Nikos, with his black frock coat and pony-tail, was devilishly good and made Stephane Grappelli sound like a simple and reticent player. Heavily amplified, he mostly drowned out his backing band and inspired the locals to dance with unashamed flamboyance. Schinoussa may not party very often, but when it does, it certainly does.

The rest of the time Schinoussa snoozes in the sun, with only the visitors (mostly French) being crazy enough to do anything like walk to a beach. Not that that's too arduous. The main problem is which one? On an island two-and-a-half miles by one-and-a-half, there are a dozen beaches, all of them great: from the long strands of Tsigouri and Livadi in the west, to the smaller eastern bays at Lioliou and Fikio (so deserted that it seems a sin not to take off all your clothes and dive naked into the water).

But best of all is Psili Amos, a chunk of heaven where an epic sand dune careers down to meet a perfect, tranquil beach. The few visitors swim in the exhilarating waves then retire to the shade of the occasional tamarisk trees.

On our last night in Schinoussa, we chose to lay on the beach at Tsigouri looking up at a black sky filled with brilliant stars - the sort of spectacle you only see on an island free from the curse of public lighting. Cliched as it sounds, we really didn't want to leave . . .

Travelling between the Little Cyclades is not always easy. On one occasion we were sold tickets for a boat we were told would stop where we wanted to get off - but, just in time, we found that it didn't. On another, we had to re-book because a ferry was suddenly taken out of service altogether for several days.

Aboard the Express Skopeliti, the diminutive ferry that is almost a celebrity in these waters for its constant plying between the islands, we finally joined those heading for the Little Cyclades' big neighbour, Naxos, part of the main Cycladic group.

One passenger on deck was bent up in pain having sea urchin spikes removed from her foot by her friends - another nearby was prone and wrestling with the onset of sea sickness. Then as we rounded the cape to approach the port of Naxos, the Skopeliti began to seesaw up and down as it rode the giant, bucking waves . . . alarming but also one of the most exciting moments of the holiday.

Need to know

Nigel Summerley flew to Athens with easyJet and travelled between Piraeus and the Little Cyclades with Blue Star Ferries

Accomommodation on Amorgos: Agios Pavlos Studios, studio for two 40 to 60 euros

Accommodation on Schinoussa: Pension Meltemi, room for two 30 to 50 euros, studio 40 to 65 euros

Read: Greek Island Hopping by Frewin Poffley (Thomas Cook, £12.99)

For information on walks in the Little Cyclades (and the Cyclades)

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