Which is not to say locals are not proud of their pirates. Indeed, some might say they were obsessed by them. In almost every house or restaurant, you’ll see ancient amphorae displayed that have been caught by local fishermen in their nets.
Archaeologists have been able to use the amphorae recovered from shipwrecks to analyse what was being traded – or taken: garum, the fermented fish sauce the Romans so liked, along with cargoes of olive oil and wine so the pirates must often have been wealthy from their spoils.
An old man in a cafe tells me he and his friends have often gone searching for the pirate gold which is supposed to be hidden somewhere on the island. He was also proud of their cosmopolitan nature: “We didn’t just have Greek pirates. We had pirates from France, from Turkey, from Malta, from Africa – they all based themselves here! We probably had the odd pirate from England as well.”
The islands are known for the wild thyme which gives such a strong flavour to their honey. One of the charms of walking over the hills is the way the wild thyme and oregano releases its scent on being brushed against.
On my last day on the Fournis, I was very fragrant by the time I had walked over the maquis of myrtle and laurel to a headland in the south, from which I could just make out the tantalising silhouette of double-backed Agathonisi in the evening sunlight. I had heard it was even less visited, with just one taverna and a handful of “sugar-cube” pension-houses; only one ferry a week went there. In Greece, there is always another island to explore.
Essentials
Fly to either Kos or Mykonos from the UK with Easyjet, and take a ferry via Ikaria, using Ferryhopper (ferryhopper.com) .
There are also fast ferries from Athens to Ikaria if you want to combine a visit to the Greek capital, as well as direct flights to Ikaria from Athens with Olympic Air (olympicair.com) or Sky Express (skyexpress.gr).
Accommodation at the various hotels along the quayside averages around €40 a night per room and scooters can be rented from €12-15 per day.