Turkey for Christmas?

We didn't actually go to Turkey, though it was clearly visible from Sector Julian where we called in for a quick festive three - no Christmas Crack for us! It was quite cool and blowy up there in the mountains, so we didn't stop too long - and apart from that Sherri was halfway though sorting a full Christmas dinner on two small electric rings - and that was the real challenge of the day.

Merry Christmas to One and All

Mid-Winter Blues

21st of December and it is midwinter, at least it sounds that way back in the UK. Here there was an early shower - with cracking rainbow - and then the sun came out, the sky was a deepest blue and the wind out of the north, cooler but more settled weather was the order of the day. And best of all forecast is good once again.
We popped out to a newish Sector to the left of Sea Breeze and I did five route, most of which were excellent. A newly developed problem is, that with the damp warm weather, all the deeper pockets now contain herb gardens of various make-ups. There is usually plenty of room for your fingers, but the footwork requires a bit of care in case you get low-friction slick mashed cabbage on your high-friction soles. The shot to the left illustrates this, it is like looking up a fresh green meadow. Better than battling verglas mind!

How's that Ark Coming On?

It was a noisy old night with thunder, lightening, hail, gales and heavy rain. Luckily we didn't know what was going on outside, turns out it was the worst storm to hit the island for 20+ years.


A quick walk round the neighbourhood revealed the extent of the damage, the ground floor of Babis's was filled with mud, the amount to debris on the road (or what was left of it) was astounding, and several poor souls were sweeping out their ground floors which had been completely overwhelmed. There was also scooter buried in the rubble and a car in the sea - I'm glad we are on the top floor!

A Ton Eighty

The weather has turned a bit mixed - showery days with highs of 16C interspersed with warmer dry days, maybe the winter pattern has established itself. A finger injury continues to niggle, though I have still manage to nudge the route tally for the trip up to "Onehunnerdanneighty" so that's not too bad.
We went out for meal with Aris Theodoropoulos, the author of the Kalymnos climbing guide, and his American wife - (there is still the odd restaurant open in Masouri), and did what climbers do the world over; talked about climbing, grades, stars and of course guidebooks for most of the evening!
Next day a walk up into the hills south of the airport offered great views into the centre of the island and wider vistas southwards were Rhodes and Karpathos, the latter over 90 miles away.

December Days

It has been little unsettled for a couple of days, just as forecast, and that has given me a bit of time to crack on nicely with the French guidebook. It looks like we will need to revisit the area sometime in the New Year, but in the mean time we are enjoying island life.
Yesterday was hot so we headed for Dolphin Bay where I did half-a-dozen routes I hadn't done before. We were shocked to see another team (three teams actually) there, but in the event they didn't get in the way - strange how quickly we have got used to having the place to ourselves. Then it was back to the terrace for another glorious sunset as towering clouds sailed by.