Secret Garden

We have been reading about a new crag called "Secret Garden" near Palionisos for the better part of a year.  The pictures looked fantastic, so naturally it was at the very top of our list of crags to visit (actually it even played a part in our deciding to stay in Emborios this year).  You park on the dirt shoulder, hike up a col, then follow a trail that follows the contour of the hills Eastwards.  Along the way, there is not much that looks like it could be climbable, which I mentioned to Chloe a few times!  After the last bluff, however, a huge crag opens up below you.




 It is stunning and perfectly oriented for the summer because it is out of the sun by the morning.  Even better: it is bristling with interesting rock features like tufas!

After warming up on the 6a+ to the left, we did the super-fantastic Frapogalo.

Next, the equally classic Ricounet (which had a bat staring at me out of a key hold), Melodrama and then Pomponpidoux.  The last one was pretty pumpy, but I fought through the pump to get the flash (eventually).  We also spoke to Aris and met his wife Katie, which was cool, and I flew the Phantom around the crag.  I took a nice picture of a Norwegian kid on Frapogalo, which might end up in the next guide book!  After driving up the new and excellent road back towards Emborios, on our not new and not-excellent scooter, it was lunch and a swim at Linaria was next on the menu



Dinner was at Harry's again.  We have become addicted to the perfectly fried eggplant slices and chickpea cakes.  Chloe had a wonderfully fresh fish that had been wrapped with tomatoes and foil and baked in the oven.