On the Peloponnese, walking the mountains where Odysseus lived, fought, and loved

I’m standing in ankle-deep emerald seawater so clear I could count every pebble at the bottom. Earlier this morning, I arrived on the uninhabited island of Daskalio, as 1970s hits from a legendary Greek duo, Stelios Kazantzidis & Marinella, blasted from the boat that got me there. The captain, Giorgos Georgidakis, is pulling souvlaki off the boat’s grill while his niece, Sofia, passes me plates of spanakopita made by her grandmother to bring ashore.

We eat lunch on the quiet beach, before…