Greece Part 1: Kalymnos

Jack, Ellen, and Dana at a ruin guarding a climbing area above Emporios.

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The hills surrounding Emporios are infested with roosters. Jet lagged after a 30-hour travel day from Denver to Greece and the 9-hour time difference, I lay awake at 2 a.m., listening to them carry on. Across the harbor, a lone rooster crowed, far away and unobtrusive. Soon though, the rest joined in--all of them--including one just outside my window. After a few minutes, having established their territories, impressed their hens, or whatever the hell else they were trying to accomplish, they quieted down, only to crank it up again an hour or so later. As kids, we were taught that roosters crow at sunrise, but that's bullshit, at least in Emporios. 

A week passed quickly and jet lag was replaced by climbing fatigue, sleep came more easily, and crowing roosters became background noise, mingling with goat bells and the occasional car or truck passing on the road below. 

Emporios, where our friends Jack and Dana had rented a lovely stone cottage that they invited us to share, sits at the north end of the paved road traversing the island of Kalymnos from its largest town, Pothia, at its southern end. Along the way it passes through the climbing hub of Masouri, lined with restaurants and gear stores. Above the road, miles of limestone cliffs rise from the hillsides, drawing climbers from all over the world to thousands of bolted sport routes. Once known for sponge diving, Kalymnos and its economy were transformed in the last three decades by climbers renting rooms, eating at restaurants, drinking in bars, leasing scooters, and buying gear as the sponge economy waned and the larger Greek economy crashed and then recovered.

 

Kalymnos is one of many Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, itself closer to Turkey than Athens. Occupied for at least 6,000 years, the island is dotted with castles guarding high limestone outcrops and other defensive stone structures in the mouths of caves where the strongest climbers float up overhanging routes draped with tufas and dripping with stalactites. Themis, a taxi driver who drove us from the ferry terminal to Emporios when we arrived, told us (with an Australian accent—like many Kalymnians, she had lived overseas) that in the 7^th Century, pirate raids were common, and women and children scrambled to the castles to escape the plundering. For us, the castles, along with blue and white Christian shrines and seaside hikes, were places to explore on climbing rest days, which were few since we were only on Kalymnos for two weeks.

 

It's been a long time since I’ve been on a climbing trip. Though Ellen and I still climb, it’s usually a day or two here or a few days there, so it was fun to climb ourselves to exhaustion and then sit on our patio eating bread and cheese and sipping Mythos beer. Although Kalymnos rock draws top climbers, one source I found suggested that 90% of the visitors are 40-50 years old and climb mostly routes graded 5a – 6b (5.8 – 5.10 more or less). We’re even older (!!) and that grade range suited us just fine. I’ll spare you the climbing butt shots, so below are a sample of images mostly from rest days on the island. 

 

I've also included a little logistical info after the photos, though the climbing guide and many web sources have it more than covered. 

 

After Kalymnos, Ellen and I spent a week on the mainland in Athens and Nafplio being tourists (and climbing for a day at another popular destination called Leonidio). I’ll post about that part of the trip separately.

Dragging our tired selves to the ferry after spending a short night on Kos trying to recover from a 30-hour travel "day."

Our patio above Emporios at the Stone Calliope. 

Mythos, our default lager while on Kalymnos. And you thought they were just climbing shoes.

Sponges in Emporios. There are still lots for sale on Kalymnos, but as an economic driver, sponge diving has given way to tourism.

Dana (left) and Ellen contemplating the menu in Emporios and wondering, "How many do they have, anyway? Eight?"

A cove on the Aegean Sea during a hike along the coast from Kantouni Beach to a church.

The small church at the end of a rest day hike from Kantouni Beach along the Aegean coast.

A light at the church. What could go wrong?

Cyan and white are the colors of the Greek flag and these same colors were mandated for buildings in 1967 by a military government that felt that they supported their political agenda. They have become the iconic colors of Greece.

I have to include one climbing shot. Jack boldly venturing into 5.11 at Sector Arhi, stemming on huge tufas.

And one of Ellen at the base of a crag meditating on the climbing guidebook.

Chairs in Emporios.

Ellen chatting with one of the many cats in Greece, this one in Emporios. They are in every restaurant, hoping for a tidbit, and though feral seem to be mostly well cared for by people and restaurants. There's an active program on the island to neuter cats to slow their population growth.

Goats amongst the ruins of a castle. Many houses on Kalymnos have outdoor goat ovens, but this doesn't seem to concern the goats too much. They wander over the hillsides, many with bells, and word is that at some of the popular crags they will eat their way into your climbing packs.

The Chora Castle also known as Pera Kastro which commands a limestone knob above Pothia. 

Poppies and castle walls at the Chora Castle.

There are 9 churches within the walls of the Chora Castle, each dedicated to a different saint and most built in the 15th to 16th centuries.

The churches everywhere in Greece are full of religious art.

On a more hedonistic note, the sausages were pretty damn good.

As were the tuna. This one had just been caught for the restaurant down the hill from our house in Emporios on the day we left, sad that we couldn't order any of it.

Emporios Inlet as viewed from our patio. It’s hard to see the roosters, but there are a lot of them out there. 

Ellen and Jack on the ferry headed back to Kos, with Pothia receding. 

Logistical Miscellanea

Getting there: Most people fly to Athens and then from Athens to the island of Kos (pronounced with long-o) that is just south of Kalymnos. The Kos airport is close to the port town of Mastichari (taxi ride) where you can catch a short (45-minute) ferry to Pothia on Kalymnos. We spent the night on Kos before the ferry to get some rest after the long flights. You can buy ferry tickets at the harbor (no need to buy in advance) for about 10 euros.

 

Kalymnos taxi: We took a taxi from Pothia to our rented cottage in Emporios (35 euros). Most climbers stay in Masouri which is closer. Our taxi driver (Themis) was great – you can text her at +30 694 9854148 if you need a ride. 

 

Kalymnos accommodation: We stayed at a cozy little stone house for 4 people in Emporios called the Stone Calliope (contact Maria at +30 697 1790881) Emporios is quiet and has some advantages over Masouri in terms of proximity to the northern climbing areas, but it lacks the amenities that most climbers enjoy in Masouri and isn’t very social if that’s important to you. Emporios has restaurants, a small store, and scooter/car rental (very informal – no international license required, unlike in Masouri), but no gasoline and limited food choices. There are lots of places to stay in Masouri and all up and down the island which can be found online. Masouri also has many scooter rentals and you can walk from there to some of the big crags.

 

Transportation: Most climbers rent scooters and some rent small cars. Our taxi driver suggested that it’s better to rent at least a 125 cc scooter, which we did in Emporios (15 euros/day) with no need for a motorcycle license, but we were told by friends that in Masouri you can’t rent more than a 50 cc scooter unless you have the motorcycle license on your international driver’s license. It was very nice to have the more powerful scooters for climbing some of the hills, and they are less obnoxiously noisy than the little 50 cc 2-stroke engines. The closest gas stations are south of Masouri in Elies, so that’s an issue if you are based in Emporios but not a huge deal.

 

Food: There are LOTS of restaurants and taverns all over the place. The best meal I had (seared tuna) was in an upscale place in Masouri called Prego, but we had very good inexpensive food at Street Food (also in Masouri) and plenty of good meals at many other restaurants. The restaurants close to where we stayed in Emporios were good and had fresh fish. The biggest supermarket is in Elies (just south of Masouri) and is called the AB Market. There are lots of mini-marts in Masouri that sell groceries, beer, and liquor. We never figured out how to make good coffee at “home”, but restaurant cappuccinos did the trick. 

Climbing Guidebook: We used the 2019 guidebook which describes 3400 routes. There is a new edition coming out this year (2023) but it wasn't available when we were there. The guidebook is excellent.