Kavourotrypes coves

Kavourotrypes is not one beach but a scatter of them: pockets of pale sand between low white rock formations smoothed into curves, pines growing almost to the waterline, and water so clear the boats seem to float on shadow. Across the gulf, the marble pyramid of Mount Athos stands on the horizon — the backdrop that makes this coast unlike anywhere else in Greece.

Each cove is a room. Some hold twenty people, some hold four, and part of the session is the walk between them along the rocks until the right empty one appears. The smooth white stone doubles as posing furniture and reflector, and the couple-in-the-water frames here need no filter — the colour is real.

Timing is a trade: early morning brings empty coves, soft light and Athos at its clearest; midday brings the fiercest water colour and the fullest coves — in July and August genuinely full, since none of them is big. Access is from a rough track and dirt parking off the Sarti road, then paths down through the pines; sandals over heels, and carry everything in, including the water, because facilities are a seasonal canteen at best.