Bear with me – I swear this is about Agios Ioannis. Once, when Kurt and I were in Honduras for our honeymoon, we turned down an unmarked dirt road assuming we would eventually find a beach. We were off the map and going on instinct. The road kept going, kept getting worse and the modest houses petered out all together. But, we kept going. Suddenly a pink confection of a hotel with the most dazzling cove came in to view. We stayed for several days smug in our discovery.

With Agios Ioannis, history repeats itself. Based on the recommendation of a woman in a Turkish bathhouse in Athens and the directions of a couple of girls at a fruit stand in Volos, we went over the mountains of the Pelion Peninsula. The way through the mountains is a narrow roller coaster jigjagging through ski villages that look more Swiss than Greek. The roads are small. The signs are incomprehensible. Some roads peter out in a town and dwindle to nothing but a goat path. So, its no wonder that the coastal villages of the Pelion are not a tourist destination. But, fighting the vertigo and glancing through the fir trees at the coastal town of Agios Ioannis below and you know why Greek sun worshipers flock to the place!

The harsh rocky coast of the Pelion is interrupted by magnificent beach coves. It reminded us a lot of the Nepali Coast in Kauai. During the week Agios Ioannis was a quiet paradise. By the weekend, it became a hot mess of bodies fueled by café fredos and disco. We retreated to a quieter hotel and were just fine. If we had more time and the kids were older, we might have risked going further down the coast looking for a village with a room to let or some beach camping. Camping on the open beaches is illegal in Greece. But, on the Pelion who would know?

Moral of the story – follow the road less traveled.