Tag 92-100 - A familiar face

Recently we unexpectedly realized that we have been living in Leonidio for "just" a month. With our fixed spot by the sea, the great selection of rocks and good new friends, a (climbing) routine has long been established. The days go by quickly and at the same time it feels like we've been here forever. Therefore, we are especially happy about the many visitors who will be coming in the next few days and those we have already received. Basti, one of Jan's climbing friends from Stuttgart, honored us with his presence last week.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate the entire time, but we made the best of it. On the climbing days, we revisited some sectors that we had already approved of, such as Theos Cave, La Maison des Chèvres, and Sábaton. Jan and Basti both climbed Jan's project "Mis en place" (8a) on the first wall. The joy was naturally great when they both finally climbed the route. Jan climbed his first 8a on the fourth go and also achieved his big goal for this trip - and even faster and easier than expected. There's still more to come!

For rainy days, H.A.D.A. once again had to step in, even if the potential of this wall, at least for those of us who don't climb confidently in the seventh French grade, has already been exhausted. Jan and Basti were able to tick off "Trufa" (7b) and Basti flashed "Medousa Ext." (7b+) with the help of Jan's willingly shared beta.

Thanks to the rain, Jan and Basti's trip to Maison became a real adventure, because the small creek that you have to cross on the approach had become quite a bit wider overnight. Crossing it with dry feet (and with dry material) turned out to be an unexpectedly big challenge and cost them half an hour. Unfortunately, most of the routes were still wet, which has become more and more of an issue due to the continuing rain lately. The vertical walls may get wet quickly in the rain, but they also dry just as quickly. In the overhanging sinter tours, you can often still climb during the downpour, but they become wet and dripping during longer periods of rain and need a few days of sun to become truly dry again. (For non-climbers, wet holds tend to be harder to hold on to...)

We encountered this problem in the Twin Caves as well. Unfortunately, despite the sunshine, the hard routes in the overhang were mostly wet, which actually got worse during the day. A wet sinter cost Basti the ascent in "Chipotle" (7c), but luckily he was able to get it in the following days. Otherwise, the Twin Caves are rightly among the most popular sectors in Leonidio. Not only are there masses of difficult routes in the overhang, but also an entire wall full of beautiful vertical climbing in the French fifth and sixth grade. Perfect for making a heterogeneous climbing group happy! I had so much fun on the easy routes that I decided to skip projecting on this day and instead climb as many of these beautiful lines as possible. Fantastic rock!

Right at the beginning of Basti's visit, we went to Mars, Leonidio's flagship. When you think of Leonidio, you surely have the impressive jungle of tufas above the rock plateau in mind, which is at least as impressive in reality as it looks in pictures. The routes "Tufatango" (6b+) and "Sinter Synphonie" (6b+) are extremely cool and spectacular to climb. Where else can you find routes in the middle sixth French grade with such fully-grown sinters? If you're not used to the style, the usual grades seem very difficult. Despite the spectacular wall, we don't consider Mars to be the most rewarding sector in Leonidio, even though it's definitely worth a visit!

While Basti and Jan were working on their 8a in Theos Cave, Johanna and I explored a new sector nearby, Theós. This wall quickly fades into the background behind the cave, but it offers really beautiful, rather flat climbing in the middle grades. It is just right for some plaisir climbing on a beautiful summer day. The route "Omorfos Popos" is certainly one of the most beautiful routes in the 6a+ grade that I have climbed so far.

Aside from the rocks, we also had a lot of fun together. Jan finally found a willing chess opponent, Gretchen was able to prove that she can host more than two people, and we were able to visit the sweet cat family at the campsite (with Basti as an excuse). On the rest day, Jan and Basti explored the surroundings of Leonidio on borrowed mopeds, which could go up to 100 km/h. Fortunately, the Greek rental company couldn't do much with our driving licenses, as that was probably not entirely permissible. However, the two insisted on wearing helmets, even though that is not customary here and the locals zoom through the narrow streets unprotected.

All in all, it was a wonderful time and a successful climbing trip for Basti with his second 8a, a 7c, and two 7b+ flashes. We hope you enjoyed it!

Otherwise, apart from dealing with rain, we are also dealing with the usual problems. Gretchen is losing way too much coolant, our charging booster and thus our electrical system are still out of order, and Jan is struggling with a swollen toe for no apparent reason. Therefore, we will take a few quiet, climbing-free days over Christmas and possibly go on a short trip through the Peloponnese.

As much as we enjoy it here in Leonidio, we are slowly starting to yearn to move on and the feeling of waking up somewhere different every morning. We are already scheduled to spend Christmas and New Year's with friends, and we are also looking forward to more visits over New Year's - we are very excited about that. But after that, we will continue to Athens for the last month of our trip. Didn't we just leave yesterday? Let's see where our (currently) last unattached days will take us.

Until then, dirtbag on!