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A twenty-minute walk (or a short bus journey) from Hora brings you to LIVADHIA , a fertile valley with a popular, good beach with a variable collection of restaurants and cafes immediately behind. You can rent a room or studio just inland - for example at Studios O Manganas (tel 02430/61 68; ?59-72), on the frontage road, representing the highest standard here, or Venetos Studios & Bungalows (tel 02430/61 490; ?43-58), on the westerly hillside. Among the half-dozen tavernas , To Yerani is about the most consistently open (until Oct) and renowned for its excellent mayirefta ; they also keep simple rooms adjacent (tel 02430/61 484; ?34-42). If the busy beach here doesn't suit, continue southwest fifteen minutes on foot to three small single coves at Tzanaki , packed out with naturists in midsummer. The third large bay beyond Livadhia, more easily reached by motorbike, is Ayios Konstandinos , a partly shaded, sand-and-gravel cove with a good seasonal taverna. Around the headland, the lonely beaches of Vatses and Kaminakia are more usually visited by excursion boat from Skala, subject to weather and captain's whim. By land, Vatses has the easier dirt road in, some twenty minutes by scooter from Livadhia; it's one of the sandier island beaches but prone to wind. The track to Kaminakia is atrocious in its final moments, but the sheltered, clean scenic cove makes the effort worthwhile; like Vatses it has a simple kantina , staying open into September. A favourite outing in the west of the island is the two-hour walk or half-hour motorbike trip from Hora to the oasis of Ayios Ioannis , just under 10km distant. Proceed northwest along the signposted paved road beginning from the windmills, then keep left when a side-track goes right to Panayia Flevariotissas monastery. Beyond this point the main track, briefly dampened by a spring seeping across the road surface, curls north towards farming cottages at Messaria before reaching a junction with gates across each option. Take the left-hand one, and soon the walled orchards of the uninhabited farm-monastery of Ayios Ioannis come into view. From the balcony of the church, a steep, faint path leads down to the base of a ten-metre waterfall, though alas, after several dry years, the bathing pools here have dried up. Northeast of the harbour are three coves known as Proto (First), Dheftero (Second) and Trito (Third) Marmari , and marked as Marmari A', B' and C' respectively on some maps. The first is home to the power plant and boatyards; the next hosts the campsite; while the third, reasonably attractive, also marks the start of the path east to the perfectly decent coves of unfortunately named Mamouni ("Bug" or "Critter" in Greek). Beyond Trito Marmari, the middle beach at Steno ("narrow", after the isthmus here), with sandy shore and shallows, a few tamarisks and a seasonal kantina , is the best. ANALIPSI , widely known as Maltezana after medieval Maltese pirates, is a ten-kilometre bus trip or taxi ride from town. Although the second-largest settlement on Astypalea, there's surprisingly little for outsiders save a narrow, sea-urchin-speckled beach (there are better ones east of the main bay) and a nice view south to some islets. Despite this, blocks of rooms (open only July & Aug) sprout in ranks well back from the sea, spurred by the proximity of the airport, 700m away. Among a handful of tavernas, the most reliably open (Feb-Christmas) is Analipsi (aka Irini's , after the proprietress) by the jetty, which doubles as the kafenio for the local fishermen and seemingly every passing worker on the island. The food - fish fry-ups, or kakavia (fish soup) for those willing to wait - is simple but excellent and normally priced. At a somewhat higher mark-up, but also high-quality, is Ovelix a few hundred yards inland, where you have to pre-order your fish (tel 02430/61 260; closes mid-Sept). Behind calamus reeds and eucalyptus near the fishing jetty lie the best-preserved mosaic floors on the island: those of the Byzantine Tallaras baths , with somewhat crude figures of zodiacal signs, the seasons personified, and a central androgynous figure (Time or Fortune) holding the cosmic orb. The motorable dirt track ends 23km from Hora at Mesa Vathy (invariably and erroneously shown on most maps as Exo Vathy), a sleepy fishing village with a single taverna ( Iy Galini ) and superb small-craft anchorage in what's an almost landlocked inlet. Frankly, though, it's not really worth the long, bumpy trip out unless you're a yachtie, and to rub salt in the wound, the fish on the menu is usually frozen (if local). Following several accidents, this is no longer the backup ferry port in winter, when Skala is buffeted by the prevailing southerlies; foot passengers (but no vehicles) are transferred ashore to the unlit quay at Ayios Andhreas , just west of Trito Marmari.
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