Finiki isn't on the list of the best beaches in Karpathos. It doesn't have water that goes viral on Instagram, doesn't have resorts, doesn't have sunset DJ sets. It has a small harbour with a few colourful boats, a road running along the seafront, three or four taverns open whenever they feel like opening. That's exactly why it's worth going.
The village lies on the west coast, about 25 kilometres from Pigadia, along a road that climbs and drops through the Mediterranean scrub. Arriving from above you see it all at once — the white houses running down to the harbour, the stone pier, the boats sitting still in the green water. Then the road turns and the view disappears. You find it again once you're already in the middle of it.
At Finiki the fishermen mend their nets early in the morning and late in the evening. In between, they drink coffee at the table outside. That's the schedule.
The sunset from Finiki is one you can never photograph satisfactorily. The sun drops behind the mountains opposite, the water turns orange, the boats become dark silhouettes. It lasts ten minutes. Everyone stops talking. Then it starts up again.