Siurana

Siurana; we’re parked up beneath an ancient ruined castle, its parapets straddling the small rock outcrop that makes up Siurana village, its complete with Keep, domed roofs and a tunnel underneath to sneak in by. Siurana is famous for its waves of overhanging rock and one of the world’s first 9a, ‘La Rambla’. We came here so psyched after our time in Cuenca and rest up on the beach. But so far Siurana has been nothing but disappointment. We warmed up in the sun on our first day and quickly realised that further climbing in the heat would be impossible, so we chilled till the shade covered the cliffs. We warmed up once more and I pulled onto one of the classic 7a+’s. I have nothing positive to say about the route, the bolts where all over the place, you clipped off barn door potential side pulls when there was an obvious jug below and a few feet afterwards which would have made better position for the bolt. I fought on till the 6^th clip and was then faced with a 4m run out on strenuous ground and lowered off. It put me in such a foul mood I also bailed on the next 7a, also meant to be a classic of the area.

British Van's parked up in Siurana

I promised myself a clear head and positive outlook for the next day. We warmed up on one of the most enjoyable route so far then leapt into Bitec de Biceps a 7b+ on very steep ground. I got through the first crux and then came off above the second clip trying to dig my fingers into a shallow pocket. I gave it a few more goes before lowering down for a rest. Steve pulled on and flashed it, going through some obviously run and sketchy terrain near the top. I realised that if I failed to get it then I risked leaving at least £50 of gear in the route as a present for the next climber, the bolts being too far apart to bolt to bolt it. I had to call it a day. I am now gutted that we left Cuenca, there were so many lines that were perfect for me.

Hampi, Climbing, Temples and Peace

Our Bit of Paradise beside the Paddy Fields

We’re in Hampi, India. The one thing that strikes you about India are the colours, every dresses in bright oranges, pinks, blues and greens. It’s a delight to stroll along the river and watch these colourful sarongs drying in the breeze, columns of pilgrims trekking to the temples seem to shimmer in the sun. We have settle in very quickly, taking in the local temples and ruins on our first morning, then venturing over the river for some bouldering in the afternoon.

The other side is quite a contrast to the religious hustle and bustle of Hampi, here its quite paddy fields, a few guest houses and the boulder fields. The rock here is ancient granite boulders, smoothed by glaciers (if you think how long ago glaciers where in central India it gives you an idea of how old they are), they are marked with tiny sharp crimps and positive flakes to cling to. The landings where very good, although a mat was needed as the boulders perched on the granite plateau and wouldn’t have been too pleasant to hit from high up. The only downside was having to dash back before 6.00 to catch the last ferry over to Hampi.

We should have moved over to the other side of the river sooner, when we finally packed our bags and headed over we swapped our creaky room and shared bathroom for a bungalow, backing onto sparkling paddy fields which lead down the river and even had the luxury of our own bathroom, even thou the shower was still cold. Everything was better over here, less busy, our guesthouse had the best restaurant we had eaten at so far and we didn’t have to dash back for the last ferry.

During the day we could cross back over the river to wander round the vast Royal palaces with their Elephant stables or the Temple complexes with their Bazars and ornate pillars and statues. Then when the day got cooler head into the hills from some bouldering. The potential here for new lines is endless, you could even bring a small rack with you and put up some routes. We are even starting to get used to the climbing with both Yvette and I climbing well, other climbers can be found in the popular spots, but head further in and its just you, the odd goat and holy man and the rocks. A nice Spanish couple have taken us under their wing to show us some of the best problems here and I’m starting regretting not staying here longer. All the problems require strong fingers and mine are slowly getting used to the tiny holds, another week and I really feel I could climb something hard here.

But with the bus to Goa booked it was all rushing to a close far too quickly. Both Yvette and I really fell in love with this place, it’s so peaceful, you can’t help but feel relaxed as you waste a couple of hours swinging on your hammock outside the bungalow or wandering around the ancient ruins trying to take in every detail around you. But move on we had to, hopefully some of the photos will do the place proud.

Phaselis- a Fiat Adventure.

It seems ages ago since we went to Antalya, climbing has slowly moved forward, Steve got his 7c+ project and an amazing 7c, and I have onsighted confidently at 7a, but not pushed on much from that. Easter brought hoards of climbers, mainly from Germany and with them some bad weather. Loads of extra climbers and rainy days has meant the solar showers haven’t been that efficient, our last rest day was spent hiding from the rain and it was a relieve that Thursdays rest day dawned sunny and we picked up our little Fiat for a day of exploring.
Another Great Route

The first thing to overcome is driving in Turkey, up here in the mountains all road rules seem to be ignored, you drive on whatever side of the road suites you and maybe honk your horn if you are going around a particularly blind corner. On the main roads things are a bit easier, although impatient Turks still hover feet from your bumper and will squeeze past you regardless of whether there is room. But it’s at night the real adventure starts, trying to escape from Antalya on pure directional instinct in the dark is hairy. The three lane roads are a jungle of cars weaving in and out, all lines are ignored and you just have to find your space on the road. Our Fiats wing mirrors are nicely designed to let you see what’s further to your side. Probably a great invention on motorways, but useless at telling you if that Turkish motor bike is 2 inches from you bumper or a foot! But we survived.

Back to the real purpose of hiring the car, to see a bit of Turkey! Our Plan was to head south along the coast to the ancient city of Phaselis. This 7^th century BC city was founded by migrants from Rhodes and saw work from the Lycians, Greeks and Romans. It was recommended to us by an archaeologist staying at Jo-Si-To and nestles between three bays completed with ancient quays. In a way it was ideal for us, far more compact that Olympus, which allowed us to see everything in around 3 hours, long enough to appreciate everything with our attention span, which regardless of how amazing a place is expires pretty swiftly after 3 hours.

The Theatre

One of the joys of being in Turkey out of the peak tourist months is that we were virtually alone in Phaselis. We could stroll down the paved high street, wander around the agora’s and baths. Try and work out if there was a pattern in the mosaic, sit for 20 minutes in the theatre, which built to seat 1500 people had acoustics which allowed you to whisper to each other from one side to another, a distance of 50 metres. You could then get lost in the hilly acropolis and wander around the tombs which were being revealed by the eroding see in the necropolis. We explored every corner of it, and even had time for an ice cream.

The Necropolis with Old Harbour in the Background

With this done we drove into Antalya, ate cakes, kebabs, played darts and then headed back to camp. Nicely bringing to a close our time in Turkey, our last two days are being spent getting a few more routes done and looking forward to seeing family and friends again.