Mpougazi, pronounced and sometimes written Bougazi, is the group of crags immediately above the village of Vrysi, which dominate the view from Camping Dragonera Cliffs.

Not a bad view to wake up to…

We visited the four main sectors, visible in the shot below. The big chunk of rock in the middle of the photo is home to a few multi-pitch routes (future exploration required!)

The crag approach times of 20 to 40mins in the guidebook are a bit misleading, as presumably they assume you’re walking from the campsite, whereas there’s a designated parking area in an olive grove that slices about 15mins off the walk.

Bain de boue is therefore only 5mins from the car. South East facing, it loses the sun around noon, as a result of which (in February at least) the routes feel a bit damp and dusty. There are about 20 lines from 5c to 7a, typically 15 to 25m on slabby grey limestone. Here’s Helen catching the last of the rays on Tsara, 6a

She also did Greek Contact, 6a, and unknown, 6b. I did Iptamenotripani and Clandestine Tsipuro, both 7a, characterised by a steepening finale through some flowstone and probably both pretty reasonable depending on how dry the tufa blobs are.

By now we were quite chilled in a bit of a breeze, and casting envious glances across to the Italian team on Eisodos, still basking in the sun…

Fine views over olive groves to Vrysi and the hills beyond…

… with the campsite just about visible.

For a return visit later in the trip we were sure to make an earlier start to make the most of the sunshine.

… Maybe too early, as there was still plenty of seepage from monsoon rains 24hrs before. A bit of improvised mopping had things sufficiently dry for Helen to lead Avdelou, 6c…

… as well as onsighting Aynis, 6b+. Not a bad morning’s work.

Eisodos is a complete contrast – steep orange rock, and a total suntrap. We warmed up on…

… with the Pink Floyd lyrics rattling around inside my head.

Tough start, well worth at least 6a+

… and fun Pembrokesque corner to finish.

I had a go at Death on Two Legs, 7a, which is OK apart from a brutal (and beyond me) pull to an obvious “porthole” pocket around 2/3 height. The adjacent Sympathy for the Devil, 6c+, is more sustained but less cruxy. There’s never anything other than a jug, if you look hard enough 😉

Fabulous full moon and clear skies that evening – perfect for a wander into the village for dinner at the taverna (the only one – this isn’t Leonidio and certainly not Kalymnos!)  A very authentic Greek experience with a couple of groups of Greek climbers comfortably outnumbering us tourists, great hospitality and simple well-cooked food accompanied by two lads on a guitar and a bazouki (the owner’s boy and the son of Maria our campsite host). About a tenner each for three courses including wine – now that’s good value!

Dragonera is the main event here, giving its name to the campsite and drawing the gaze. It’s a big cave!

Top tip for the approach, walk along the obvious track and then IGNORE the huge tempting cairns on the left (actually leading up to the multi-pitch sector) but instead follow the track all the way to the corrugated iron goat pen, then up a well-marked path on the left to arrive at the right hand end of the cave.

There’s just a smattering of routes in the 6s, with most of the couple of dozen routes at 7a+ and up, topped off by a few 8s.

I warmed up on Agriochelidono, 6b and tough with it.

Then set out up the brilliant Triploun, 6c, with a huge tufa formation straight out of a Thailand guidebook…

… followed by further steepening to an a cheval “rest” on a huge mushroom and a big reach for a hole and then the chain.

Didn’t make much progress with Bate Skyloi Aleste Left 7a+, and there wasn’t a huge amount to interest Helen, so we went for a two-crag day to…

Pehnidia – immediately opposite Dragonera and facing pretty much due north, we thought it might be a bit damp and dusty, but the 20 or so routes were really quite clean. 5a to 6c with an outlying 7b thrown in, and a mix of grey rock on the wings and orange in the middle.

Each of the three routes we did seemed stiff for the grade, perhaps partly to do with being shorter at around 15 to 20m.

I got shut down on Space Invaders, 6c. Here’s Helen on Skorpios, 5a

… and Flying Goats, 6a (not in the book) – worth a +!

Raining the next day which served to highlight another winning aspect of Manikia – it has the very highly regarded Septem Microbrewery just 10km away. It would have been rude not to visit!

Tasting doesn’t come much fresher than that…

A fine selection of IPAs and some more traditional ales, all very drinkable (though probably best in moderation – some of these rascals weigh in at 11%!)