Mountain Lifestyle: Christmas Day Climbing, San Vito Lo Capo

Christmas Day in San Vito Lo Capo, Sicily. A bustling holiday destination in summer and a complete ghost town in winter. There was a definite 'zombie-apocalypse' feel as we wandered the streets first thing on Christmas monring to check out our new neighbourhood.

It didn't take long to get down to the beach, where we dipped our toes in to test the temperatures. It was very wind and there were some good waves rolling in, so not so appealing for a Christmas dip.

There were no Christmas trees in town, but we came across some nice palm trees on the way back to the flat.

By now, the sun was fully on the balcony, so we brewed coffee and enjoyed a slow second breakfast before organising our climbing kit.

We opted for the closest crag, which involved a three minute drive and a five minute walk along the coast. The cliffs were fully in the sunshine, sheltered from the wind and there was no one about. Perfect.

We chose a two pitch route and were soon hanging from belay bolts above the sea, revelling in the situation and the feel of sun on skin.

I carried on up to the top of the cliff up a steep, but not too steep pitch. Great climbing.

Afterwards, we moved onto another sector to climb another route. The sun was near setting and the cliffs glowed orange in the evening light and the rock was throwing off delightful heat.

Once back on the ground, we sat and watched the sun dip below the horizon.

The owner of our apartment had left us a Christmas present of local bakery produce. They are delicious! It's a kind of chocolate chip cheesecake, inside a pasty, which has been deep fried like a doughnut. Mmmmm. Just the ticket after a few nice rock climbs by the sea on a Christmas afternoon.