Spinalonga, Greece

In the aftermath of Covid lockdowns, Jess Henderson travels to Spinalonga, an uninhabited island off the coast of Crete with a 16th-century Venetian fortress and the ruins of a former leper colony

Words and images: Jess Henderson

As someone who had—until two years ago—made a strange kind of home out of travel, I found myself in rusty territory packing for a week on the island of Crete. During the UK’s rollercoaster lockdowns, my wanderer’s heart had surprisingly adapted well to staying still. London’s Thames Path became my Marauder’s Map during that first season of beautiful, warm weather and anxiety-tinged change. Now I worried that I might have lost my traveller’s curiosity.

I was travelling on assignment to shoot a hotel on the north-east side of Crete and my partner tagged along so we could remind ourselves what a holiday felt like. Our only agenda once the assignment finished: a few days of lounging on the Cretan Sea, eyes skipping from our books to the water and back again. If we were lucky enough with the early October weather: dips in the clear turquoise water before dinners of grilled Greek meats.

Dips happened. Grilled Greek meats were consumed with delight. However, when my eyes glanced up from my book, they were distracted by the most striking of islands just across the bay. Flanked by a huge seaside gate and what looked like a citadel on the side facing us, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were looking at a Game of Thrones set. Ruins and cactus-dotted brush covered the pale stone that rose steeply out of the water. We were close enough to notice boats of tourists arriving just before 10am each morning but too far away to see what they got up to once they disembarked. It was early October, but the island looked like it baked in the afternoon sun. Nothing stirred after the last boat departed each day at 5pm.