White houses, the sea as far as the eye can see and blue shutters: the clichés around Greece and its islands invite you to travel and relax. But difficult to find your way around to find the best beaches, the most beautiful views, the most beautiful islets. Jean-Bernard Carillet, columnist of the program Et si on partait?, On Europe 1, and author for the Lonely Planet, delivers his good plans to discover the most beautiful landscapes of the Greek Islands, in the most inventive way possible.
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Anafi, not far from Santorini ... but much less crowded
"There are so many Greek islands: difficult to make a selection. I know that visitors love Santorini and its magnificent sunsets very much, but I find that there are too many people. There is however a pearl , not far from Santorini: Anafi. It is reached from Santorini by ferry. This ferry is not always regular. It is a line terminus, which dissuades a lot of people. Result: the island is much more There are only 400 inhabitants for a surface of 12 km long, a relaxing place with few tourist attractions, just a village, white stones, bougainvillea, creeks.
I rented a scooter because there was no traffic. Wild camping is allowed on Roukounas beach, in the middle of golden dunes and tamarisks. To enjoy a glass of ouzo, with occasional evening concerts, the Glaros bar welcomes you. The view and the friendliness are at the top. For me Anafi is a superb island getaway. I felt like I was going back in time.
Dive in the middle of the barracudas in Alonissos
It is windy, but it is not unpleasant, it refreshes. With this magnificent ultramarine blue that surrounds these islands, you can imagine that I wanted to go scuba diving and go see what is happening in the kingdom of Poseidon. For that I changed archipelago. I'm taking you to Alonissos, in the Sporades, a little further north. A superb island, very green, with many pine and oak forests. It is located in the only marine national park in Greece so all waters are protected. There are a few dive centers but no crowds on the sites. Around the island, there are fifteen spots.
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In Alonissos, it is especially the underwater decor that is pretty. The mountains fall into the sea, so underwater there is a very beautiful relief. That day, I was lucky, I saw barracudas, schools of amberjacks, very beautiful colorful gorgonians. However, I have not seen the Mediterranean monk seal underwater. An endangered species, of which there are only about 600 individuals left in Mediterranean waters.
Help Zakynthos help underwater turtles
To visit an island otherwise, you can embark on eco-volunteering. It is about getting involved as a volunteer in the service of an environmental cause in Greece. The approach I liked was the one proposed on the island of Zakynthos, in the archipelago of the Ionian Islands. An association, Archelon, takes care of the protection of sea turtles and welcomes trainees who would like to try the adventure of eco-volunteering.
You should know that the population of sea turtles off Greece is constantly decreasing. The causes are known: poaching, destruction of nesting places, drifting plastic bags ... The Archelon association, precisely, offers protection actions on the coast of the island of Zakynthos and you, as ecovolunteer, you will participate in protection missions directly at the nesting grounds. Personally I was not involved, but on site I saw the eco-volunteers in full action, supervised by scientists: baggage of turtles, measurement of females, tracking traces of turtles in the sand, night patrols to monitor turtle nesting areas and inform tourists. "