Kalymnos - Winding Down

Kastri Castle with Olive Press

Homeward to Telendos

 Our six weeks on Kalymnos are almost up and it is time to think about moving on as the summer season is bearing down on us. The first few weeks here were quite unsettled but we got plenty done and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the place.
For the past two week we have had Colin and Andy here - a very pleasant and mellow time was had by all. We visited a good variety of crags - always chosen by seeing which venues had the least number of scooter parked there! The weather for the whole of their stay was superb, warm and sunny, often with a cooling breeze, but never too hot and no rain. I ticked my 100th route of the trip just after they left - that includes around 35 I had never done before - they get harder to find as time goes by.

Andy hanging around

Tomorrow we head to Athens and the Pelopenes area for somewhere completely different - the climbing looks pretty good so watch this space for a report. After that it is onwards back to the Ariège for a short break then  to Corsica. We were very impressed with the place last autumn and this time will have Colin in tow which should result in more routes, harder routes and hopefully some multipitch fun.

Can't wait!

Kaly Dreaming

Arginonta - waiting for the season to begin

Almost three weeks back on 'the island' and life has been very pleasant, despite some fairly unsettled weather which is unusual for this place. We have managed to climb every other day or thereabouts and done almost 50 routes: a good start to get back into the climbing groove and grow some thicker skin on my finger-ends.
Andy Nicholson and Colin are arriving next weekend so presumably we will have a couple of weeks of galloping around like maniacs getting plenty of routes done and hopefully get to visit a few of the newer cliffs.

Classic Kalymnos sunset

It seems quieter here than any other year - there are quite a few climbers about but there have been a lot less low-cost flights from northern Europe flying into Kos so that has reduced the options for getting here easily.

After the guys have gone home we are headed to the Peleponees - the big peninsula to the west of Athens - we have heard good things about it and always like to visit new places - and after that maybe back to Corsica because we like to visit old place too!