And It Was All Going So Well

We got the Tuesday ferry as Wednesday morning was forecast to be windy. A beach walk, a meal out, taxi ordered and early to bed. No-one told us about the National Strike slated for Wednesday - hey ho! No flights to Athens on Thursday either, or onwards to the UK on Friday - good job a) we are not in a rush b) Sherri had the wit to take out cancellation insurance! A glorious beach walk, and a lack of ferries due to the wind means we probably did the best thing coming over early anyway. A city break in Athens then onwards!

Notes from a (Very) Small Island

Time rolls on, almost 18 weeks now and it is time to start thinking about that 'other' place, always assuming the winds drop and we can escape!

Thoughts on wintering in Kalymnos:
1) It has been a lot warmer and a bit more unsettled than we were expecting; 99 sunny days, 13 cloudy days and 9 wet days pretty much tells all though.
2) The place has been MUCH quieter than we expected, since late November it has been pretty much deserted.
3) Stopping in Myries was a good call, much sunnier than Masouri, and with a supermarket just across the road for getting the daily basics - spot on!
4) The locals are a wonderful bunch and have done a great job keeping us supplied with cakes and weather forecasts.

Would we come again? You bet - the flight is already booked!

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!