: empty beaches, honest food, and the deep peace of an island that the world has passed by.

Fournoi has been inhabited since antiquity, when the small islands of the group were known as the 'Korseae' and served as a refuge and a stopping place on the sea routes between Samos, Ikaria, and the Aegean. The archipelago's position, at the meeting of several sea routes, made its waters a crossroads of ancient trade — and a graveyard for ships. In the 2010s, underwater archaeologists found more than 50 ancient shipwrecks in the waters of Fournoi, an extraordinary concentration that has made the archipelago one of the most important underwater sites in the Mediterranean. In the Middle Ages and the Ottoman period, the islands were a refuge for pirates and a poor community of fishermen and farmers. In the modern era, Fournoi has remained a small, quiet community, its life still bound to the sea. Today the island is known above all for its fishermen, its hidden coves, and the astonishing archaeology of its waters.

Fournoi is not an island of long beaches, but its coves are beautiful and nearly always empty. The beaches of the main island — including the coves near the town and the sandy bays of the south and west coasts — are reached by paths and small boats, and the swimming is in clear, calm water. The islets of the archipelago have their own empty coves, reached by boat, where you can swim completely alone. The water is clean and clear, and the island's small scale makes every swim a private pleasure. Bring a mask and a towel, and you will find a new cove around every headland.

Fournoi food is the cooking of a fishing community, and the fish is its pride. The fishermen of the island bring in the daily catch, and the tavernas of the harbour serve it simply and superbly — grilled fish, octopus, and the small fish of the Aegean, with the classic Greek table and a warm, generous welcome. The island is too small for a grand cuisine, but the food is honest and excellent. For a proper Fournoi meal, find a taverna by the harbour, order the fish of the day, and let the fishermen's world set the tone of your evening.

The best time to visit Fournoi is in late spring and early autumn, when the weather is warm and the sea is calm, and in summer, when the island is at its most welcoming. July and August are the liveliest months, but even then the island is quiet. The island's charm is in its authenticity, its empty coves, and its unhurried way of life. Whenever you come, plan to stay at least a couple of nights — Fournoi rewards those who slow down.

Fournoi is reached by ferry from Ikaria, Samos and the other islands of the eastern Aegean, and by the seasonal ferries from Piraeus; there is no airport. The boat is the only way onto the archipelago, and many sailings pass without stopping.

The island is small and can be walked, or explored by scooter. Swim at the coves of the coast, take a boat to the islets if one is running, and eat the fish by the harbour in the evening. Bring everything you need, including cash and water. And remember that you are in one of the most authentic corners of the Aegean — a place where the sea still rules, and the world passes by.