Agios Efstratios has only three shops and two restaurants, but tourists loved its spectacular beaches. Now locals face a nine-hour ferry trip to get money, and the visitors aren’t comingAgios Efstratios is so remote, so forgotten by the banks, the government and swaths of the modern world that the mobile phone network can’t process data, there isn’t a single ATM or credit-card machine on the island, and it calls up a blank on modern travel websites such as TripAdvisor.Before Greece was plunged into financial chaos, residents of this tranquil outpost in the northern Aegean managed fine in a virtual time-warp. They did their banking at the post office and the few dozen rooms to rent were booked out every summer with people who had heard – by word of mouth – of its spectacular empty beaches, clear seas and fresh seafood the old-fashioned way. Related: Tourists in Greece: 'Don't tell the cook we're German' Related: Greece debt crisis: reforms will fail, says ex-finance minister Yanis Varoufakis Continue reading...
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