Voulisma Beach, near the village of Istro, is the lightest patch of blue on Mirabello Bay’s southern shore, and it looks like the set of an underwater documentary. It is not. A former underwater cameraman will tell you the clarity comes from a white limestone seabed, and the azure is simply sunlight bouncing off it. Snorkellers find few fish.

It is a lovely sandy beach nonetheless, on the largest natural bay in Crete and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean. The bay’s name comes from the Italian “mira il bello”, meaning “admire the beauty”. Not to be confused with Voulismeni, the small lake in Agios Nikolaos.

VoiceMap’s self-guided audio tours point it out on a drive from Agios Nikolaos to Ierapetra, and on a harbour walk that places it among the bay’s other landmarks: Spinalonga, Elounda’s sunken city of Olous and the islet of Agioi Pantes.