Arctic Turn

Whoosh - where did that come from? A northerly wind blew and blew developing a bitter edge, the temperature dropped steadily over several days and last night it was down to 2.7C - the locals are in shock! It was bright so we had a walk up to Yeriakos for a poke around, it was like being on a UK hill in mid-winter. With all the clothes we have with us on we just about stayed warm though my chin went numb!
Tuesday was better though, still windy but a crystal clear biting blue day. The walking into Dolphin Bay was a chilly experience but once there it was near perfect.

Getting Religion

January 21st and it was bit warm for climbing today on Monastery - that is why it is described as a mid-winter venue I guess! Last time we were there was back in October and we were blessed by a rare cloudy day, without that I think we may well have fried.
The past week has been fairly unsettled, though there was only one day when we didn't get anything done. Perhaps the most marked event was a night-time temperature of 6C, a bit of a shocker, though I guess there may be a bigger one awaiting us in the UK!

Wet n' Dry

The unsettled weather arrived as forecast. We went for a walk up the old track from Arginonta to Vathy, an ancient route flanked by some truely astounding old olive trees, I can only guess at their age. A short way from the high point the promised 'shower' arrived and it absolutely hammered down! We made the road and the 1st vehicle to pass (going the wrong way) stopped and asked if we were OK. The 2nd vehicle - going our way, stopped and insisted we got in despite being like a pair of drowned rats! Great people these Kalymnians.
The next day was dry so we visited Black Forest - yet another crag I hadn't been to, amazingly the place was bone dry. That is a tally of seven wet days in 14 weeks.

January Sails

It must be three or four weeks since the last rain, Christmas has come and gone, and with it a few visitors, though a lot less then we expected. Perhaps the most striking thing about Kalymnos has been the mildness of the weather, whist the UK suffers/enjoys the worst/best cold snap for 30 years, and both the Costa Blanca and Cote d'Azure are cool and unsettled we get day after day of mild weather, with lows about 12C and highs about 18C, and for early January that is pretty impressive. Three e-mails arrived in the same day, all from the UK and all saying 'don't come home' - OK, I can take a hint!
The arrival of Adrian's Haute Provence guide has spurred me into action and I have been making steady progress with what has become known as France Volume 2.
The climbing is still great, though I am having to cast around to find stuff to do a bit, hardly surprising after 3 months here!

Happy New Year

2010 rolls around, we are still here and the sun is still shining. I logged my 220th route of the trip yesterday - New Year's Eve, so feel I can take it easy today.
We saw the decade (and Millennium) in at El Chorro and 10 years later are still at it - though this was only the 2nd Christmas in 20-odd years when we had no guests to share the turkey with.
The expected Kalymnos seasonal rush here never really happened, sure there are a few more folks around, maybe 20 or so, but it remains nice and quite - just how we like it!