Sikati Cave

On our last visit, the guidebook had a picture of a huge cave on the Northeast side of the island, with some text suggesting that it might become the next major area on the island. This was in 2005 and there was actually route development already starting in the cave (called Sikati cave). Videos have been circulating ever since, and Chloe and I had basically been waiting for six years to check it out. A friend of ours had recently been to Kalymnos and had done the somewhat crappy hike out there and told us that it was stunning, and that there was a wonderful and empty beach just below, with perfect sand (a bit of a rarity on Kalymnos). It would be perfect: the kids could play on the beach and Chloe, and I could finally visit the cave to climb. We knew the kids couldn't do the hike, so we asked around at several places, bargained a bit and eventually reserved a boat + lunch for 250E. Not too bad split among all of us, and it would be an adventure! So we showed up this morning at 9:00 at Myrties, met Ionnis at his boat (the Carpe Diem), got all the stuff on board




and we were off!

As we rounded Telendos, Ionnis started up his bitchin sound system and Lionel Richie came wafting over the sounds of the motor and bow spray. Normally I would laugh if someone started playing Lionel, but here in the Aegean on a motorboat bound for a remote beach in perfect weather, it just felt … right. Hard to explain, really.



Soon after, I saw a delicate, tiny bird skimming the waves. It had wispy little wings, almost like … a FISH! I saw a flying fish! So, so cool. Nobody else saw it, unfortunately. Zoe unfortunately got a bit sea sick, but eventually was ok. After rounding the point the beach and cave eventually came into view


After shuttling everything to the beach, installing parasols etc, Chloe, Christine, James and I went up to the cave. James decided he did not want to go down the fixed ropes, so it was soon just the three of us in the cave. We warmed up on a 6 to the left

And then did one more climb to the right: Mort aux Chevres which I did a vue (yes!). It is a spectacular line up huge tufas. Stupendous. The cave was turning out to have been worth the wait. Chloe was climbing strong. This could be her first 5.12… her first of the grade and no better place in the world to do that.




But after only two climbs, we headed back to the beach


Now, we figured most people would consider it pretty cool to be in a deserted Greek beach like this





But there are always people waiting to crap on your parade. Too hot, kids being too kid like etc. So we could only do one more route. It was devastating: Chloe and I were in great shape… the climbing was probably the best place either of us had ever been in our lives (and we have been to a lot of places), but we had to cut it short. Zoe had been bitten by something but was calming down by the time we left. We walked up to the cave again

and got on bar none the best route I have ever been on





Huge tufas, wildly overhanging: the route was Morgan and I almost had the on sight but part of a hold broke. Of course, no time to work the route because of consequences down below, but at least Chloe got on it and was similarly amazed. We quickly got the gear together and got down to the beach were there was even more pleasantness waiting. Nice. So we packed up the Carpe Diem (irony!) and headed back to Myrties

Zeus crag, Archaeological Museum

Zeus crag this morning. The location is pretty beautiful: a fig grove with views of the bay and Telendos

I mostly got shut down here. Expected after yesterday's exertion, I guess, but still frustrating.

Next: lunch in the sauna of Pothia and then off to the archaeological museum of Kalymnos. It is a bit difficult to get to in a car without scraping off paint, but well worth it. It is a remarkable little museum: brand new, beautifully done and with a small but excellent collection including a stunning sculpture of Asklepios. No pictures allowed in the museum, unfortunately. Here is a photo that I took before I knew that though:

There was a small marble statue of a boy with a ball, which I gathered the kids in front of and told was a sculpture of Alex (because of the ball). Zoe subsequently burst into tears because there was no sculpture of her, however. Oops.

They had some reproductions of some amazing maps of Kalymnos upstairs, which I coveted. One from 1697 by Coronelli, and one from 1521 by Piri Reis (in arabic). Both were remarkable. Anyway, the museum is highly recommended.

The signs made it clear that most items in the collection had been plundered and later "donated", and that as a result very little is known about them.

Next, more driving through comically narrow streets, buying of baklava and back to the studio for another ridiculous sunset

Iannis, Therma

Another early morning session today: this time at Iannis. We warmed up on Fence Guest (6b+): good, but sharp. Then on to Zagori (6c), a beautiful a long route which Chloe and I both flashed. Finally, it was the main event (for me): trying to on sight Tufa King Pumped (7b+). Despite not having much time to properly warm up and only being able to get three routes in at a time, Chloe and I have been in probably the best climbing shape we have ever been in. It has been disheartening for both of us over the past five years because we had been stuck more or less at the same level. It's no doubt partially due to a lack of adequate training. This year we did not do any kind of rigorous training, but we did a lot of bouldering, then some gym route climbing and then some routes in Monetier. Somehow it all came together for us and we have been doing really well. I know another part of it is of course due to the soft grades on the island, but even on the same routes as the last trip I feel way stronger. BAck to the climb, which would be a significant milestone for me. I scoped it out well, hopped on, tried to rest on the bottom section, had to reverse moves a few times at the crux, but eventually made it up and over the bulge, hyperventilating, arms pumped to hell, and barely keeping it together mentally. I wedged myself in between tufas, shook out for what seemed like fifteen minutes, then carefully made my way up the final bit. So, so very happy about that one. Probably my proudest climb ever. I know the grade is not that impressive, but it felt great to know that I'm getting stronger. And what a beautiful route: there just aren't routes like that anywhere else that I have climbed. Wonderful. Chloe seconded it and did very well on it. Like I said, she is at her strongest. What a shame that we can't climb more and take advantage.


After climbing, we got back early as promised and we all headed to Therma, near Pothia for swimming. Not my favorite of the beaches, but the food was fine and Alex enjoyed throwing rocks in to the water



I stopped on the way back to the Studio for provisions (pasta, baklava etc). The ladies that worked in the supermarket turned out to be Aussies! Yesterday we had run into some Aussies at the Grande Grotta, and I reported back to Christine about it, who asked where in OZ… and I had to lamely respond "Australia?". Today I was sure to ask where in Australia (Sydney).

Later it was girls night out, so the kids and I made sun prints, I cooked some pesto with the Basil that they grow at the studio, and James and I drank Mythos and Chivas on the porch.

Also, I had to return my beloved scooter.

Pirate Cove!

We all went to the "Pirate's Beach" near Emborios for good food under the cabanas


Looking for pretty rocks with Zoe, and a little kayaking



I was (needlessly) worried about the very steep road out of the cove, but it was no problem at all.

Grande Grotta, Skalia Cave, Emborios

We did another early morning climbing assault this AM. We warmed up on Swiss Baby (6a?), then onto Ivi (7a+? 7b?) which I did first try.


It is such a fabulous route. Steep as hell and with lots of good rests. I find climbs of that steepness to still be quite challenging. I need a little more practice on the so called "3D Kalymnian climbing techniques). Next, onto the first part of Rastapopoulous (6c+), and then I got the on sight of Aegean Sea, 7a+. A crew of Italians had descended upon us, and were mistakenly trying to warm up on Cigarello (7a). It did not go well.


Next, descending like mad to avoid repercussions! There were goats in the way though



Christine, James, Robyn and I went to the Skalia cave, which is pretty cool. Next time I want to bring a mega headlamp though. The iPhone light was surprisingly effective, and there was so much dust down there that James' laser pointer looked great.




Next we went to Emborios, which is a pretty town near the end of the road for beers. It looks like it would be an excellent place for dinner with the kids

Vathi

Today we took the NEW road from Arginonta to Vathi. I should mention the there have been big changes since our last time on the island in 2005: A new road to Palionisos, a new road connecting the center of the island, and oh yeah: an airport! Anyway, the road is quite scenic, if a little bit difficult on a 50cc scooter. Chloe was having similar troubles in the car, but we all made it over the small col and to Vathi without overheating the little lawnmower engines. We had lunch at Poppy's Tavern




And then took the road to Pothia to get back

Where I stopped at the bakery for Baklava

And then back to the studio. We had dinner at the Aegean again, where Zoe helped pick a fish, and then ate the eyeballs



and alex danced

Then, more doughnut balls. Mmmmm

We also had some new neighbors show up: Russian free divers! When not free-diving, they seemed to be showering. Like, continuously and for hours. So much showering in fact that we went past the point where cold water was coming out of all the warm water taps in the building, and to the point where no water at all would come out of the spigot. Nice.

Telendos

After an early morning climbing session at the Grande Grotta and Panorama, where I accidentally "warmed up" on something hard, then did the excellent Piola route "Taz"



and then I did the 7a+ Aeolia extension on sight, which made me happy.



ahh, the Grande Grotta. We cut it short in order to not see the fruits of the threats for tardiness, and walked back down the hill.

Then, ferry to Telendos to Zorbas (!) for lunch, which was excellent, and some swimming and sandcastle building on the nearest Telendos beach (I subsequently found out the that further beaches -- like the on before Paradise beach are a lot nicer). Then, dinner and sunset again





The kids of course LOVED the ferry.

Athens to Kalymnos

After a nice breakfast at the hotel, we were off to Kalymnos. It was a turboprop plane, and we were right next to the prop. I found myself wondering if they armor the fuselage near the props as I looked out at the spinning wheel of death.

Once at the airport, we packed everything and everyone into the Taxi (it was supposed to be TaxiS, but a local made off with Taxi # 2. Nice) and drove to Alkyon

Down the steep driveway


And to our rooms. There was a little confusion on how many rooms had been reserved, but that was soon worked out. After settling in, we walked down to Massouri and came across our buddies Christine, James and Robyn! After a quick snack and unpacking,and scooter rental

it was down to business: Check out the always spectacular sunset

and try out the new (to me) Green label with Christine, James and Robyn. Verdict: excellent!

GENEVA to Athens

After dropping the parents off at the train station, and almost getting trapped on the train to Lyon (which would have put a slight kink in my plans to go to Kalymnos), we drove to Geneva. It turns out that the connection from Geneva to Athens is somewhat more frequent than from Lyon to Athens. I also remembered that Geneva airport, in an attempt to attract French customers, offers discounts on parking, the Swiss autoroute sticker as well as duty free purchases on site. My first surprise of the day was a brand new (to us) autoroute: the A41 extension into Geneva! Exciting, I know. The next big surprise was that the already extremely expensive longterm parking was full! So we had to use the P1. I think most users of the P1 were not bothered by the parking prices, based on the preponderance of Porsches and G wagons in there. We were not very happy about it however. after gathering the very heavy, but just under the weight limit suitcases onto a trolley and herding the kids into the terminal, it was time to get some food. This ended up being 50 euro for a few sandwiches and drinks. This vacation was already getting expensive! Also, it turns out that the 10% duty free discounts work for the GVA airport are sustainable because they charge 40% more than anything is worth. Anyway, we eventually got on the plane


and after a short flight were in Athens, with Stephanie waiting at the terminal. She had a nice suprise for us too: Chloe and I got to spend a night alone! No babies!

Ventoux again, the drive back to Grenoble

This morning chloe and I did last minute runs/rides: I got slightly lost in the foothills of Ventoux before getting on the correct road and riding up to Sault. Chloe also got lost in the woods and apparently was almost trampled by a herd of wild boars. I managed a pretty good time up Ventoux from the Sault (easiest) side: 17kph average, which I was happy about.




After packing up, and loading the cars, we set out for Grenoble on another mega traffic day. Kenji and I chose to go East towards Sisteron, while Chloe and Gail went West towards the autoroute. I had not been on this road before and it takes you through an absolutely stunning Gorge called Gorge de la Meouge. We didn't stop to take photos, but here are someone else's photos. I get the feeling that there is really a lot more to see in the Drome that we have not yet discovered. Have I mentioned that the Drome is probably my favorite place in France? From there it was long lines of traffic back to Grenoble. Happily, most of it was going South, rather than North. Right before Serres, traffic was at a standstill because someone had hit a dog, which was not moving and in a big pool of blood. Not good.

Climbing!

We went to Baume Rousse again, where we warmed up on a much-too-hard 6a in the corner,

then a nice 6a+, then the spooky 6b+ (Rigni, Rignette et Rignoulou)

and then on to the main event: on sighting "Go Up". This was another struggle, but I made it in the end, and without the cheater stones. It felt pretty hard to me though.


Next: back to Montbrun to pick up parents and kids, and then off to Savoillan again. This time , the bakery was open and Kenji got a chance to chat with the lady. The boulangerie has a funny name "Le Soleil Levain", which is a pun on the French words for "Rising" and "starter" (in the baking sense). So, "Rising Sun". It is *kind of* a pun in English, now that I think about it. The extra value comes from the whole Japanese "Rising Sun" thing. Kenji said her accent was from Tokyo. It must have a been a pretty big change, moving to the rural Drome!


Then, a lot of driving to find a place to eat, and back again to Montbrun to relax and have one last meal at Chez Paulette

Brantes, Buis again

I rode a small loop to Ferassieres, then back via Aulan this morning. It felt good to shake the legs out a little. No video camera this time -- just an early-ish ride through the lavender and hayfields!


Next: we all drove to Buis-les-Baronniers via the col de Fontaube (yet another nice looking road that I would like to take my bike on) and had a very sloooooow lunch at a pizzeria in the arcade along the Place du Marché.

By this time, everything was closed, so we headed back to the cars and drove to Brantes -- a beautiful village perched on the hills above the Toulourenc. Zoe and I walked around a little, but it was very un-Kenji friendly (steep cobbled streets) and Alex had fallen asleep in the car, so it was soon time to leave. I had another "I wish I was on my bike" moment



And then we drove to Savoillan, because the Gite owner had mentioned that there was a boulangerie there which was run by a Japanese woman. It was unfortunately closed, so we returned to Montbrun, where it was time for another nice meal at Chez Paulette