Kite Life

I just got back from 3 weeks in Prea, near Jericoacoara, NE Brasil. It was BY FAR the most fun and most epic riding (i.e., massive downwind action) I’ve ever experienced. Brazil is so much more than we expected, and we expected it to be spectacular. We have recovered from the initial shock/insult of being misinformed by Vela that the kiting in Jericoacora was excellent and easily accessed—-it is,in fact, banned in Jericoacora; the best kite beach nearby is in Prea, 12 km ($50 fare each way!) towards Fortaleza. Usually, when one plans a trip w/Vela, they make it totally easy for you to enter a completely foreign country and be safe, do the sport you came to do, etc. So, it is with great emphasis that I warn all kiters: Don’t use expect Vela to know what is up for kiters going to NE Brazil. 

In Jericoacoara, the general populace make you feel like a leper for being a kiter vs a windesurfer! Holy snowboard vs. skier, Batman! It’s weird, a leap backwards in time. The motto of most windsurfers there seems to be: HOW DARE U FLY. 

We moved our whole Brazillian fantasy to Vila Prea in the village of Prea and it has been dreamy since then……the beach is deserted, they take us on a FAT downwinder every day, they hover discreetly in the background and land the kite/launch the kite/squeeze your fresh guava & o.j. drink, get the most amazing masseuse/make world class fresh fresh fresh food (better than anywhere I’ve been, I swear) and generally spoil the bejesus out of us. I mean, in my dreams, I can’t fantasize the luxurious treatment we’ve been given. ALL for very reasonable prices, WAY less than what VELA charges for room/breakfasst/discrimination. I’m hella impressed. 

Other than that, the people here are also….lovely. In every way. Happy, smiling, seemingly always in a good mood, helpful. I kept trying to tip the helper staff for, say, picking up all my kite gear from the room every morning, taking it to the beach, and then collecting it all up at the end of the day and returning it to the room. But NO. The helper folk semi-scolded me, like, we as upright Brazilian men feel odd not helping you kite-girls, so don’t offend us by plying us with cash. Whoa. 

HOWEVER. Not all of Brazil is so lovely: Do not think it’s safe to fly into a major Brazilian city and wing it. Sao Paulo is drive-with-your-doors-locked, windows rolled up DANGEROUS. The best program is to suck up the expense (like, a couple hundred dollars) of having your hotel/driver pick you up at the Fortaleza airport and beat it to the kite location of your choice in NE Brazil. 

Allegedly, you can fly directly from Miami to Fortaleza using American Airlines in concert with TAM, a Brazillian airline, but I have yet to locate this mystery flight. The most expeditious route seems to be SFO to MIA to Sau Paulo or Rio, then to Fortaleza. WHY this is a downer, multi-connections aside, is that you have to hit Brazilian customs once you get on Brazilian dirt. If you go MIA through Sao Paulo, you can look forward to a New Dehli style mad crush of humanity and hours of waiting to claim your luggage, load it up, schlep it through the airport to the TAM check in, re-check it in, and all that takes hours….in addition to well-being lost. 

THE KITING IS TO DIE FOR. If you’re kiting near Jericoacora, i.e., Prea, none of us have needed anything bigger than a flat/bow 9m kite. I’ve only used my flat 7m flat kite the whole time. When we first got to Prea, it was so windy I was scared, like: Is it going to be survival kiting like this the whole time? Can I buy a 5m somewhere? Mark Doyle(Thanks for the good times, Amigo, see ya’ll when ya get back) lives here part of the time, and he came to visit us which was RICH, to say the least…… HE said something like, dang, it’s too windy here, I’m on a 5 every day, I don’t know if I can take it much longer. Whoa again. 

After the initial shock of being sandblasted when stepping outdoors, one gets used to the small kite, and out comes the courage, and out come the tricks. It’s only sandblasting when it’s 40+, and we still went kiting on those day, albeit with trembling hands on the bar and hyper-vigilance. 

The other thing is, I somehow thought we would have a chance to ride point-break style waves (i.e., like in Santa Cruz, or C-St. in Ventura; the kind of wave that is firm and peels forever). It is all shore break here, like Ocean Beach or Silverstrand in Oxnard. 

Fred & Rob at VilaPrea hooked us up with our favorite righteous Brazilian champion motocross dude, Daniele, to do the epic downwinder from Taiba till we couldn’t kite anymore after days of downwinding. Literally. I had to come in on day 2 or 3, as in, I just cannot go on anymore. I forget in the blur of ecstacy from all the riding. Daniele has been on the NE coast for decades and knows everything: tides, best wave/wind combo spots, best posada to use,what’s dangerous/not, etc…..plus he’s hysterically funny. 

Summary: If it’s your first time to Brazil, spend the money on having a babysitter, i.e. a KNOWLEDGABLE dependable outfit that will steer you around. I thought I could count on Vela for that, but they dropped the ball. If I had not stumbled on the good folks at Vila Prea, who totally stepped up and impressed us, it may have been a bad trip. BUT NO! It was epic. 

After landing in Fortaleza, we found Cris waiting for us at the airport and after loading our gear on his car, headed into the city with its high-rise buildings, small antique houses and big, beautiful trees. Our apartment was one block from the city beach, Meireles, and the promenade. Wired like zombies from the long flight, we were too tired to do anything but hit the sack.
 Next morning, we loaded up the car and drove 37km to Cumbuco, a small village with a superb beach. It’s actually a bay that starts at Tabuba village. The wind here was 22 knots, the direction side on. We drove another 16km to what we saw was the perfect spot. The wind was a bit side off, the water perfectly flat with nice sets of waves rolling smoothly towards the beach. We kited until 5pm and then headed back to Fortaleza, where the promenade was packed with joggers, tourists, and beautiful ladies everywhere. It was time for a night out!
 The next day Cris took us to Icarai (Lagoa da Barra) a small lagoon half way between Fortaleza and Cumbuco, some 23 kms. Here we met a German group of kiters who actually lived in the apartment next to us. The wind was blowing 24 knots with the water perfectly flat. This spot proved to be the right option after a night spent on the town! We rode this lagoon for a week after which Cris declared his plans to open a pousada-kite station right in front of this lagoon so he kite right out of his front door everyday.
 Some of the other spots we rode include Pecem, a wave paradise. Not to be missed. Iguape is east from Fortaleza and is as good as Pecem with the exception that the wind tends to go down 4-6 knots in the afternoon. East of Fortaleza some 130km is Embuaca, a place where the wind blows up to 30 knots and produces powerful waves. In Mundau, which is 10km west from Embuaca, kiters can ride the flat water on the river or play in the waves on the ocean. While we were here, the wind was a bit gutsy.
 We found Lagoinha to be the most beautiful place of all. The wind was blowing 27-30 knots on side shore. We headed downwind to Almecegas Sangradour, 5km east of Paracuru. The placed was called Praia do Buraco and it had 27-30 knots side shore wind and flat water on the inside and waves on the reef. Since there were 10 kiters already there and we were spoiled from spending the week kiting just by ourselves, we bailed.
 Fortunately, Cris had the idea to bring us to the most surprising spot of all. We drove all the way back to Fortaleza, stopped in front of a building at the Port, whereupon Cris went upstairs for 20 minutes. He came back with a smile on his face and accompanied by Rodolfo, the representative of the owner of the Harbour of Fortaleza. He is a writer and was working on his new book about the expedition that brought the Spanish sailers (the Pinzones) to Brazil before Alvarez Cabral announced the discovery of the country for the Portuguese crown.

We crossed the port facility at the harbour’s entrance and once inside, we made our way between containers and heavy machinery, to reach the oddest spot of our vacation, the Praia Mansa. It’s a round tiny island of white sand and blue turquoise water situated on the inside part of the wave breaker of the harbour. Conditions: 25 kts, offshore. Water: the most perfect and broadest extension of flat water my eyes have ever seen. We pumped and set our kites frantically and hit the water. This was definitely the perfect end to our kite days in Fortaleza. The cherry on top of the cake! Unfortunately for Cris, he could not join us as he had to drive the car out of the port facilities and was waiting for us, some three hours later at the downwind beach, Iracema.
 To put it in few words, we all were amazed by what we saw here. The spots, the beautiful endless beaches, the perfect wind, waves and flat water conditions, the incredibly friendly and peaceful people, the beautiful and friendly girls, the great food, and of course, the marvelous fruit juices.
We plan to come back and are saving money to buy a piece of land by the sea. Once you have discovered a place like Fortaleza, its difficult to get it out of your mind.
 

My northern Brazil trip is now over and I thought I?d share some of the experiences given quite a few of you have given me some pretty good advice prior to my trip and others may be heading that way sometime. After getting from Sydney over Auckland, Santiago and Sao Paulo to our final destination Fortaleza we were picked up by a Taxi to go to Paracuru. Paracuru is 80km north of Fortaleza. (Taxi cost us R$80). 

We chose to go straight to Paracuru and not stay in Cumbuco or Pecem because Paracuru is significantly less crowded then Cumbuco and their small lagoon. Cumbuco is only 30km from Fortaleza, which has it?s upsides and downsides. It?s great because you can go out in Fortaleza, but the downside is that a lot of people come for a daytrip to kite? The lagoon copes with up to 15 riders and you?ll get days with 30-40. 

Paracuru Spot Report:  Water: Flat water with great ramps (for flat 3s) due to a reef. The water gets super flat at low tide. The waves get bigger during high tide. Note that the waves don?t have much push. Great for skimming though. The flat water section is quite big and can support 30 riders comfortably. But there are heaps of other similar options just a few hundred meters up wind. The colour of the water is slightly brown/green. So if you?re looking for crystal clear water you?ll have to go somewhere else. 

Wind: The wind in the morning is a bit off-shore and changes to on-shore at 10:00am. We had 5 fantastic days with constant side-on winds starting at 15 knots (for 30 minutes) increasing to 20-25 knots very quickly. Just before sunset the wind drops by 5 knots. These conditions and the time of the wind direction change obviously vary with the time on the season. August and September are the strongest months and the change happens earlier in the morning. 

Place to stay: We stayed at the Club Tropical Paracuru. It?s nothing special, but has a pool, breakfast included and it really clean. They have double rooms if you need to share. They are located close to the beach. Paracuru is not a very interesting city. So don?t expect cute little bars and restaurants. We rented a buggy to drive around for R$70 per day. 

Other: There is a great little beach-style restaurant offering sun protection, showers and cheap food and drinks. 

During our stay at Paracuru we went to see our friends from Best at Pecem. Alex unfortunately is still healing from his foot injury and getting a master on online poker. Gavin (photographer amongst others things), Peter and Tom (Best R&D) let us have a trial at the new 07 gear (Waroo 07, Waroo Pro 07, Yarga Pro and Nemesis). Thanks guys for the hospitality (showers and lunch) and allowing us to ride the new (proto) gear. 

From Paracuru we decided to go to Prea/Jericoacoara, which is about 350km north of Fortaleza. Although there are great spots to kite and stay on the way, we wanted to get straight to Prea/Jeri and make the most of our kiting days. 

To make the way to Jeri more fun, we decided to hire a 4×4 with a driver to do a kite safari (big downwinder). We started off Lagoinha and went kiting all the way to Baleia (ca. 150km downwind measured on the car?s km counter. I assume we actually rode more than 200km given we were riding back and forth, playing in lagoons on the way, etc.). 

It took us 4.5 hours using a 9m SB1 and my 12m CB2 and 2 Underground FLX 132s. The cool thing about having a driver is that you can always change gear or get some water on the way. He also acted as our cameramen during the way (so he would drive ahead, stop the car and film us or his ?assistant? would film us while driving the car parallel to us). The cost for this adventure was roughly R$600 (but it?s definitely worth it ? going straight to Jeri over the motor way takes about 4.5 hours and costs R$300 from Paracuru. I think it?s about R$450 from Fortaleza. Note that there are cheaper options like taking the bus). If you chose not to do a downwinder the trip over the sand dunes on the way to Jeri/Prea is definitely worth it. It takes 6-8 hours though. If you?re going to do the downwinder, ask Vila Prea to organise it with Daniel (the driver). He?s been doing downwinders for the last 10 years (previoiusly windsurfing and now kiting) and is great value. He also understands English very well and speaks enough to communicate with you.. 

For the remainder of our trip we stayed in Prea, which is 12km before Jericoacoara. Although staying in Jeri is a real option, especially for those who like a cool nightlife, Prea is the place to stay if your first priority is kiting. 

Prea Spot Report: 

? Water: At low tide the water is flatter, but generally quite choppy as a result of the strong winds. The area is huge supporting an unlimited number of kiters. You can do many downwinders from Prea to the south of Jeri (roughly 18km). 

Downwind of Prea you will see a huge rock. Just behind that rock the water is dead flat even when the wind is blowing 40 knots. On the way to Jeri (during the downwinder) you will pass by one of the best wave spots in the area. That?s where all the local surfers go get some waves. They aren?t huge and don?t have much push, but they?re fun to ride and perfect as ramps. I have heard that they do get quite big when there are storms out at sea.  The downwinder to Jeri can be done in slightly under 30 minutes if you are attempting a new speed record, but it can also be done in 4+ hours if you are enjoying each section of the 18km. In Jeri you should attempt to land the kite just on the top corner where most windsurfers go into the water. There the wind is still ok. Once you go a bit further south the wind becomes very irregular due to the land mass and it can become quite challenging to land the kite safely. Once you have landed and rolled up your kite, you can just walk into Jeri use the showers from the windsurf club and chill out with a beer/caipirinha and have a few nibbles. When you want to go back, just walk to the city centre (3 minute walk) and get a buggy rider to take you back to the hotel in Prea (R$40). BTW, if you want, you can extend your downwinder way past Jeri (even for another 100km). You will need to organise a buggy to pick you up at a certain time if you?re not keen on walking against the wind for hours? Note that there is quite a bit of seaweed a bit south of Jeri. Make sure you don?t get your lines into that stuff. It happened to me and to a fellow kiter. We spent at least half an hour getting that stuff out of our lines..  Wind: The wind is side-off in the morning, turning to side-on towards 10:00am (again, this changes to earlier times towards August/September). We?ve had every day with 20 knots at least. Most days probably 25-30. So no need for a big kite. We were on 12, 9 and 7m SB1 and CB2. The wind picked up day by day and started to blow earlier. Note that the wind in Jeri itself is pretty gusty and swings around quite a bit. Only windsurfers are supposed to ride there. 

Place to stay: Vila Prea ( www.vilaprea.com ) is the place to stay. It?s absolutely beautiful and directly in front of the prime kiting spot. Fred and Rob (the owners) are great value and extremely helpful. Fred organised our airport transfer to Paracuru and the downwinder direction Jeri/Prea. Vila Prea is especially good if you?re taking your better half that doesn?t kitesurf. It?s just a very easy going place offering you all you need: Wireless Internet, great bungalows, great food, very friendly and helpful staff, etc? 

If you decide to stay in Jeri, there are lots of accommodation options for all budget sizes. My favourite is www.vilakalango.com.br (again, very good place to stay if you?re taking your better half). If you want to go kiting from there, you should get a buggy to drive you to Prea or upwind of Prea each day and enjoy the downwinders to Jeri. 

Other: Just next to Vila Prea you will find a local kiteschool. They will help you with anything (i.e. if you need anything fixed, etc). The kiteschool also has a wooden platform where you can hose and dry your kites before returning to your home country.  Around the area from Prea/Jeri there are quite a few lagoons that will offer flat water conditions. The lagoons are fresh water lagoons.  Lagoa Paraiso/Azul/Secret Lagoon Spot Report: Water: Fresh flat water. Lagoa Azul (blue lagoon) has crystal clear blue water with white sand beaches. Lagoa Paraiso is much bigger and better suited for kiting. Most buggy drivers will know where to take you if you want to go kiting. 

Fred (one of the owners of Vila Prea) and Daniel (the driver) suggested we should try kiting at the Secret Lagoon. Apparently no one had ever kited there before. Once we arrived we found a small rigging area (big enough to launch the kite) and went for our first lagoon sail. Soon we spotted a cool (maybe a bit risky) thing to do. The Secret Lagoon is split into two lagoons. Separating those two lagoons you will find a 3m wide sand strip with bushes up to 4m high. So you can imagine that our favourite trick was to jump over the sand strip/bushes and land on the other lagoon. Like all kiters, we tend to get even more stupid when there is a camera in place. So from simple jumps we went to jumps with single and double spins, grabs, loops, etc. The local crowd had a ball. Especially with my crashes? 

Wind: The wind kicks more around lunchtime. It takes a while to come from the ocean to the lagoons. I have to say it is quite a gusty wind. So if you don?t ride a bow kite (or a kite that copes well with gusts) I would not really bother going there for kiting. It?s definitely worth a trip for swimming and sightseeing. 

Other: There is a great little beach-style restaurants offering sun protection and cheap food and drinks. 

Jericoacoara Town:

You should not miss going into Jeri at night. Especially if you are single. The parties are great (the girls even greater) and there are quite a few good restaurants to try. My favourites were: Carcara (typical Brazilian food. A must on a Saturday when they have the very typical Brazilian black beans dish called Feijoada), Nomades (great wood fired pizza) and Chocolate (mixed food selection). 

The bars to go are Sky bar (next to the beach) and Mama Africa. Note that the nightlife starts really late. So most things only get going from midnight onwards. 

Kite Equipment: 

There is no real need for a kite bigger than a 12m (bow). Although I used my 14 Contra twice when the wind had not kicked in yet, you don?t really need big kites. Especially in August/September. The most popular sizes are 7 ? 9m bow kites. The Brazilian Cabrinha distributor has a school there so you might be able to get a few replacement parts in case something breaks.  I have used my CB2s 9 and 12 most of the time (more the 12 than the 9 as the super strong winds had not kicked in yet). If you like jumping super high, the CB2 9 will definitely deliver that rush. That thing really rips you out of the water and launches you into the sky. Unfortunately I had to stop using my CB2s in the last week due to a stitching problem on the leading edge (faulty needle). For those interested, it appears to have been a one-off problem of pre-release kites. Cabrinha has covered all costs without hesitation. For the rest of the week I use a SB1 9m. 

I took 2 boards with me. My Underground FLX 06 132 and my Nobil Skimboard. In hindsight I could probably have left the skimboard in Sydney. The wind is just too strong and the water at times too choppy to have fun with a skimboard.  I would recommend a board with quite a bit of flex to cut through the chop you will find in the very windy places like Jeri/Prea.