One island, two worlds

With magnificent scenery and character all of their own, the smaller Dodecanse islands offer opportunities to get off the tourist trail and experience a completely different side of Greece. John Zada for The National

For the mind that revels in indecision, there is no exercise more satisfyingly brain-racking than that of seeking out a Greek island on which to spend one’s precious holiday time. Look at any detailed map of the Aegean and Ionian seas and you will see why. Peppering that small expanse of blue is a near-infinite miscellany of weather-beaten rocks existing in their own worlds. The possibilities seem endless.

This search for an island, ironically, becomes exponentially more daunting as one eliminates the places that magnetise the Greece-going herd: Santorini with its honeymoon sunsets, Mykonos with its prefabricated hedonism, and Rhodes with its package tourist compounds and poolside fitness instruction sessions.

Greek archeologists find ancient sculptures off island of Kythnos

ATHENS, Greece — Greek archeologists have discovered two Roman-era sculptures built into a sunken ancient harbour wall on the Aegean Sea island of Kythnos.

A Culture Ministry statement says the stone torso of a man in armour and the head of a bearded man were found during an underwater survey in September at Mandraki, on western Kythnos.

The statement said Thursday it was unclear whether the head matched the torso, which stands some 1.4 metres high. They date from the era of Rome's control of Greece, between 146 BC and AD 330.

Pampered pelicans in Mykonos

MYKONOS, GREECE–Wandering through the maze of Mykonos's white-washed streets, it's hard not to wonder what the plastic flamingos are doing in front of the church.

Then one of them blinks.

Before surprise can register, the giant birds spring to life with theatrical flair, at first languorously, then with increasing energy.

A small group of tourists gathers to watch the display of flapping wings and throaty squawks as the creatures play-fight and groom themselves.

"So, you met Peter?" asks John, one of our neighbours at the hotel. He and his wife Rosemary are from Boston and have been here several times.

Corfu: The quiet rebirth of Gerald Durrell's idyll

"After visiting friends on nearby Paxos a couple of years ago, we decided that life would be better for us and the children out here," says Jeanette, who is a physiotherapist at the Nissaki Beach Hotel, while Darren, 37, works for a travel company. "In England, we barely sat down and had dinner as a family and we were under a lot of pressure to earn as much as possible."

They have rented out their home in Britain while the market is slow. "We'll buy a house in Corfu if we decide to stay long-term, but our current property has gorgeous views over the sea, and we are surrounded by olive and fig trees and vines. It's incredibly peaceful here."

Emma Wood, of the Corfu Property Shop, Savills International's associate on the island, has helped seven English families, all from the South-East, to relocate in the past two months.