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From The Volcano To The Butterfly: Astypalea

September 6, 2021 /

Past the uninhabited island left shining white by the mining of pumice, the Dodecanese Pride catamaran powers on across the waters towards the first stop at Kos Town. Out here on deck, the wind rushes, the sun shines and the fountains of pure white surf make furious patterns in our wake, and we are thankful that the crossing isn’t quite as rough as we were told it might be.

Until, that is, after Kos, when we are all shepherded inside as the next stage of the journey will be too lively for passengers to stay on deck, and what follows is ninety minutes of rocking and rolling and lurching over the waves. It’s a bit of an endurance test to say the least, and is by far the roughest “hop” so far. Well, we had been warned!

The calm before the rough sea

Our next base is the island of Astypalea, the last of our Dodecanese calls before we return to the Cyclades, if all goes to plan. The nickname “butterfly” is not a reference to the wildlife here, but is instead the shape of the island, with two distinct “wings” joined by a narrow isthmus only 100 metres wide at its narrowest point.

Astypalea, the butterfly island
The narrowest part of Astypalea

This “butterfly of the Aegean” has an unusual feature in that the highest village, the chora, is closer to the coast than is the norm, and consequently its pristine white houses cascade down the hillside and effectively join up with the port town. The effect is stunning.

Chora tumbling down to Pera Gialos port

Whilst the port town Pera Gialos is “only” pretty, the Chora is visually superb, topped by its bold Venetian palace and attendant churches, the hillside decorated with an iconic line of windmills which are both Astypalea’s coat of arms and its source of pride. During daylight hours the Chora sparkles in bright sunshine and looks terrific, yet if anything it is even more beautiful at night.

Chora at night

Within the Chora is a network of cobbled streets and alleyways with shops and tavernas squeezed between its white houses. The whole look of the Chora, its pyramid shaped hill topped with the palace, is picture perfect.

Chora and its windmills
  • Chora
  • Chora
  • Chora

Yet again we’ve managed to secure an apartment with fabulous views of all of this from our balcony way above the port, though for our time here using the balcony has been spoiled by the wind which has reached ridiculous levels. It’s so windy that it affects everything, from dining to walking to opening the car door. It’s so strong and so noisy on our balcony that it’s impossible to hold a conversation. The butterfly is being blown away.

Astypalea windmills

Our host in Astypalea is Dimitris, part time artist, part time trekker, part time international traveller, full time kind, softly spoken all round good guy. But the star of the household is undoubtedly Dimitris’ Mum, who seems to have decided that we need fattening up. Knocks on our door over our time here have brought grapes, home made jam, bread, tomatoes, cheese, fava and hot rice pudding – more than we are able to eat!

Chora and its palace

Back on Tilos, the island was self sufficient in terms of energy: all electricity on Tilos is generated by wind turbines and solar panels. Here on Astypalea the emphasis is more on clean environment as they move towards blanket bans on petrol cars and cigarettes (smoking is already banned in the Chora). Consequently we are given an EV for touring here, the first time we’ve driven a fully electric vehicle.

Inside the palace
View from the palace

Astypalea has been a bit of a slow burner for us, we’ve grown to like it rather than gone a bundle from day one, away at least from the beauty of Chora. With Chora so close to the coast, there are no inland settlements at all, with the island’s few villages dotted mostly along the southern coasts. Livadi (yes, another Livadi) and Analipsi (aka Maltezana) are two pretty seaside villages each with decent beaches and a number of tavernas, but numerous other coves and beaches are tucked away around the island, accessible by boat or “secondary road”.

Chrissi Ammos beach
  • Astypalea coastline
  • Astypalea coastline

Some of these so-called secondary roads are barely worthy of being called a track, let alone a road. Driving down these rally-style, potholed, rock strewn unmade dirt tracks is certainly an experience, one which makes us nervous about taking this brand spanking new pristine electric vehicle through what is effectively off-road territory. Until, that is, we reach the end and find a dozen other saloon cars already there, most of them hire cars just like ours.

Astypalea barren landscape and secondary road

Inside both wings of the butterfly the terrain is fairly barren, steeply rising hills thrusting up from deep gulleys, each hillside coated with bone dry spiny plants no more than six inches tall. Towards the south side though, herbs and fruits, including tangerine and olive trees, thyme and capers, are more in evidence. 

The southern coastline of both “wings” is for the most part the gentle half and is where most of the best beaches are. On the north shoreline, though, the coast is far more rugged, the rocks strangely crenellated by erosion, giving it an almost Atlantic look. 

Astypalea coastline

It’s noticeable that things are beginning to change out here now as we move from peak season to shoulder. Apartments are easier to find, we can check in early and check out late whenever we need to, restaurants are no longer full. The outrageous 40+ temperatures of a few weeks ago have long gone and the days now peak at around 29/30; evening temperatures and the wind temperature have dropped noticeably, sweatshirts and jackets are starting to appear amongst the islanders. Dimitris’ Mum thinks it’s cold and offers Michaela a jumper.

  • Chapel complex, Chora
  • Chora
  • Kafeneon, Chora

We move on to our next destination with our time on Astypalea having been more than a little bit blighted by the strong winds and on reflection perhaps we weren’t able to make the most of it. Meltemi usually eases off once August is over, she seems to be a bit late this year.

Chora windmills
  • Chora streets
  • Chora streets
  • Chora
  • Sunrise over Chora
  • Chapels in Chora
  • Chora
  • The palace walls
  • Chora
  • Coastal walk

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