According to myth, Anafi rose out of the sea when Apollo lit the sky for the Argonauts, lost in a storm on their way home, and the name is usually read as “the revealed one”. The island still feels found rather than visited. It lies a short crossing east of Santorini, yet it belongs to a quieter Cyclades: one village, a scatter of beaches reached on foot or by small boat, and a monastery at the foot of a limestone monolith. With so little to move between, what to wear in Anafi is chosen for the path first and the table second, and a light bag of linen answers both.

Chora sits on a ridge above the small port of Agios Nikolaos. Its houses are low and white, many with the rounded vaulted roofs of the southern Cyclades, and its lanes are stepped, narrow and steep. The walk up from the harbour is a short climb in open sun, and on the ridge the wind arrives in gusts. A shirt that moves with the body matters more here than one that looks pressed: the Laos Short Sleeve Linen Shirt in Mint Green or Light Blue, worn loose over PP linen shorts in White, handles the climb and the café at the top without a change. Linen lets air pass through its weave and takes up moisture from the skin, which on a windy ridge after a climb is felt within minutes.

Roukounas is the beach most visitors walk to first: a long arc of sand east of the port, backed by tamarisk trees that give the only real shade on that stretch of coast. Klisidi, nearer the harbour, is smaller, with a taverna above the sand. Further east a chain of quieter coves runs towards Kalamos, some reached only on foot. For the sea, the PP natural swim shorts in Sapphire Blue or Oatmeal are linen made for the water, closed at the back pocket with a single walnut button. For women, the Amelia linen dress shirt in Lemon needs nothing added for a long lunch under the tamarisks.

Footwear decides more on Anafi than any shirt. The lanes of Chora are paved in stone polished by centuries of feet, the paths to the coves are loose and rocky, and the beaches are sand rather than pebble. A pair of flat leather sandals for the village and closed walking shoes for the paths cover the island; anything with a heel stays in the bag.

Kalamos is the reason many walkers make the crossing. The great rock rises from the sea at the island’s eastern end, joined to the land by a low neck, with the monastery of Zoodochos Pigi at its foot, built according to tradition on the site of a temple to Apollo, and the small church of Panagia Kalamiotissa near the summit. The path up is rocky, exposed and steep in its last stretch, a walk for the cooler hours with water and proper shoes. Long sleeves earn their place on this climb: the Bliss Linen Shirt in Sky Blue covers the forearms on the open stretches and can be rolled back when the path turns into the wind. Visitors to the monastery are generally expected to cover shoulders and knees, so for women the PP linen blouse in Sky Blue over an ankle-length skirt suits the morning, and the Amelia linen dress shirt waits for the beach.

Evenings in Chora are unhurried. The tavernas along the main lane cook what came in on the boat and what grew on the terraces, and in October the wind on the ridge makes a light layer welcome after dark. For men, the Male Linen Shirt in White with PP Casual Linen Trousers in Sapphire Blue sits easily through a long dinner, the trousers closed with walnut buttons. For women, the Amelia linen dress shirt in Dubarry, with a cardigan carried for the walk home, is enough for any table on the island.

Anafi is reached by ferry, on a long sailing from Piraeus or more simply via Santorini, and connections thin once the summer timetable ends, so the return is worth checking before the outward trip is booked. Some of the boats that call at Folegandros and Sikinos continue to Anafi, which makes it a natural last stop on a route through the southern Cyclades; the habits of packing for several islands at once are gathered in linen for island hopping. Once the summer timetable ends, the beaches empty and the walking becomes easier.

From the church on the summit of Kalamos, most of Anafi is visible at once: Chora white on its ridge, the beaches strung along the south coast, the port with its single quay, and very little else between the island and the horizon.

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