Greece!

The climbing Mecca of Kalymnos was not a let down - as the guidebook states, ´´climb everywhere else first, because once you go to Kalymnos, you will never want to go anywhere else again´´. This little island in the southwest Aegean of the Mediterranean Sea was a bustle of activity with rock climbers from around the world; there were no less than five languages spoken at each crag that we visited. Since the roads were thin and windy, the primary mode of transportation was by scooter. It was so funny to see a scooter with two passengers wearing climbing helmets for protection (the locals could fit up to four people and a dog). However, the helmets were stowed in backpacks during climbing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The rock was like no where that we have ever seen. Giant overhanging caves with tufas large enough to hug. And hugging those tufas we did. It took a couple of days to get used to the unusual climbing techniques: pinching the smooth ribbons, smearing on bulbous stalagmites, heal-hooking tufa snakes and dangling from stalactites. The place is amazing! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The living was relaxing and lovely. Our studio had a balcony that overlooked the Mediterranean Sea that we were able to watch the sunset from every night. The only downfall was that the water out of the tap was salt water. We learned this the hard way after using the SteriPen to disinfect the water. Discovering the Greek Gyro and Frappe more than made up for any short falls. All in all, this portion of the trip was marvelous!