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Astypalea
Astypalea
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LOCATION
The island is located in the Dodecanese but is strongly influenced by the Cyclades.
Basically it is a "bridge" that connects the Cyclades and Dodecanese .
It is located 23 nautical miles from Kos 2 and 96 nautical miles from Rhodes.
HOW TO GET THERE
You can get to Astypalea by plane or boat.
The island has flights to Athens with Olympic Air which carry out daily flights on the route Athens - Astypalea.
The flight from Eleftherios Venizelos to Astypalea takes 1 hour.
Ferry routes from Piraeus to the port of Astypalea with Blue Star Ferries ships.
There is also a local ferry connection to the island of Kalymnos.
CULTURE
If you are at Astypalea in August, we advise you to watch the Koukania.
This is a popular celebration that takes place in Pera Gialos and the youth of the island are always involved.
It includes several games like pulling the rope, egg fights, the "rooster", etc.
The "rooster" is perhaps the best game since you will see a lot of young people trying to catch a basket with a fake rooster at the edge of a column above the sea which is brushed with grease in order to be slippery
At the end everyone ends up in the sea, and the winner will be the person who able to get the basket!
USEFUL LINKS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astypalaia