What day is it?

So it's been a few days since anyone has posted...so here's the 411.

The climbing has been UNBELIEVABLE (if you haven't seen the pictures on Facebook)!  The routes run the gambit from beautiful tufas and stalactites in over hanging caves to delicate face & slab climbing for 100+ feet.  One day we are kicking ass on hard routes and the next we are getting our ass HANDED to us on something that should be "easy" for us.  We are all SO sore and exhausted, not only because we are climbing hard, but also just from hiking to the different crags day after day.  Our BUTTS are getting a HELL of a work out :)

Anyway, we have settled in to our little routine.  After our morning coffee and a little breakfast, we make ourselves a lunch to take with us and then head to the little cafe for our daily cappuccino, where we sit and peruse the guide book to decide which crag to hit.  We slowly drag our sore bodies to the climbing area that we have picked for the day and start climbing.  As soon as our hands and feet hit the rock, we forget all about pain.  After spending hours sampling the routes on that crag, and sometimes hanging around some German's, we watch the sunset as we hike down.  Soon we are back at the little "super market" with the nicest store manager ever.  We get some beers, produce, gummy bears, and whatever else strikes our fancy (since we are starving by this time), make it home and begin the showering, dinner making, facebooking, & movie watching before we pass out.  Just for it all to begin again tomorrow.

The weather is fickle here, guessing it's just the time of year, but it seems to be either sunny and WINDY (which is cold) or cloudy & rainy.  We check the weather the night before and by the morning the weather report has changed...keeps us on our toes for sure.

On our last rest day (before today), we made it to Pothia by way of a nice Kalymnian civil engineer who told us about some sponge diving history.  The "bus" system is a conundrum and we have only managed to catch it once (by shear luck).  We have been lucky enough to rely on the kindness of the locals to pick us up, and they have been very informative.  We get tips on where to buy sponges, where to have a nice lunch, and some of the sites to see.  We rented 2 scooters (note that Ryan wanted to get a car...this is important later on in the story) and began our scooter tour of Pothia.  We stop at a "big" super market before we head for home.  As we hit the switchbacks Jesse and Ryan pass Amber & me on the scooters and then WRECK at the next corner right in front of us.  The beers that Jesse had in his backpack EXPLODE as the skid across the pavement (I conveniently offered to pack Ryan's in my bag).  So the next day it's pouring rain outside and it's windy as hell and we have scooters for our trip to Sakati Cave (the farthest crag).  Ryan gets to gloat about wanting to get a car while Amber and Jesse go back to Pothia (after one scooter gets a flat tire) to exchange both.  Ryan and I sit at a little cafe and drink cappuccinos sheltered from the rain (and hail apparently) while we wait.  We have had the car for several days now (a lovely sky blue 4-door PANDA), and it has been wonderful to be able to reach some of the far off crags so easily.  We had another rest day today and will be back to it tomorrow, hopefully a little rested up and ready to go.

It suddenly seems like the "end" of this is closing in so fast.  It's hard to keep track of what day it even is.  When we were in Pothia today we purchased our ferry tickets back to Athens and it all becomes clear how very little time we have left and how quickly it will go by.  I will be happy to be home, don't get me wrong, but it will be bittersweet to leave this little adventure that we have all become so accustomed to.  And we have actually managed to get along really well together, even with all 4 of us sharing a 20x20 room with a single bath.

Stressful rest days?

Well after 4 days of hitting it hard, our bodies were starting to call it quits. If we are gonna last long climbing on this athletic stone, rest days are a must. We knew it was all coming, but waiting for a weather excuse was helpful to push us into not climbing. Well waking up to the house almost blowing off the hill was a good way to justify pulling the blankets over our heads for a bit longer this morning.

We were all running out of money, and the mysterious ATM on this side of the island has been hiding from us. Also there are no banks on our little quiet side of the island. So a trip to the east side main port city of Pothia was a must on the first day of rest. After some more delicious baked goods from our host, we limped our sore bodies down to the bus station to hitch a ride to Pothia. We had walked past bus stations every day since being here, but I had never seen a single bus. Ok, trust the system and the sign with the picture of the bus... or not. After waiting around for a good amount of time we got picked up by a nice local who swore off the shitty bus system, and offered to take us there himself. That is the second time in two days that we have gotten a ride without even sticking our thumbs out. Last night, after a long day of climbing pretty far down from our house, a pickup truck just stopped and we all jumped in the back for a free ride home! Again, the hospitality of the people here is amazing. Trusting the goodness in people is more alive here then back home. Anyway, back to our ride with the french man. He tells us about the island after WWII and how there were only 4 taxis to get around. How quiet it all was.

Well one heck of an intro to Pothia. We got dropped right by the bank so we could exchange money. As soon as we stepped out of the car it was a bustling port city. Motorbikes, horns, and tons of people. Instantly my heart rate was up. Was this really on the same island where we sip coffee and stare out into the ocean? We were all on the same page. Get our money and get back to our side of the island. I was gone for an hour and already missing my quiet little apartment. My view of the ocean that I don't even have to share! The one up side was the fresher produce that we saw. Ok, get some money, buy some good produce, get on the bus home. We ended up getting 4 giant bags of produce for a fraction of what it would all cost in the states, and we were all pretty stoked about that. We find the bus stop and start the wait. Still to this point I had not even seen a bus, but surely they exist. We sit and people watch, checking out all the crazy euro cars. Then a bus! Wow, after an hour it really exists. I walk on and say we are going to Masouri "Next bus..." Shit. Ok, we sit for another hour... And this crazy packed city is starting to get to me. I love quiet little towns. I already had gotten into such a peaceful groove of just being the only people on our side of the island. We are all getting impatient at this point and once Ryan started to get hassled by the town drunk, it was time to hail a cab. We snag the first one that comes our way and finally head back home. It ends up being about 6's for the 4 of us to be in a cab. Lesson learned on that one. Now some laundry, some good food, and maybe a movie in bed to top off the rest day. Geeze, all to get some money from the bank. The weather is still windy as all get out, but it looks like its gonna let up for tomorrow. Hopefully my body gets that memo to and we can be back to pulling down strong tomorrow.

groundhog day

I'm laying in my tiny bed, in my sweaty pants, so I'm going to say that Sunday is officially over... Today was our 4th day here in Kalymnos, and a girl like me could get used to living like this. As Jesse and Cass have confirmed, George is the most hospitable "landlord". We come home from the crag every day exhausted, (life is so hard) to a clean flat, made beds, and fresh linens. And 2 out of the 4 days we've been at Melina's apartments, George's wife has baked us home-made cake!! What a couple of sweet hearts!
I labeled this post "groundhog day" because we get up in the same fashion every morning and have fallen into a pretty good routine...
Typically we all start tossing and turning until Ryan gets up and makes the coffee :) Then we all sit up in our Charlie and the chocolate factory-esque bed, patiently awaiting our morning fix. We wait sitting snuggly in our respective bed, not wanting to touch the frigid marble floor with our now not-so-pampered piggs... While the machine drips the warm life fluid, we stumble, and tip-toe around bags and ropes, shoes, and chairs, to the one small bathroom we 4 have to share.
We all kinda mull around, sipping from unfamiliar mugs, gathering things that we may need for the entire day. We pack puffys, shoes, chalk, ropes, quick-draws, snacks, lunch, gloves, scarves...as the list goes on, the bags get heavier and heavier...being pretty meticulous about this process just so we don't have to break the seal prematurely and have to repack on the fly...
We and our bags squeeze through the unthinkably skinny doors of our apartment, and head down the stairs and toward the crag that awaits :) We stroll through town, still not saying much, but less temperamental than and hour or so ago.  I still can't believe how simple the life is on this island. The most picturesque white and blue and peach buildings. Shutters, functional, not just for looks, on all the windows. Beautifully ornate iron rails around the homes and balconies, it's absolutely breathtaking. Meandering down the middle of the road in this tiny town can be quite dangerous, but there are no sidewalks, so you have to be on your toes. Tiny cars and scooters come flying around the tight corners, and I mean Flying... at the end of town we've found a tiny coffee/gilato shop that is our last caffein stop before the gnarly uphill chalice slope to our heaven :)
We spend our days laughing, and joking, and sometimes we even rock climb :) OH MY GOD the rock climbing!!
This style of climbing is so damn RAD!! Climbing on stalactites is exhausting. The moves are so powerful and unrelenting it's insane! So overhung, long and stout (yes I'm still talking about the rock climbing). Between the approaches and the full climbing days, we're gonna go home chiseled and ready to eff up our desert crags :)       

ATHENS, KALYMNOS...and DOGS & CATS too!

Ok....so Kalymnos is amazing, but first things first....ATHENS.

Athens was interesting & awesome.  Too big a place for my taste, but an amazing experience either way.  So gritty, raw and busy at every turn.  We stayed in the Athens International Youth Hostel for 4 nights.  The people there were very nice.  I've never stayed in a hostel before, so that was crazy.  We stayed in a "family room" with 2 bunk beds & a small private bathroom rather than using the public baths (talk about sharing your personal space).  Try fitting 4 people with A LOT of luggage into a single room the size of my bedroom at home...oh boy.  Also an interesting thing, there is an overwhelming number of stray dogs lying around the city.  No one seems to mind, but they are mangy and yet somehow seem to be fed well enough.  You see them lying on sidewalks or in parks, just taking a nap in the middle of everything.

Once again, finding a "large" cup of coffee by American standards (flashback to Puerto Rico) is impossible and not only that, but nothing seems to open at any decent hour in the morning.  We pass several little cafes that are still closed as we sleepily wander the streets between our hostel & the metro station.  When we finally get a fraction of our necessary daily caffeine intake, we by our metro tickets and make our way to the beautiful Acropolis.  It was absolutely awe inspiring to see the Parthenon in real life (kind wish there hadn't been scaffolding everywhere).  I love those moments when you are standing if front of something that you've learned about in school, seen in pictures & read about in books.  I realize that we are all just so small and insignificant in this big world. We stay in our little bubble of existence at home and very rarely do we get to feel that wonderful smallness. After miles of walking & about 200 photos (times 3 of us) later, we finally break for lunch and step outside the Acropolis grounds.  We order Greek salads all around at a little cafe on a busy street (and by the way, there is no lettuce in a real Greek salad).  Ryan & Jesse try a cup of Greek coffee and we take in the moment...and the second hand smoke.  After our lunch we decide to wander up the street and find ourselves winding through small streets with shops, small vendors & street performers galore.  A few hours later we decide it's time to get back to our tour of the Acropolis.  It's unreal how quiet it is when we step through the gates, we hit a few more sites before we are in desperate need of more caffeine, or else our beds (had our beds been the closer option it probably would have happened).  We sit at a little cafe & people watch for an hour or so while we sip down our coffees.  We finish our tour and make it back to the hostel without any trouble, find some dinner and hit the hay.

So after lying in bed...awake...for a couple of hours (damn jet lag), Ryan, Amber, & I finally decide to get the hell out of bed at 4 AM and see what we can find.  We wander aimlessly through the dirty, rainy streets near our hostel with our cameras in hand (as you can see by Amber's previous post).  As you can imagine, the second day was pretty rough.  With little on our agenda aside from the Archeological Museum, which we hit first thing, it was hard to keep ourselves from wanting to pass out on the nearest semi-comfortable spot we could find.  Amber did really well, but Ryan and I were pretty out of it....nodding off during little movies at the Acropolis Museum.  After getting back pretty early, and after a quick nap, Jesse planned out our activities & sites for the third and final day in Athens.

We visit an area called Plaka which is the old Turkish neighborhood in Athens, then we head to the National Gardens and Parliament for the changing of the guards and some quality time with the pigeons.  After that we begin our hike to the second highest point in Athens for some panoramic city views.  We head back to our hostel to relax a bit before we get back on the metro and back to Plaka for a nice dinner out on the town.  We sit outside on the steps of a small restaurant with the lights of the Acropolis in the background and drink wine and eat amazing food served by the friendliest old man and owner of the place.  We have an amazing time laughing and talking about everything.  It is an absolutely perfect evening to top off our Athens adventure!

The next day we catch our 10 hour ferry (aka cruise ship) and off we go.  I managed with plenty of motion sickness drugs, but Amber got a little too sick & fell asleep with a bread roll in her hand. Around 5AM we finally arrive in Kalymnos and George, our landlord for the next month, is there to pick us up and take us to our home away from home.  Upon arriving at our little apartment, George shows us around.  He is the nicest little old Greek guy ever.  He's so happy to see us & help us with anything we need.  We are his first guests of the season and we feel like the red carpet has been laid out in front of us.  We settle in quickly & get some sleep.  When we wake up around noon, George has made us the most delicious chocolate cake.  It's a beautiful day, sunny and warm so of course we decide to go climb for a quick afternoon session.  From the top of the mountain we can see the beautiful views of small hillside villas, the Mediterranean Sea, and the islands that are nearby.  It is truly UNBELIEVABLE that we are here.  As we walk the streets to & from the crag I am overwhelmed by the simple beauty of it all.  Small homes, villas & shops that cater to the climbing community.  Many places haven't even opened their doors for the season yet, so it is all very quiet, except for the cats that are EVERYWHERE.  If you stand still for long enough the cats will begin to surround you.  It would be awesome to own a little place here...I can see myself being happy in a place like this for sure.  So hard to describe it all.....Picturesque and Vibrant...just Perfect!!

The next few days have been rainy, cloudy, windy, and kinda cold, but we are still able to climb.  We have become regulars at the little "super market" that we pass as we walk home from the crag and maybe even the little coffee / gelato shop we hit in the mornings.  Aside from the lack of hot water, since the water heater is run off solar & we haven't had sun since the first day, it is wonderful.  It's a small space, but we all work well together, so it's been a great time joking with each other and having fun.

The climbing is amazing!  Very different than anything I am used to.  I tried leading a overhanging tufa jug fest in the Grand Grotto, I didn't make it, but managed to scare the piss out of myself taking a couple pretty big whippers. I'll get the hang of it soon.  Ryan, Jesse, and Amber are kicking ass like usual.  Sending things left & right.  Anyway, just enjoying the shit out of all that's happening.

A lot has happened

Oh hello there all,

Plaka Flea Market

So there has been so much that has happened since the last time I have posted. Too much to remember, but as Cass said, we have been without wifi since we left Athens and we just got ours hooked up here. So we had a couple more days in Athens, a long travel to Kalymnos, and our first handful of days climbing in this amazing place. So here goes trying to get it all down in one post...

So the last little bit that we had in Athens was great. We started to get the hang of getting around in such a massive city using their subway system. We went into the old part of town that sat just below all the ruins. Tiny buildings and narrow streets that showed so much character.  We listened to street performers and walked through the national gardens into the main city square. One of the things that was a must do apparently is to see the "changing of the guards" outside of the parliament building in downtown athens. These guards are on a rotation of 1 hour to just stand in front of the building with a very traditional dress uniform on. On the hour, the new guards walk in, and they do a sort of march with each other to switch out. Its been done for so long that the marble where they walk is worn down and you can see exactly where their feet go when they march. Its crazy to think how long this tradition has been done and what it means for the country. It must mean a lot since we had random people coming up to us and asking if we had made it over to see it all happen. We also hiked up to a high point to get a panoramic view of the city. It is crazy to see how far the city is spread through the valley it is built into. So much sprawl. This city had a lot to offer, but just like cities back home, I was getting stir crazy for the simple life, and to get back on the rock. To top off our adventure in Athens we went back to the Plaka neighborhood where those small streets and patios were to have a nice dinner before our long journey to the island. We sat down outside and had a huge mutiple course meal that started with a house red wine in an unmarked old wine bottle (on the house I might add). We at so many different things... and the favorite was by far the Baclava for dessert. It was nice to relax around a big meal with friends and enjoy some wine. It felt like that was really when it started to settle in that we were on our way and it was time to slow down and enjoy the things around us.

Campus board in downtown plaka

Then it was off the the real purpose for this trip... rock climbing! But first a very long boat ride. I was anticipating the worst knowing what some of the ferry rides were like that I took in Asia. I was prepared to sit on a bench outside of the boat for 12hrs until we got there. And mainly to just suck it up. I was surprised when we walked on to the port and saw all the massive ships. I guess it makes sense though when you think about how much of this country is islands and that there is so much traffic to them. Well there was no metal bench that I had to sit on for the ride. We sat in a lounge area in a ship that could be a small cruise ship. We drank coffee and ate full course meals. Of course I had more greek salad. We took off from port around 3pm adter boarding around 130. The ship was great to be on until it started to hit the late hours of the night, or should I say the early hours of the morning. I tried to fit myself oddly into chairs and benches to close my eyes for little bits of time, until we finally heard that we were getting into our port of Pothia (Kalymnos) at 5am!! Yikes that was one heck of a boat ride. Amber got sea sick at dinner, we were all over tired and ruined the days we spent getting rid of jet lag in Athens. Ryan had been in contact with the owner of the apartments what we were gonna stay at and he was told that we were gonna have a ride waiting for us at port to get us to the other side of the island were the apartments were. I had my doubts that the ride was still there considering we were supposed to port 2 hours earlier. Not to mention, how the hell were we gonna know who he or she was?! But I guess its a good thing we do not look greek at all because of host, George, found us in no time at all. And the best part... he was stoked to see us and welcome us to the island as if it were the middle of the day and it was not out of his way to wake up in the middle of the night and come get us. We all packed our bodies and tons of stuff into his little car and squeezed the doors shut. As we sped through the narrow and winding streets of the island, George started going on about how happy he was that we were here. Also bombarding us with so much information in such a motivated way. I thought to myself, I have never been that happy at 5am in my life. But for George, we stood for something... the beginning of the climbing season.

Small Elevator in Hostel

After crashing out in our beds we awoke at noon after a well needed snooze to guess what, a still super happy George. He greeted us with cake that his wife had baked for us to welcome us to the island and to their apartments. We have the run of the place. Being the only house guests we have so much attention here it is unusual. I have never been waited on in such a way. Always asking us to please make ourselves at home. And everyday when we come back from climbing; our dishes are cleaned, our beds are made, and there is usually some sort of addition to our apartment. We have had cake, and funiture, and our favorite was a coffee maker!! Every time we see George he just keeps telling us to have a good time here and relax. Not to worry about anything around the house because it will get taken care of while we are out playing on the rocks. I think I might be in heaven.

We have been here for 4 days and it feels so great to be here. The island seems to be rubbing its eyes and waking up to the season. Some shops are still closed, while some are so happy to see us walk the streets armed with our gear. Its almost a signal of good fortune since it seems that this little town we live in has one purpose and that is to be for climbers and climbing. This town holds the most incredible people I have ever met. They are so... nice. Like really nice, to the point that I do not even know how to explain it because I had to see it first hand to know it existed. Simple things like when we talk to anyone in town, they always ask how our day of climbing was, did the rain hold off, where did we go. They seem genuinely interested in this crazy thing happening around this town. I love small communities like this one. Where people help each other out, and the options are small but the hearts are big. For example, the past few days when we come back from climbing we stop at this small little market. The gentleman that works the store smiles so big when we walk in. He offers us fresh herbs for free from the island to try on our food. He tells us to wait to buy certain things so he can offer us something more fresh or better. We get caught up listening to him tell us stories and history surrounding what we are eating, where we are living, and the people around us. When was the last time you got that at the super market?! This is the kind of stuff we travel for. For the most part when it comes to the climbing part, we know what is gonna happen. These are some of the moments that really stick out in my mind at the end of the day.

Street Musicians

However!!!... Climbing. Ah, sweet climbing. Even after our long boat ride here, we were still motivated to jump right on the rocks and see what it had to offer. Even as tired as we were lugging up the steep approaches here with little sleep, It still felt so good to center myself back again by tying in and going for it. And that is what it has been since that first half day. We wake up and cook bfast and spend all day at the crag before heading back to town for a walking beer to the apartment where after a meal it is quick to pass out. The routes here and insane. So many features, and so much of it is really really overhanging. giant stalactites and tufas form some of the most wild rock I have ever climbed on. Its really a creative process to be on these routes. There is no ladder climbing here. You are all over the place. Constantly playing the game of where is the rest. So much of this pumpy climbing is taking its toll and I can feel my body being more sore every morning I wake up. But I do not see a rest day in my future soon. Not til I start falling all over 5.10's. And especially not tomorrow. After all it is Ryan's birthday. What a way to celebrate.

pull up competition on the ferry bus

just awesome

Amber sea sick

View of Telendos isand, Kalymnos

Melinda's apartments

Ok I am sure that there will be plently more to come. But I cannot keep my eyes open any longer. After a day of climbing here, you need some good sleep. Take care all

All is well!!!

Well everyone....we made it to Kalymnos.  It was a long journey, but a good one.  We won't have WiFi set up in our room until tomorrow, so we will all be catching you up then.  First few days have been SPECTACULAR!  What a wonderful place!  Everyone has been so nice & helpful...and the climbing....OH THE CLIMBING!!!!  Just you wait.....more to come tomorrow (hopefully)!

Coffee zombies

 We've been in Athens for 2 full days, and our body clocks still haven't figured out where the hell half a day went. in hopes that it'll keep the energy up, our hands are constantly wrapped around some sort of coffee beverage...but we all know how that goes...

 

ryan
cass,
and i 
were wide 
awake by 
3 this 
morning. 
   
in an 
attempt to 
let the baby 
(jesse ) sleep, 
we decided 
to wander the
dreary, cobble streets.
armed only 
with 
our 
trusty 
cameras...