Leonidio

Donna has undertaken a major remodel of her house. This summer she left her puppy Oscar and me in Ridgway and flew back to Berkeley several times. There were countless small decisions to make and, though I would not call Donna controlling, she has strong opinions and is only satisfied when things are just right. By necessity, decisions were made in her absence. Some choices were suboptimal. As the remodel progressed her stress increased. Trips got longer and the time between them got shorter. Picking colors, which interacted with other colors in different ways depending on the light, could not be done from paint chips in Ridgway. She needed to be there. Donna decided to take Oscar and drive back to Berkeley for the fall. This gave me a big chunk of time to go climbing. Overhanging limestone called. I love climbing in Kalymnos but wanted something new. Hence, I am now in Leonidia, Greece.

Travel sucks. A middle seat on a midnight flight, with no sleep, put me in Newark in the morning with a ten hour layover. The flight agent in San Francisco told me that I needed to pick up my bag in Newark, manually transfer it to the international terminal, and that I couldn’t check it in until four hours before the flight. After an hour of confusion in Newark, it turned out that they did check my back all the way to Athens. Good news, instead of staying in the airport, I found the train into New York City, made my way onto the subway to the lower east side, and went to Katz’s delicatessen for the best pastrami sandwich I’ve had in years. I walked back to Penn Station, fought to stay awake on the train back to Newark, and missed my stop anyway. No problem, there are lots of trains in both directions that time of day. The only way to prevent falling asleep and miss my flight was to walk the terminal until boarding. Another middle seat for a nine hour flight. I felt bad for the person on the aisle since I had to pee every couple of hours. 

Lack of adequate sleep just added to my befuddlement. I don’t read Greek. Everything was confusing, from getting a phone card to meeting the rental car person. We searched for each other for half an hour, both of us within 50 feet of airport exit door #5. Once I was driving it was better, but what do those traffic signs mean? What’s the speed limit? These roads are awfully narrow; will this car really fit between those buildings? Fuck, I hate driving in foreign countries.

An hour of freeway out of Athens gave way to an hour of narrow two lane roads through olive, orange, and carob orchards. A double Greek coffee jolted me awake. The final hour was along a curvy coastal road, like highway 1 in California, except there’s land across the water. The Aegean looked clear and blue and perfect.

Leonidio is a small town with winding streets and red tile roofs. It sits in a valley below orange and gray limestone walls. As you enter from the sea, the first couple of kilometers are devoted to agriculture. There are orchards, farms, and greenhouses. It’s a real place. Of course there is a tourist industry because it’s Greece, but the tourists are mostly from Athens and come mostly during the summer. Few people speak English. Climbing only started here in 2017. There are no fancy restaurants, no tacos, or pad thai, just rustic local Greek cuisine. So far the food has been excellent. Eggplant is the local specialty. I have had moussaka, goat cooked with eggplant in tomato sauce, and local liqueur made with eggplant.

The beginning of a solo climbing trip in a new area is often hard. Climbers tend to be open and friendly, but not always. It has been a challenge to find partners. Plus, while my summer of scrambling mountain ridges put me in excellent aerobic shape, my fingers and core are weak, not at all suited to the overhanging sport climbing I came for. My first few days climbing have been like the start of almost any climbing season, mostly pain and terror not to mention the humiliation of not being able to climb at anywhere near the standard I expect.

The first few days of travel are always the same for me: jet lag, exhaustion, loneliness, disorientation, and a bit of depression. Newness has no luster, and I hate having to figure everything out. I feel like I have been gone a long time and want to go home. I also know this all changes. It already has. Yesterday was a good day of climbing with some success and some try-hard with failure. This morning I could finally appreciate how beautiful it is. I love breakfast here. Today I had yogurt with apple, nectarine, walnuts and local honey, fried eggs, tomatoes, peppers, feta, olives, olive spread on bread, salami, orange cake, fresh squeezed orange juice, and a double espresso. It’s a rest day. I will hike along the coast and explore a few beaches. In a month when it’s time to leave, most likely I will feel like I just got here and not want to go.