Kalymnos in May, the tourist machine stutters into action, charter flights start, apartments are dusted down, scooters serviced (Well Maybe), bar shutters opened up after the long winter.

A beat up taxi pulls up and disgorges its occupants the rhythms of familiar mobile phone anthem fills the air, welcome to the Greece. Out onto the balcony it’s off with the shirts exposing white chests to the sun for the first time in months, Soon ropes, clips, harnesses, a few essential food items (non of this foreign rubbish), climbing shoes and carefully preserved cameras are spread round the cramped apartment that is going to be home for a couple of weeks.

One of the party is exploring the camping style cooking facilities for a brew, another finds we can’t flush bog paper, it has to be rolled into balls and put in the bin, howls of disgust, a first season man is keenly reading from a stack of guidebooks.

Who are these people? They are the harbingers of a veritable army of climbers from many nations who will shortly be battling their way past volcanic ash and strikes to visit one of the new generation of world class climbing destinations exerting its magnetic pull on every self respecting climber from Copenhagen to Chicago.

The 2000 Greek Islands Rough guide dismisses Kalymnos as an island with very little interest to the visitor and a struggling tourist industry.

How things have changed, Kalymnos found a niche market now regarding climbers as its main customers, what’s more the locals go out of their way to provide for their every need.

But back to our newcomers, the sun has moved over the island of Telendos so they take to the town, in the cool evening the streets are full of noisy scooters, the normal mode of transport on the island. Comely Greek girls tempt the superfit passers by into their bars to eat and drink. At the Fatolitis bar a number of skinny French climbers are holding court sprawling in their favourite seats greeting each new arrival with hugs. As they watch this dazzling immaculate group is joined by a bevy of equally skinny bronzed girls who sidle up to be kissed and groped in turn.

The newcomers find a shadowy corner where a faded sign announces the Glaros Bar. At last they have found the English speaking social centre of Kalymnos. One of our little group, a football fan asks the proprieter if he knows the result of the Uefa cup final? The reply is in pure scouse ‘I don’t know and I couldn’t care less‘ .

Meet Steve who has been living on the island a lot of years, he is central to the climbing community, cataloguing the new climbs, producing basic guidebooks, while donating the profits back into a local bolt fund , Proud of his miserable scouse front Steve and his partner Sue create an atmosphere much beloved by today’s climbers, tolerant, confused, friendly, when you get past the front he is always very helpful.

One of our team, Dave has spotted a couple of potential new routes on a previous visit so he has a word with Steve to get some bolts, lower off’s and borrow a hilti drill.

During our stay we had 11 superb days climbing on a different crag(s) each day, some days we did single pitch, some days we did multi pitch, other days we took a ferry to another island to climb. In Steve's latest guidebook there are 82 climbing sectors with new areas appearing each year so we hardly scratched the surface of the climbing potential in our time here.

The climbing is superb, stable climate,well bolted with no access problems and a local population welcoming climbers with open arms.

What more could you ask for?