Naxos next stop

We have had a great week on Astypalea. We  had all sorts of weather, a couple of days of high seas that kept folks on the island, fisherman on the dock and no vessels into/out of port. 

We managed to get out and walk in all weathers, covering point to point the highest ridge line with spectacular views down to the port and across to the castle and chora. At the highest  point was the cutest little kid goat taking a good interest in the two giants on his patch. 

We walked from the highest  point to the skinniest  point with only 100m  separating the two coasts - Astypalea is shaped like an open winged butterfly and this is the middle bit. 

Of course it just happens to have a wee chapel where we sheltered from the wind  on one side and had our picnic lunch before the return walk. 

So many beaches and coves along the way, many providing  shelter for the fishing fleet. Even the little working boatyard had a chapel on the beach. 

Astypalea is a really quiet island so when we saw 13 ribs speeding into the little harbour we thought either we were being invaded by the Turks or it was Tom Cruise and the Mission Impossible cast. Not sure what it was all about, they zoomed in, had lunch, then zoomed off again. 

We visited the little Archeological Museum and admired the treasures that are slowly being discovered across the island. 

 In the 1990's construction work uncovered an ancient burial ground  containing only children. It's continuing to be excavated. Excavation has shown that there are over 3400 burials, making it the largest ancient children's cemetery in the world.

All but one of the burials so far found has been in large pot/s. This method of burial for children was very common in Greece in ancient times however children were usually buried with adults which makes this discovery unique. There is still a lot of work to be done and as the island puts in more infrastructure to support tourism more finds are expected.

While it's not full on tourist season and many cafes/restaurants are not yet open we discovered  a beauty. Lovely hosts and homemade style food - delicious! 

One  particular day we were there an entourage came in and had that 'look at me/ don't look at me ' air of importance. Normally we are the only ones at the restaurant and after this entourage arrived suddenly all the locals came in and were getting selfies with this young guy who liked like Mr VIP. I thought he was either a Greek soap actor or a politician. Turns out I was right, after a quick  google search I discovered Mr Smoothe was the leader of the opposition party, youngest ejected to the Greek parliament. He just happened to be doing a tour of the islands in his launch and got stuck due to the high seas/swell. It's all go on Astypalea 😁

I think the human to cat ratio on Astypalea is 1:50. I spoke to the Australian supermarket lady and she explained they had a good cat neutering programme but with Covid the vets couldn't come across to the island so they more or less are starting again. There are cats everywhere! The sale display shelf outside the supermarket is a favoured spot - often half a dozen cats on sale! [There are 30 'Grozzies'  - Greek Aussies on the island. Many descendants of families that emigrated after WW2  now come back 'home' to claim family land]

As  we leave Astypalea I'm sure our calves are 10 times stronger after all the steps from the port up to the chora - calves of steel!

 So it's yassas to Astypalea. It will be all go in a week's time as the island fills up for the long weekend of Greek Orthodox Easter and Labour Day.... we've enjoyed the quiet times and for a few days  being the only tourists on the island!