Climbing, Climbing, Climbing!!! That's one of Star and my loves in this life. Another one is spending time together. We are lucky that each other is passionate about the outdoors. I love having Star as my climbing partner. We push each other to the next level. On May 10th we set out for our last full day of climbing in Sardinia.

We headed for Jerzu. An area that has a high concentration of climbing sectors. There are five different sectors that I know of, with an enormous amount of rock never touched. We choose to climb at Costello. Our guide showed a large concentration of 6a to 7a routes here so we headed there. This was our fourth day climbing, but it was our last day. We wanted to climb fifteen routes. A goal that would not be achieved.

We warmed up on a 5b, Riposa In Pace , very easy. I wanted to start slow and then rock it out on some stiffer routes. In this area there are three easy 5s that go to the same chains. We each took a turn leading them. After these three we were ready for the fun stuff. We walked a little farther down and climbed a 6b, Mortadella. This climb was tough down low, then moved into a crimpy face. I would say that it is more of a 6b+. Walking still farther down the crag we came across a dihedral that has five 6b to 6b+s. We climbed two of them, L'ultimo Train 6b+ and Paradisi Musulmani 6b. Paradisi is the route in the dihedral. That climbs a crack that can take gear. I left the trad gear at the flat to save weight. I wish that I would have remembered to bring t along.It was a fun climb. A little sandy in the middle but fun. To the left of Paradisi is L'ultimo. It follows Paradisi to the second bolt, then leads left onto the face and to the arete. A great climb. Very delicate on top.

By this point of the day the temperature was starting to rise very fast. It was hot. I was very tired after these climbs due to the heat. We rested and ate a sandwich. We walked a little farther down the wall to check out more of what El Castello had to offer. I saw this killer face route that ran next to an arete. Fix is rated 6a, so I though I would give it a go. The rock was so bad due to the heat. It was very hot. The route was fun but the crux was tough. There was a sequence of shallow pockets that ran for five moves over a bolt to a nice hold. I did not realize that there was a slopping jug up top to clip from. I was trying to clip the bolt from the shallow pockets. I fell two times. And was pumped when I touched the ground. Star sat at the crux once but, had no problem with the moves. She is a uber strong climber. Not to mention she was able to put two fingers into those pockets. We finished our day on Easy 5c. The name says it all. It was very short, easy. Dirty in the middle. Not many people must climb that route.

On the hike out I noticed how beautiful the wall was and had to take some more photos. Sardinia is an amazing place. I totally understand how our friends Peter and Ann chose to live in this beautiful place. We drove back to our flat took a shower and met Peter and Ann out to dinner. They took us to a friend's restaurant. It was a great place. I had on of the best pizzas on our trip and Star had pasta. This would be our last dinner in Sardinia. We would drive the next day to the south to catch our flight to Rome.

We did not scratch the surface in Sardinia. There is so much there. Not to mention all of the rock that needs to be climbed. I can not wait to go back. I think next time it would make more sense to stay in Sardinia for two weeks alone. Oh well. Memories.