Kite Life

Although the wind can be a bit gusty at this location I think that the spot that Nicola has established at Playa Copal is awesome. The wind is side-on, both flat water and small swells can be found here mid-bay, the water is warm, very few scary marine things to worry about (although Nicola has hit turtles and manta rays), and there are usually not more than a few kites on the water, no boats, no jet-skis, no crowds on the beach. Nicola Bertoldi (who operates the Kitesurf Center and teaches at Playa Copal) is keeping track of the wind, which you can see on his website (www.suntoursandfun.com)

For those who need flashy evening entertainmentÖsorry there isnít much of that at Playa Copal outside of what we make of it…which is fine with me. A great change this year is that 3 French-Canadiens opened a restaurant in the pavillion overlooking the bay…what a GREAT addition this has been. Every night kitesrfers were up there eating, drinking, and watching videos, looking at daily pictures and film from their day on the water. Great food and these great hosts have added a whole new dimension to this place.

I didnít see a newspaper or television for 3-4 weeks, but read some good books, and spent some ìquality timeî with people thereÖhow unbelievably refreshing. Good diversions/side-trips are usually an all day affair…getting around in Costa Rica can take time on the rough side roads. But you can do a lot if you organize and plan well. Aside from the kiting I had some incredible surfing and hiking experiences…all stories unto themselves.

Nicola can rent you a room in the kite house very cheap, where you can cook your own meals, have fresh water and a safe place to stow your gear within a 5 minute walk from your launch site. Or you can rent a “cabina” or private home in the same area. You can also drive a few kms to a fancy resort or go to a quiet fishing village, where you can get a beautiful fish dinner for $4 or big lobster plate dinner for about $9. The area is safe and clean and WINDY.

The wind conditions can be challenging and you will learn to fly your kite with great precision and control here, because you have to. Kites: bring something small for 25-35 kts, and occasionally something for 15-25. My quiver included 7m, 10m, 14m.

On this last trip to Costa Rica (my 4th in 2 years) my goal was to ride 20 days. I ended up riding 16 days, 6 days of which I used ONLY the 7m, 4 days of which I used my 7m in combination with 10m. The other 5 days I used 10m and 14m. All riding was with 120cm and 130cm boards. I typically got two 2-3 hr sessions in each day I rode. There were 4 days when it was simply TOO WINDY to kite at all. I estimate that the gusts were up to 50 kts!!!

Apparently it can be wind here year round, somewhat lighter from July to September, but usually 20+ knots other times. I realize that there are those who doubt the value of this place as a kiting destination, but I really enjoy it. This place may never be as popular as Cabarete or TarifaÖand thatís just fine! Oddly enough here you take the high wind days off to do other things, rather than taking the low wind days off! Now thereís something different. There are a lot of things to do if you aren’t totally “Jonesing” about kitesurfing all the time. My advice: when it’s too windy GO AND DO SOMETHING ELSE AND DO NOT SIT AROUND.

It is always pleasantly warm and I only used my shorty for our “night ride”. If you are there as a beginner a shorty might be good fir spending more time in the water. sunglasses, hats, sunscreen are a must.

Some riding hilights: There is a rocky outcropping that juts out into the bay just upwind of Playa Copal and when the tide is out there is an awesome flat water section to work behind these rocks. Currents are very minimal. Tides are probably around 8 feet. At high tide a beach assist is nice because the beach gets a bit narrow and there can be some sharp thingies at the high tide mark. Another “prize” is to ride to the island where there is another incredible slick to lay down some incredible jibes as you skim over the multiple shades of green and blue next to the beach. It takes a little effort and some confidence to make the upwind trip but it is well worth it. One day I decided to keep going past the island and rode almost all the way to the shore of nicaragua on the opposite side of the bay. An INCREDIBLE downwinder was my reward.

Perhaps the most memorable moment was our “night ride”. Upon the arrival of a much anticpated full moon, the tide and wind cooperated completely. As Iclimbed the hill to the restaurant the bay was totally illuminated by the moon in a clear sky and the wind was at a steady 15-20 kts. I rallied Nicola and Greg (why nobody else came I will never know) and we went charging down to the beach to find the tide all the way out and smooooooth water waiting for us. we strapped some stropes and flashlights on and headed out for a incredible 2 hour session. As I howled at the moon and the perfect conditions we were having I was surprised by some bright flashes from beyond the shore - an awesome lightning storm in the distant cordillera to the east was illuminating the horizon adding to the mystical feeling of the moment. I will always remember that night for the rest of my life.

OTHER COSTA RICA FACTOIDS
It is relativley cheap if you do not have expensive taste. You can have a hotel room for $15 US if you don’t go during major holidays or need to stay in a 4 star facility. Other costs are pretty low for food, etc, but maybe not as cheap as other central american countries. car rentalas are fairly expensive, bus travel is cheap. If you go during the holiday weeks MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A PLACE TO STAY BEFORE YOU GO. Otehr time you can “wing it”

Night life depends on where you are. If you are up in the Guanacaste coastal region it can range from “spring break” conditons to virtual solitude depending on exactly where you are.

The beach area around Bahia Salinas is remote and great for kitesurfing. No waves in Bahia Salinas but there can be lots of wind. Pretty much guaranteed wind from December through June, and this can be 30 knots or more at times. Lake Arenal (fampous for epic poleboarding) is NOT the ideal kitesurfing location (too windy and sketchy launch conditons) although some do it there.

No real problems with neighboring Nicaragua. If you go there jsut exercise some common sense. There is a pretty strong police presence near the borders, although the police are usually just looking for Nicaraguans trying to work in Costa Rica illegaly. Otherwise there is no fear of violence or anything like that.

As usual be smart and keep your things in a safe place and keep your travel documents handy in case you get stopped by the police. In the city you may want to be more careful but out in the country theres not much to worry about. I have heard about some thieves preying on some of the surf tourists in the surf camps, but that is a whole different area.

The police do stop people for speeding and you will get a ticket if you get caught. Driving in Costa Rica can be a challenge once you get off the main highway, when roads are often gravel or dirt. Depending on where you plan on going you might need 4WD. You do not need 4WD to go to Bahia Salinas unless you want to drive to on the sand. The only thing about going to Costa Rica is that travel by car is extremely inefficient with respect to time/distance, figure on averaging about 50km/hr. But once you are in Guanacaste you do not have to go far to be at the beach. ALthough it takes a little effort to get there it’s worth it.

I did not have any problems with safety or security and actually have an amazing story from my first trip there:
I lost my credit cards, license and about $200 cash at the airport the morning of my departure last January. Somebody found it and called my Costa Rican cousin (his biz card was in my wallet) and returned everything but the cash to him (which was OK by me) I WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZED!!!

In general the Ticos are very friendly, well educated, etc. I liked the smaller towns on the coast where it is not so crowded. Be sure to enjoy the seafood…the ceviche is SUPERB!!! And the liquados (fresh fruit bebidas and shakes) in the mountain areas are awesome.

ALways best to hook up with a Tico for advice and local knowledge and to help with getting around and utilizing your time the best. Be prepare to wait in line if you need to exchange money. You can only use Credit Cards about 1/2 the time so have some cash available.

In summary: Costa Rica is the most fascinating tropical destination in the Western hemisphere: unparalled wildlife, geography etc. If you are a good kiter, you could get some epic high wind kiting there (obviously it doesn’t always blow that hard, so you might get more moderate conditions). However, it’s not the most user-friendly place to kitesurf. If you go you should go because you want to combine kiting with other outdoor activities: hiking through rainforest, cloudforest, jungle, desert, volcanoes, mountains; whitewater rafting, horseback riding, bird & wildlife watching etc. Also world-class surfing. Hey, get to see something other than the underside of your kite! And if one can’t enjoy this country there is probably something seriously wrong with ones head, which I am not qualified to help with. I cannot wait to go back myself. Contact Nicola if you need any information about the Kite Center.

ta luego
pura vida!

just me, a board and four kites were going to head to Costa Rica to kite from January 7-14, 2005. Chances of getting skunked were basically nil, so needless to say, I was pretty stoked. I had heard good things about Playa Copal (Bahia Salinas), Costa Rica from my friend Jeff, who runs KiteWindSurf, a local shop in Alameda here in the San Francisco Bay Area. He had spent some time there last year during the winter when there’s not much kiting to be had here in the SF Bay Area and activity at his shop is fairly dead. Rather than spend the winter doing a whole lot of nothing, he and his wife, Emily, were going to offer instruction and accomodations in Costa Rica, at Playa Copal. Not needing instruction, I just made arrangements to stay with them in the Kitehouse there for the duration of my stay.

I arranged for my flight through Continental Airlines and left from San Francisco to fly into Houston and from there to Liberia. To visit Costa Rica you need a valid Passport from your country of residence. No visas or immunizations are needed. I brought only US dollars which are fine to use as most all local shops and restaurants will offer you an exchange rate of 450 collones per dollar which is pretty much what you’ll get from the bank. Buy something in US dollars and you’ll get your change back in collones. I got into Liberia at about 7:30PM and Jeff and Emily were there to meet me and take me and my gear to Playa Copal, which was about a hour or so away. We stopped by a market on the way in to pick up some supplies (beer!) and continued on to the Kitehouse, had a bite to eat and a couple beers and crashed out for the night. I woke up early the next morning and was met with this view of the bay. Nice!

After coffee and breakfast, it was apparent that the wind had come up quite a bit and was howling. I brought four kites with me - a 7m, 9m, 11m and 13.5m and in the end it worked out great because I had used all of them substantially and couldn’t have done without any of them. The 7m was in fact brand new and I had had it for a while, but never even used it locally here in the San Francisco Bay Area or on any other trips. I was happy to have it here. I rigged up the 7m for my first session but it ended up proving to be a bit small, so I went to a 9m and returned to the 7m later that day after it came up some more. The first two days I sailed on the 7m most and also on a 9m and less so on an 11m. The conditions in the first two days were definitely tough with super strong winds that were explosively gusty at times, the result of two systems coming from different directions converging over the bay there. Normally, the winds tend to be a bit smoother as I started to find out on from the third day on.

The first two days of sailing didn’t encourage too much in the way of tricks or unhooked moves beyond just cruising and hucking huge air as the nuking, turbulent winds made it too risky. Afterwards, things smoothed out making everything else possible, more manageable and safe. Below, Scott Cox, a SF Bay instructor with KiteWindSurf, who’s in Costa Rica for a couple months throws an unhooked Railey and there’s another view of the bay from the kitehouse.

The vibe at the Kitehouse is very laid-back. In between morning and afternoon/sunset sessions which usually lasted for 2-3 hours each, we’d typically just chill on the patio, have lunch, listen to music and read. During my stay, I met some great people and saw some people I already knew as well. Jeff and Emily are the hosts of the Kitehouse and also staying there were Kent Graininger and Scott Cox, both KiteWindSurf instructors and John Fox, another SF Bay local who came down to kite. There’s another outfit there offering lessons that’s run by Niccola Bertoldi called Kitesurfing Center & School and Stefan works with him as an instructor. Between the two schools both offering lodging and instruction there’s usually a few kiters around and most everyone tends to converge most evenings at the only restaurant which is a short walk up the hill from the beach. Ulf, an Austrian, runs the restaurant and offers good food with full dinners usually around $7-10 including a few beers, which are available self-serve from the refrigerator in the corner.

Here’s a pic of the Kitehouse backyard and patio and the resident iguana.

Here’s (from left to right) Scott Cox, Kent Graininger and John Fox chilling on the back patio in between sessions. All the gear is usually stored on the patio during the day, but there’s no sense in leaving it all out at night, so in the house it goes. The iguana took a liking to one of john’s kites, maybe for nesting purposes.

One day brought some light winds in the morning, which was actually a welcome break from riding our smaller kites for a few days straight, so we decided to load up the car and John and I were going to do a downwinder frm the top of the bay. The tide was super low and the launch was a bit tricky, being done on somewhat slippery, barnacle covered rocks. After we set out, the wind was good for a few minutes, but dropped a bit forcing us to head straight downwind. It picked up a bit again, and dropped again. At one point, it was a bit sketchy as I was working my kite all I could and had to head downwind in between a gap in the reef sailing in about a foot of water. It was all good though and I managed to make it all the way back down and landed at the Kitehouse. The wind popped back up again a little later and we all had a killer session on 14’s.

Here’s a pic of the “Secret Spot”, awesome kiting, but a tricky launch (!) and Scott chilling on the patio. He’s there for two months, which is probably why he’s always smiling!

The local rum is great and cheap, but you gotta have something to mix it with. Here we set out to harvest some coconut juice from the backyard trees. It wasn’t easy, but in our best caveman imitations, we got what we were after and were rewarded with tasty cocktails. Yum!

Overall, it was an awesome trip. I got in an insane amount of kiting in warm winds and waters, I had a great time and a lot of laughs hanging out with everyone in the Kitehouse and at the restaurant and my only wish is that I would have been able to stay longer. Thanks to Jeff and Emily at the kitehouse for being such great and accomodating hosts and especially to Emily for feeding us great food for breakfast and lunch everyday! If you go, you will definitely be in good hands with them.

Here are some links with more info about the area and a final photo of the view over the bay taken early on the morning of my departure.