Vicky:
My ten-second dream guide to the Greek islands.

There are 6000 Greek islands, or more, depending how you count - large, small, inhabited, uninhabited… Not enough lifetimes to love them all.

Here is a toast to about thirty.

HYDRA
Tiny world with huge character. Like stepping back in time. Leonard Cohen once lived and wrote his music here; you'll understand why when you come.
Hydra occupies 2 chapters in the novel.
What to Eat:
Thalassina, like fruit de mer, a local dish. Or Octopus cooked in red wine.

SALAMIS or Salamina
So close to Athens, almost part of it.
Just a round trip in the novel, but the most romantic midnight boat trip I can think of.
What to Eat:
Psarosoupa, and you do pronounce the initial P, with fresh lemon or egg-lemon sauce. The word means fish-soup, but this is no soup as we know it. A filling main course plate, with chunks of fish and potatoes and celery and so much else, to last you the rest of the day and overnight. Difficult to find in summer, but ask for it. Not to confuse with Kakavia, a very different fish soup with tomatoes, hence red, also a full main course.
Make sure you dance the Koulouriatikos with the locals.

ALONISSOS
Cocktails on its beaches still tickle my fancy.
What to Eat:
Stuffed squid. Or Okra, with optional chicken, cooked in fresh tomato and other stuff. A unique texture and taste. Served with feta cheese.

SKOPELOS
A doll's house but not dolled up. Decent and modestly alluring.
What to Eat:
Octopus stifado [stifado is a generic term]. Or Arakas, peas with various ingredients, a main course in itself, or cooked with beef.

SKYROS
Dry, but like a good wine.
What to Eat:
Here I had, for breakfast, eggs and crushed tomatoes scrambled together in a frying pan with olive oil. For dinner, Barbounia (fried red mullet) with savoro sauce, a difficult sauce to make, with rosemary and vinegar. Sophisticated and sublime.

SKIATHOS
Strangely erotic beaches, too hot for me; I'm a good girl.
Skiathos occupies 3 chapters in the novel.
What to Eat:
Soupies Spanaki - cuttlefish with spinach - a highly individual taste. Or Kotopoulo lemonato, chicken pieces in lemon sauce. Or roast whole chicken stuffed with rice and pine-nuts precooked with chopped tomatoes, onions etc.
Make sure you dance the Kamara with the locals.

THASSOS
Up north. Unique combination of colours. Sand, pine-trees and the sea all look different, like no place I know.
What to Eat:
Galeos skordalia: I won't tell you what it is because you'll get the wrong idea - you will not believe the taste. Must be cooked exactly as the Greeks make it (galeos is a small school shark) or with a salted cod piece, served with a garlic bread/potato side-dish (skordalia).
Make sure you dance the Orkos and Varis Syrtos with the locals.

CRETE
Too big for a one-night stand. An entire culture of its own.
Crete occupies 2 chapters in the novel.
What to Eat:
Snails stifado [stifado is a generic term]. Or Garides Pilafi, shrimps cooked with rice in red tomato sauce. Or Kaltsounia, Diples, Tiropitakia, Spanakopita. You can find everything in Crete.
Make sure you dance the Pendozali and Sousta with the locals.

IKARIA
Famous for the longevity of its modern inhabitants now, this is where, in Greek mythology, Ikarus fell from heaven when his wings melted flying too high, close to the sun, a lesson for us all, I think. Mine still intact here on the ground, just.
What to Eat:
Tas Kebab, a hot spicy lamb or veal dish, nothing like its fast food synonym. Or, as this is an island, Vakalaos Plaki, cod roasted with onions, tomatoes and parsley in the oven. Anything 'Plaki' is worth trying - a unique taste.
Make sure you dance the Ikariotikos with the locals.

KOS
Something here makes the whole night rock. Don't know what it is.
What to Eat:
Pasta with yoghurt, a local dish. Or swordfish souvlaki. Or Giouvarlakia, rice-and-mince balls, boiled, then served in egg-lemon sauce.

KALYMNOS
Famous for people who die harvesting sponges from the deep. Stories to fill many nights on a sandy beach round the fire. I never want to sleep.
What to Eat:
Gigandes (butter beans) Plaki (see above) in the oven. Or Fricasse made with andithia or lettuce greens, optional with lamb, and egg-lemon sauce.
Make sure you dance the Thimariotikos with the locals.

RHODES
An Aeolian meltemi breeze blew me away. Not as big as Crete but huge character. Gets even better in winter.
Rhodes occupies 1 chapter in the novel.
What to Eat:
Marida pikandiki, spicy small fry, a local dish. You have to search hard for traditional Greek tavernas in the main town. Try also Splinandero, Kokoretsi, Souvlaki and other barbecued meat delicacies. Or, if you are vegetarian, Cauliflower Giahni - unbelievable taste - with crusty bread and optional feta cheese. (Giahni is a generic term for a particular kind of cooking. The word contains two sounds with no exact equivalent in English. The G is more like a Y in yours, and you do pronounce the middle H, as in hound. Stress on the last syllable.)
Make sure you dance the Pidihtos Rodou with the locals.

NAXOS
Harbours dark secrets, but I won't tell.
Naxos occupies 1 chapter in the novel.
What to Eat:
Stuffed kid. Then for afters, ice cream Ekmek, there is nothing like it.
Make sure you dance the Vlacha and Kalamathianos (not to be confused with mainland Kalamatianos) with the locals.

ANDROS
I think the name means manly. More Greek character than you can handle but nothing is too manly for me.
What to Eat:
Fried courgette flowers, a local dish. Or Soutzoukia (spicy meatballs in a red sauce.) Or Bourekia.

CORFU, or KERKYRA in Greek
Proper English in summer, with beauty spots on both cheeks, shallow swimming waters, etc… Get the party started before I come again.
Corfu occupies 2 chapters in the novel.
What to Eat:
Bourtheto, a local mixed fish dish. Or Pork cooked with celery, or leaks or cabbage.
Make sure you dance the Peratsada-Rouga with the locals.

MYKONOS
A lot to get your teeth into, too much for one mouth. Bring two, but leave me out of this. I'm trying to lose weight.
What to Eat:
Onion Pie, a local dish. Or Lamb cooked in a pot with lemon and butter.

LESBOS also called Mytilini, after its capital.
Not for vegetarians. History forbids. This is where Aristotle began close-up zoological investigations.
What to Eat:
Filianoi Dolmades made with onions, a local dish. Dolmades come in many varieties in Greece. In vine leaves they are a fundamentally different dish to cabbage-leaf dolmades, and the optional egg-lemon sauce changes vine-leaf dolmades to something different again.
Make sure you dance the Mazomenos with the locals.

CHIOS
Traditional houses, forgotten past histories, indomitable women, and very close to Turkey but just geographically.
What to Eat:
Cabbage with mince, a local dish. Or Fakes (red lentil soup) so thick, it is a main course, served alone or with fried potato slices, olives, anchovies, etc., or with crusty bread, wonderful in winter.
Make sure you dance the Pyrgousikos with the locals.

SAMOS
Famous for its red wine but I can't remember myself. Girls with black eyes and plenty of beauty spots. Look up the famous song Samiotisa.
What to Eat:
Yiorti, a two-meat local dish, pork and goat. Or Revithia, a white chick-pea soup, also a main course in itself, served with fresh lemon juice and, if you can find it, proper Greek village bread (Horiatiko).
Make sure you dance the Abas with the locals.

LEMNOS
This is where the god Hephaistos married Aphrodite. I say married, but she probably didn't.
What to Eat:
Artichokes with egg-lemon sauce, optional with butter beans or lamb. Or artichokes Ala Polita, different again.
Make sure you dance the Kehayias and Patima with the locals.

AMORGOS
John tells me he knows someone from Amorgos. I won't ask. I've never been there, so I put that in.
What to Eat:
Don't know the local dish. Try the ultimate traditional Greek Renga (smoked herring) with Fasolada, a thick red bean soup, a winter dish good enough to resurrect the dead, the main course, whereas Renga is the sidedish.

SYMI
A famous Englishman had a house here - my favourite TV chef. Not seen him there so far. Next trip, probably.
What to Eat:
Ambelofasoula, Radikia or Vlitta with fresh squeezed lemon, served with feta cheese and fried potatoes. Rick Stein says the Greeks make the best chips in the world. You have to eat them to know what he means.

SIFNOS
Romantic isolation; attracts a different kind of visitor.
What to Eat:
Time for another Greek classic: Stuffed tomatoes, peppers and aubergines in the oven. All stuffed with the same mixture but each ends up a totally different taste. What is more, there is yet another dish, stuffed courgettes, which is totally different again, cooked in a saucepan this time, with egg-lemon sauce and a very different experience. Food that becomes art in its subtlety, with meaning, makes you glad to be living.

SERIFOS
Dazzling white houses tumbling down.
What to Eat:
Giouvetsi, a rice-like pasta cooked with lamb in a clay pot in the oven. Or, as this is an island, fried Kalamarakia (squid) and Gavros.

MILOS
Guess where the Paris Louvre got its Venus de Milo from, its biggest treasure. This is the thing about Greek islands, so lowly, humble, calm, simple, but great riches hiding underneath.
What to Eat:
Time for Moussakas, but the authentic dish is hard to find in popular tourist restaurants because it is so time consuming. Expensive and complicated ingredients to make it right. Each ingredient, from aubergines to mince, to the béchamel cream, (no potatoes, please) must be cooked separately before putting all the layers together and into the oven. Find a Greek lover with time on his/her hands to cook it for you. Takes a whole day to make, for a few portions.

PAROS
I know a secret little house there I want to buy, one day, maybe. Love the tiny airport on an island where everything is so laid back. I became a different woman minutes after reaching the town.
What to Eat:
Roast snails, a local dish. Or Fava, a yellow pea puree eaten with bread as a main dish, mainly in winter. Or any fresh fish grilled on coals.

TINOS
Avoid August, when the big Virgin Mary festival brings multitudes, unless you too hope for a miracle. If you do, it will be granted, without doubt. I speak from personal experience.
What to Eat:
Another national dish, Pastichio. Looks like Moussakas but a pasta dish, almost as complicated to make, but just as nice. Or Spanakoriso, spinach cooked with rice, served with fresh lemon.

SANTORINI
Dark, volcanic, a magical town overlooking the volcano bay with unique sunset views famous world-wide. Best sunsets in the world.
Santorini occupies 2 chapters in the novel.
What to Eat:
Tomato Balls, a local dish. Or Papoutsakia, aubergines cut in half and topped with lovely things including melting cheese, baked in the oven.

LEFKAS or Lefkada
Sail the Ionian sea without fear of stormy winds in the summer.
What to Eat:
Lagos stifado [stifado is a generic term], rabbit cooked with shallots and rosemary - a classic Greek dish.
Make sure you dance the Milia with the locals.

SPETSES
They say only classy clientele holiday here. Out of my league, then.
What to Eat:
Fish a la Spetsiota, or stuffed sea urchins, both local dishes. Or Briam, an oven dish mainly with cutup courgettes and other vegetables, baked with fresh crushed tomatoes.

KYTHIRA
Small ones are more loveable, so I am told. No chance then… I suppose. Personally, I like big brains.
What to Eat:
Ouzeri stuff: Olives served with wooden toothpicks, pieces of octopus served in oil and vinegar, Keftedes [with minced beef, but to call them burgers would be philistine], with fried courgette and aubergine slices, and other small mezedes to nibble the night away till time for bed.
Make sure you dance the Bourdaris or Palaikos with the locals, but this tiny island has invented more traditional dances than it has inhabitants.

CEFALLONIA or Kefallonia, and ZANTE or Zakynthos in Greek.
We sail past these two Ionian islands in very dramatic times in the novel. Something comes to mind: "We shall not cease from exploration…"

ITHACA
"…And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
Poem by T.S.Eliot.
I told you I like brains.
Ithaca occupies the last chapter in the novel.
Magical, indescribable, treasure it forever.
You will not forget you've been there.
Promise.

Vicky