It’s a Small World

That is a little sign we’ve seen a few places on Astypalea. I don’t know if it’s happenstance, or if they write it because the island is shaped like a butterfly. Astypalea is absolutely beautiful. It’s centered in between two groups of islands and takes a bit of an effort to actually reach, so it doesn’t have the tourist vibe at all. It is also the most traditionally Greek place we’ve seen, like the picture perfect white houses going straight up from the brilliant blue sea. Totally breathtaking. I’m convinced the town gets repainted every year to keep it looking that pristine. Another thing that’s impressive is that there is zero trash lying around.

Exploring here was not for the feeble legged. You were always going straight up or straight down. There were a couple streets in town for cars, a few more for motorcycles, but otherwise it was steps. Beautiful staircases, sometimes with potted plants on them and always with cats. At the top of the hill there was a castle that stood like an ancient sentry. It was so much fun to explore, because they have zero guardrails and you can roam anywhere you jolly well want. The wind was pretty whippy up there, but we poked our noses into all the crevices, climbed staircases that would make the founders of the ADA faint, and stuck our heads out the windows, pretending to search for pirates.

Zach and Camille had rented a little room right near the castle for nights, so we thoroughly enjoyed actually getting to open one of the beautiful doors that are everywhere here, and see inside a house. It was so gorgeous inside we threatened to never leave, but eventually the steep steps called our names and we continued to explore. Lunch was at a little shop owned by a delightful lady who is now Avril’s dear friend. They both spoke Spanish, so they proceeded to banter and chat. The food was so good we actually went back for supper. I know. Boring. But these islands are entering winter season so a lot of stuff is shutting down already. There is only a percentage of people who spend all year on the islands. A lot head to mainland for the slow season. So restaurants weren’t actually a dime a dozen.

Robs and our boys walked over to the next harbor, Zach’s stayed around town and Heath and I rented a little Suzuki something and drove out into the countryside to see the farms and goats and of course rock hunt on a beach. Sunset found us all heading to the top of the mountain for some golden views. It was breathtaking. I don’t even know what else to say.

Back at the boat, we discovered our fridge had quit working. We fiddled and messed and messaged, and finally found a corroded wire under the boat floor. All the walking had made everyone so tired that only Heath and I were up by that time, and no one even noticed us lifting up sections of floor and fixing. Forrest was asleep on the couch in the main room and I needed to move some stuff so I piled it on top of him. He never noticed a thing.

Also we forgot to open our toilet tank valves when we crossed yesterday, so there was a stinky smell in the loos. As long as they don’t bubble over we should be good. So much to think about, so little time.