Kite Life

Caleta de Famara and La Graciosa, Lanzarote – Canary Islands We flew out to Famara with Excel Airways. The flight was smooth no worries. Arrived in Arrecife airport to pick up our Hire Car which was a brand new C3 with only a few hundred miles on the clock.  We squeezed our gear in and with a complete lack of rear vision and the exhaust dragging we rolled out to Famara on the North Coast of Lanzarote.  I would recommend that everyone takes it slow and reads the map as the seemingly straight forward drive to Caleta de Famara was only 30kms. It took us 1.5hrs.  It was dark and the signs are so small and not lit so it’s easy to miss them. The signs even stop as you go through to towns so a little common sense is needed. 

Famara is like a dusty old Mexican Village from a western movie. Dusty un-surfaced roads and white washed houses gives the place great character and atmosphere.  Jamie from Costa Nor Oeste met us at the Supermercado on the outskirts of town.  Jamie cruised up in his surfers wagon and a joint hanging out of his mouth. I knew right there this was going to be a great trip. The apartment was above their school in the centre of Famara. It was clean and tidy. We went for a walk around town which doesn’t take long and you really feel like your NOT on holiday but on an adventure. A few pissed surfers and feral dogs roaming the streets give it that blue juice meets Big Wednesday vibe. In the morning we could take stock and really evaluate the place. We woke up to the shutters banging and the sound of 20knots of pure bliss. Famara beach is big…. Probably 3kms long so you have to drive up to a car park in the north of the bay in front on El Risco. Risco are the huge mountains that dominate the scenery and make the lunar landscape more appealing to the eye. Kiteboarding is officially banned in Famara but nobody cares and there the same guys out everyday (all locals). The local surfers are quite moody and have been known to set tourists cars on fire at the better breaks of Saint Juan and La Santa.  Jaime and Santi (The owners) are surfers from way back and know the local score. The local kiters were good guys too. It’s a local crew that welcome you into the family. A couple were also surfers who shaped locally and were exclusively kite surf nomads.  One guy came from Switzerland, another from France. There are no centre facilities on the beach so you have to be prepared to make friend and respect the locals or you could get into trouble. 

The winds are so good here. Everyday from the North / Northeast and progressively getting stronger each day. The wind can be a little gusty from the North East because of El Risco but the bay is so big that it doesn’t matter. The main season is from May to September for the Northerly Trade winds ‘Sotavento’ and the waves were clean sets from 3ft to 10ft when a big swell comes through. There are quite a few German Nudists on Famara beach and lots of surfers as the break is the most friendly on the island so surf lessons go on too. If you have the time then go over to La Graciosa island just offshore from Famara as the beaches are empty and a few Italian kiters have made it their home!

Famara offers good local food at good prices and with over ten different restaurants you can pick and choose each night. There are a few watering holes but most end up in the main square drinking into the night of if a beach party is on then role with it. For getting into the waves I cannot recommend Famara enough! Its awesome and the winds were great all week (I went in Middle May 2005). After driving around and checking out the rest of the island and the touristy south west coast with all the German and English louts I was glad we stayed in Famara.  Playa Blanca has some great restaurants and Costa Teguise has some good nightlife but It’s very sterile.

A great trip… and having been to Fuerte and flag beach i would choose Lanzarote and Famara any day!

Kite Surfing Fuerteventura - Flag Beach, Corralejo

We Drove up the coastal road (there’s only 1) until we arrived in the sand dunes (now they are impressive!). Just after passing some hotels we arrived at Flag Beach you can’t miss it as there were about 20 kites on the water and it looked really good.
 
We hired a car to be able to travel around the island but at the end of the day we kited most days at Flag Beach as Cotillo was very gusty on the inside and not a lot of room to launch the kite and Sotavento offshore force 8!!
 
Where to stay 1 bed apts booked through Flag Beach, it’s on there website called Casa Quemada (?) it was 45 Euros/day and they had storage facilties and internet connection. They were a good place ot stay to get into town we didn’t have to take the car as most bars, restaurants etc were only 5-10 min away.
 
Restaurants and places to go to Try Corky’s bar for surf videos, for cheap booze Booze and Tatoos and then Waikiki for night life.
Avendia was a good restaurant as well as the Mexican Pancho Villa (both close to the apts!)
Other activities are available for the family Windsurfing, surfing, jeep tours, trips to theother islands and diving
 
Average living cost per day 40 Euros/day
 
Time of the year attended and best time to go May and the wind blew nonstop most days, the best times are between Mar/Apr and Sep/Oct which is when the trades blow, having said that Flag Beach staff reckon that the winter months there are lots of days with onshore when you can get on the water with big kites (16).
 
Wind conditions 17-22 knots most days picking up from about 2 pm. It was cross shore from the left and pretty consistent. The days there was no wind at Flag Beach we went to Cotillo and got a good session but is was very gusty and the water seemed colder, there was also no rescue facilites in Cotillo, which was very good.
 
Beach and the rigging area Flag Beach: Loads of room, bit of a walk from the car but otherwsie lots of beach. Stay clear of the beach chairs.
 
Water (temperature, waves, chop, etc.) There was one day with a small swell but otherwsie flat- choppy conditions, perfect really, water temp was about 20C
 
Obstacles to look out for Beach charis as mentioned earlier, spectators, and windsurfers downwind. There are also some rocks downwind to avoid and at low tide the launching area can get rocky.
 
Nearest kiteboarding shop / center Flag Beach Kitesurf Center/School.
Kiteboarding do’s and dont’s in area Avoid the the windsurfers and get rescue cover from the centre, it only costs 30 Euros for 15 days unlimited cover and they will even come and look for your board if you loose it. If you don’t have the cover they charge 90 Euros for a single rescue!!
 

‘All the gear but no idea’ is a phrase often used by kitesurfers. It refers to those people who rush out and buy all the kit but have never been trained. It’s also a learning method that inevitably leads to you ending up with a rather long spell in traction. And never having been partial to hospital food, it’s the reason that I’ve come to Egypt to learn how to kitesurf - which in extreme sports circles has become the ubercool alternative to snowboarding.

For, not only are the conditions around Abu Soma ideal for the sport, you can also get tuition here from the experts and then spend a few days topping up the tan on one of the fabulous surrounding beaches. Admittedly, you shouldn’t expect to be able to pull kite loops or jump massive waves after a week in the water but you can master the basics in just a few days. Or at least you can according to my instructor, Dan Story. Harness the beast There’s a quite definite syllabus to follow when learning to kitesurf, Dan tells me. ‘Stick to it properly and I’ll ensure you get the best enjoyment when you are up and riding,’ he says when I tell him I’m bored of watching him show me how to fly a land kite and want to get on a board as soon as possible.

Dan spends our first morning explaining everything about wind to me: its direction, force and the all-important power zone. ‘You can fly a 13m kite and it’ll pull you along with just your fingertips guiding the bar. But move it ten degrees into the wrong part of the zone and you’ll end up face planting from here to Saudi,’ he deadpans. Thankfully, there are three releases you can use to ditch the kite if this happens. ‘We don’t want you smacking against a cliff,’ Dan says. ‘But the main thing to do is not panic.’ Easier said than done, one imagines, when your arms are being ripped out of their sockets and you’re being involuntarily yanked at 45kph, gasping for air and grating over coral reefs.

The unnerving conversation makes me slightly ambivalent about taking the kite from Dan and hooking it on to my harness while still on land. It’s a feeling close to that of handling a deadly boa constrictor but being told it’s harmless: you want to believe it is, however you know these creatures have instincts and your inner script is flashing up with luminous warnings. The sensation of flying a Flexifoil Strike 2 power kite is intense. Working together with Mother Nature to harness this beast gives an unequalled adrenaline rush and I can soon feel my addictive nature kicking in. Different techniques are required for flying varying sizes of kites and Dan takes me through all these. The bigger the kite, the more stable it feels and the lighter you can be in your movements. It’s a control freak’s dream having all this power at your fingertips. Skimming along Once I’m able to control the kite, it’s time to hit the water where I have a few goes at body dragging.

This is where you allow the kite to drag you over the top of the sea before attempting to water-start with the board. The board has footholds for your feet to ensure it doesn’t slip off and, thanks to my being able to both wake and snowboard, I’m soon up and away. Within minutes, I’m 100 per cent hooked and as I skim along the tips of the waves, I resolve to get some kit when back in England and come back to Egypt as soon as possible. Now I’ve got an idea, it’s time to get the gear. Culture corner Be in the know before you go and learn a little of the lingo. So you’re up on your board and you’re flying along with the wind in your hair just taking in the awesome scenery when suddenly you see a head bobbing in the water a couple of metres from your board. What do you shout? Well, we have two examples: You could try ‘Efsah tareek laakdr wakefa’, which is Arabic for ‘Out the way, I can’t stop this thing’. But you’re more likely to need the German equivalent ‘Steigen sie der Weg aus, den ich dieses Ding nicht aufhalten kann’ thanks to the number of Teutonic tourists here.

Abu Soma is by the Red Sea on Egypt’s east coast. A combination of forceful winds sweeping in from the Eastern Desert and bath-warm, flat lagoon waters make it an ideal place to kitesurf.

The spot:  Bucerias town lies approximately 20mins away from the touristcentre Puerto Vallarta   -   the ‘Cancun’ of the west coast, boosting loads of shops, good restaurants, bars, and nightclubs  -  both situated along the absolutely fantastic ‘Bahia de Banderas’ (Banderas Bay), the biggest bay in Mexico and second biggest on the American continent: 34 x 52 kilometers with more than 160km coastline, bordering onto two states (Jalisco and Nayarit) with the outbounds of the impressive Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range in the background. The natural surroundings of Puerto Vallarta are marked by jungle, rivers, waterfalls as well as a pleasant annual average temperature of 27 ° C. Who knows Beauduc in the South of France, can imagine the Bahia de Banderas quite similar. A huge bay with a diversity of kitespots, although many of them hard to access due to big residential and hotel arrangements, with a sweet local thermic all spring long.

In the weeks   -  and Gustavo was right: I changed my ticket back home a couple of times, staying in the end 5 weeks  -   which I was enjoying rocking the Bahia de Banderas, I used almost exclusively my dearest baby, my Vegas06 9m2, what certainly contributed to the decision of hanging out longer. Every day I came down to the beach, checked the conditions to then just once again pick the kite that I was riding the previous day … sweet !! The boys were mostly with 12 and 14’s.

What I needed a bit of time to get used to, was the colour of the Pacific, which, in contrast to Caribbean Sea on the east coast, was green, sometimes appearing brownishly due to some pretty violent swell (only sand, absolutely clean!). In addition, one would imagine the water in the bay as super flat, right  … hahahahahaaa, noway, not in a bay that size!! Some days the Bahia de Banderas was featuring the ‘chop from hell’, but never mind, as we all know “who’s able to stick moves in challenging conditions will find it so much easier in good ones”, right?

What was very cool indeed, were the long rides up and down the bay, perfectly safe due to the on shore wind. Depending upon the exact wind direction, there were different spots at different points of the bay (“Flamingos”, “Casa Blanca”, “La Cruz” etc.). Quite to the north the wind was usually blowing a bit stronger and the water was really flat, further to the south there was a nice surfable shorebreak with some more gusty wind etc. So one could ride from here to there, check out this spot, then go to the next, in case something happened, one would always end up on the beach eventually.

In theory, however… My very first session in the Bahia de Banderas proved that theory not always applies to practise. Chente and me did a downwinder from one of the most northerly spots on the bay, “Destiladeras”. We always kept pretty close to shore, however, then we ventured one tack way into the bay when the wind all of a sudden turned and shortly thereafter switched off completely.
Carramba, and us nearly one kilometre off the coast …! Oh man, we would have swum for hours. Only a few minutes into our triathlon-swim, we spotted a jet ski, of one of the hotels, which headed directly towards us. How lucky! Thus we were saved by this super nice Mexican and brought back to shore. Of course there was a price we had to pay for this rescue, however, unlike at many crowded spots in the world that I know, where a rescue of that sort could have been rather pricey, a couple of cool Coronas made the Beachguard the happiest fellow in the bay. I love Mexico!!
Another absolutely unforgettable experience was a kite-camping trip with Raquel Arroyo, the Mexican female Champion  -  a completely crazy chick! Actually a  practising lawyer  (only a few weeks per year), Raquel spends most of her days engaging in some extreme activities such as skydiving, scubadiving, kitesurfing and and and … -   her boyfriend and Chente to Cruz de Loreto, a small nature paradise, approximately 75 km south of the Bahia de Banderas. An endless beach, “El Playon”, going on for kilometers and kilometers, no human soul and except for a small, extremely exclusive hotel  “Hotel Desconocido” (the most expensive in the country!! Translated into English  ‘the unknown hotel’) nothing but wonderful nature. On windy days, Cruz de Loreto would be a magic kitespot. Unfortunately this time we were not that lucky and did not get the chance to enjoy the most perfect lagoon with an access to the ocean where the Pacific washes ashore relatively fat waves (careful, the current can be extremely strong). Never mind, we did not get bored the two days that we spent here and certainly cannot complain about a lack of action.  Raquel drove her jeep into deep sand, right at the tip of the coast, high up on a plateau of hills, where we certainly had a superb view over paradise, however, far far from civilization. Thus Chente and me jetted back in his car (which was not strong enough to pull out Raquels pretty massive Pick-up truck .. we tried but the rope snapped…) to the nearest village to get help. The locals were incredibly helpful; in fact they were really stoked about the action and could only hardly agree on who would come in Chente’s car in order to assist in pushing. It did not take the locals long to get Raquels car back on track. But that was still not it for their incredible kindness: in addition these Mexican angels even cooked dinner!   Yeah, out of a few simple ingredients, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, chilli and herbs they prepared the finest sauce and on open fire, just outside our ‘camp’ on the beach, we grilled some meat. Mhhhh, suuuper tasty; for drinks, of course we went the Mexican way: Tequila! Dude, we slept oh so well in our tents that night!
 
So even on days without wind, one never really gets bored in the Bahia de Banderas. Another time, when the thermic took a rest, we went wave surfing to Sayulita, one of the best wavesspots in the surrounding. Sayulita is a surftown out of the picture book. A super sweet, snugly village with countless surfing shops, cafes, bars, and of course nice waves. I rented a longboard and man, I had so much fun that day  -  in fact I caught the longest wave of my life!!  -   until I bumped into a Portuguese Man O’ War (also known as bluebottle), a really nasty sea creature. “Ouuuch”, suddenly I had this incredibly bad pain, feeling like my foot had caught fire. I looked down and saw long, blue tentacles (which can stretch to over ten meters in length!) stuck in the shell bracelet, that I was wearing on my foot. Luckily at this time I did not know that these sea inhabitants can be deadly, otherwise I most probably would have started to panic. A surfer beside me noted my outcry and advised me to paddle back to the beach as quickly as possible in order to ask the locals for ‘insider first aid’… Mhhh, I was confused but did what he suggested. Back on the beach, pains became worse and worse and in fact turned into a violent calf cramp that continued spreading upwards into my thigh. The local surfers were lovely and brought a plant, that I had never seen before which was put for a few minutes into hot water. They said, I should sit down in the shade of the beachbar and wait until the miracle medicine would be ready. So I did and ordered a ‘Mega-Margarita’ (for 2) to kill time and pain until the hot water turned dark green and I could apply it to my foot which by then looked super red and blistery. Wow, the cramps traveled from the calf via the thigh even into my belly; an idiot who observed the scene walked passed me and had to remark that in case the cramps climb even up higher, that heart will be next and then …!!? I ordered another Mega-Margarita and thanx God, after the belly cramps, this quite painful but certainly interesting experience, which almost took 2 hours, was over. Huh, lucky, because if worse comes to worse, but still not bad enough to die from it,  one can suffer paralyses, restriction of the function up to the loss of the function of the extremities!   Today I know, that these creatures have an airbladder that allows them to float on the surface of the ocean, which can be recognized (a bluish bubble) and thus in some situations avoided.  Generally it’s best, however, to leave the water immediately when you notice these bubbles poping up!
Isla Holbox, a small island (35 km x 2 km) in the north of the peninsula Yucatan where the gulf of Mexico borders onto the Caribbean Sea. Holbox is part of the nature reserve “Yum Balam”, with endless white sandy beaches, flat playing fields and even some waist-deep sections, perfect for beginners. In summer, flamingos and sea turtles come here to mate and to incubate their eggs. Therefore during this time, kitesurfing is only allowed at one of the four beaches. In the winter, from November to April, the main sailing season anyway, all four spots of the island are welcoming kiters who look for sweet conditions in a beautiful surrounding, still quite untouched of mass-kite-tourism.  Hurricane Wilma struck this small paradise and left substantial tracks (overthrown houses and trees, devastated hotels, etc.). There is also a Kitecenter under Dutch management and on days when the usually very loyal tradewinds do not blow, Holbox is the perfect place for crucial chillin’ and relaxation pure!
My trip through Mexico was one of the best in my kite-career yet mainly due to the reliable trade winds, the diversity of the country and the absolutely incredible people that I have met. As kitesurf destination Mexico has almost unexhaustable possibilities and I hope to return soon as I have truly embosomed this country.

Rough Guide Mexico  -  the best kitespots in the country after States
 
BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR:    http://www.ventanawindsports.com/
Spots:  La Paz, La Ventana , Los Barriles, Loreto, Santa Rosalía, Bahia Concepción
Windseason:  November to March
Conditions:  Sweet windstatistics! 18-25 knots almost every day. Mainly flat water.  Cold water, so bring your wetsuit (3/2 and/or shortie respectively should do).  Temperature during the day pleasantly warm, cooler nights. A number of kiteschools. Perfect kitinggrounds for all levels!
Intl. Airport:  Los Cabos  or  La Paz
Spots:  Bahia de Banderas, Cruz de Loreto (mentioned in text),
Windseason:         February to June
Conditions:           Choppy in the bay, flat lagoon in in Cruz de Loreto.   Certainly not the easiest spot for abolute kite-novices, however, still ok for beginners, more appropriate for a bit more experienced kitersurfers. Kitecenter at the face.
Intl. Airport:  Gustavo Diaz Ordaz (Puerto Vallarta)

COLIMA:
Spots:  Manzanillo, Laguna de Cuyutlan, Boca de Apiza
Windseason:         February to July
Conditions:  Top Wavespot for kiters, who know well what they are doing!
Intl. Airport:        Playa de Oro  (Manzanillo)

MICHOACAN:
Spots: Ticla, Rio Nepa
Windseason:         February to July
Conditions:      Most probably the best waves in the country (mainly riden by surfers) with relatively strong localism  -  please stick to the rules! Although even then, the surfers mostly take priority…  Due to the exceptional conditions, this area ist certainly worth a visit, even if  ’only’ to watch top worldclass surfers playing in the waves!
Intl. Airport:  Benito Juarez  (México City), then internal flight or rental car.

GUERRERO:   http://www.mexicokitesurf.com/
Spots:   Acapulco, Laguna de Tres Palos  (homespot for kiters from Mexiko City)
Windseason:         February to August  (3-5 winddays/week); Sept-Jan (0-3 wd/we)
Conditions:      Everything is possible from flat to big waves, depending upon wind and swell direction. IKO Center at the spot.
Intl. Airport:      Juan N. Alvarez  (Acapulco)
YUCATAN:   http://www.brunottibeachcenter.com
Spots:   Isla Holbox  (last stop of my trip, short description in text)
Windseason:    November to April
Conditions:          Flatwaterplayground in the most beautiful colours; Kitecenter under Dutch management on the island.
Intl. Airport:   Cancún

QUINTANA ROO:    http://www.kiteboardmexico.com/
Spots:   Isla Blanca, Cancun, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Puerto Progreso, Xpu-Ha, Tulum
Windseason:    November to April
Conditions:          The “Riviera Maya“ features the whitest sandbeaches, cristalclear turquoise waters and diverse conditions from super flat, waist deep to waves. Kitecenters can be found at almost all of the above mentioned spots.
Intl. Airport:   Cancún; for the island Cozumel: Cozumel

Tommy Friedl Pro Center, Jasmin Village, Hurghada – Egypt
The first thing you notice as you circle over the sea with the plane preparing to land, is that the Red Sea is definitively not red. Whoever came up with this idea must have had too much red wine…. The second thing you notice is the whitecaps, plenty of them. The deep blue, green in the shallow areas, expanse of water is covered with these little sheep, all running downwind, but never seemingly getting anywhere. From above, the seas, the desert, even the tiny little people windsurfing seem perfect.As the plane lands and taxies to the terminal, the excitement level rises a notch, only to climb sharply again as we step onto the tarmac and feel the sauna like heat attack us with relentless power, driven by the wind.
As we drive to the hotel, we notice the barbed wire fences of the airport are covered with multi colored plastic bags stuck at different heights, another good sign. On one side, the desert, hot, arid, unfriendly, lifeless, derelict buildings, not at all like the scenery from the plane: no sand dunes in this area, just hard, caked sand. Even the hills (mountains?) in the background are just a darker shade of beige, sometimes almost black, over backed, as if someone had left the oven on for too long. On the other side, green, blue water (definitively not red…), palm trees, grass, cacti, buzzing with activity, a hotel being constructed here, another being renovated there, life, as it is almost everywhere else. We arrive at our hotel, by this time the wind has died down, go through all the check-in procedures and drop our luggage in our “Bungalow” and head for the beach to find the windsurfing center and organize our gear for the next 2 weeks, maybe even get some sailing in, as, arriving at the beach we realize it’s still blowing quite hard, the hotel buildings were just shading us.
It takes us a while to orient ourselves and we finally find the Tommy Friedl Pro Center. Unfortunately it is closed (ok, in our excitement we didn’t realize that it is 19h00, local time (Egypt is 1 hour ahead of Central European time). The area is empty, but there are rows upon rows of boards, and pre rigged sails everywhere, for us never having been on a windsurfing holiday, the place is paradisiacal. Instead of sailing, we just head out to the sea and enjoy the warm, yet refreshing, greenish crystal water, the sun setting over the hills in the background, igniting the sky with different hues of red and orange. The should have called this place the Red Sky, not the red Sea…….
 
The surf center in the evening light
We have dinner, enjoy the activities organized by the hotel, and finally go back to our bungalow, anxious about the coming dawn: Will it prove to fulfill the promises of the day just past?
A not so early rise (why not, we’re on vacation….) promised a great day as at around 9h00 the wind was already blowing quite hard. We had breakfast, not hurrying thinking that thermal winds usually get stronger in the afternoon when the temperature is at its maximum, we headed of the surf station and organized everything that needed to be organised and finally got our boards and sails and hopped on the water. The wind had died down, but was still quite good (15kts). I started off going not so far just to check things out, scope the area around, make sure my sail is not too big etc… after a few minutes, I realized that the wind seemed to be calming down and very gusty, it was hard to keep a plane all the way back to the beach on the last straight and I got back to wait around for the wind to pick up again. As it turned out, the wind didn’t pick up again that day, despite the promises of the people working there. At around 17h00 the wind did come back to a decent force, but was very irregular and it didn’t last very long.
So it turns out that in Hurghada, the wind is stronger in the morning where it is side-offshore, and then turns around 11h00 to become side-onshore and lessens down a bit, with a bit of a revival around 17h00. We spent 14 days, of which only 2 were really good (4.1m and 4.7m) a few of them, maybe 4, were good (5.8-6.2) and unfortunately too many of them where it would have been good with a 7.4-8.0m sails. These sails are available at the surf station, but I didn’t bother.
 
Other things to do in the area, when the wind is not blowing:  
Snorkeling: The easiest available snorkeling: right next to the beach, walk to the beginning of the deep waters and swim for 5 meters from there on, you can swim through quite a big number of coral reefs, if there is a bit of wind, make sure, for your own safety, that you do not drift into the windsurfing area.
On windless days, where nobody is on the water, there are some even more interesting reefs in the windsurfing area of the beach. You didn’t bring your equipment? For 15 Egyptian pounds, you can rent for a whole day a mask, snorkel and fins, the later not necessary) at the Jasmine Village (neighbouring hotel) dive center. The snorkeling amazed me, I have never dived outside the freezing gray waters of the lakes in Canada, and the coloured corals, fish of every types and shapes, left me slacked jawed, which is quite dangerous when snorkeling….I will try to make a page of pictures of all the fish I saw and corals, but it might take some time as I took none, and will have to borrow from other websites. This was just the coral reefs near the surf station, everyday, the Jasmine Dive center organises, snorkeling and real diving trips to the outer islands, some of which are famous, and the deeper sea itself, which has a worldwide reputation for being one of the most amazing diving places on earth. I have no problems believing that after having had a beautiful glimpse of it in the bay where we were staying.
Archaeological trips: Of course, you are in Egypt, what else should you do on non-wind days but visit the great sites that history has to offer: Luxor, Cairo, and Aswan.
Visit the town: Go and visit Hurghada and it’s market, the town is approximately 15 km from the surf center, or 2 Egyptian pounds if you use the minivan taxis, do not let them charge you more than 3…..
The Good and the Bad
We spent a total of 2 weeks there, staying in the Aladdin hotel, close 200m from the surf station and all in all, we were disappointed with our vacation, the statistics were not in our favor (normal September shows a 70% of force 4 winds for more than 3 hours), but there is nothing we can do about that.
 
When the wind is blowing, the area is nice and fun, the chop gets high enough to get some good jumps on the way out from the beach, mainly, but the way back is nice as well. I have never been in a tropical windsurfing area, and the blue-green waters are very attractive and fun to sail on: the colour of the water changes from deep blue to green to a slightly darker shade of green, to go back to a light blue and so on.
The surf station is well equipped, plenty of boards, and sails, all pre rigged, a good variety of the same sizes, so they don’t run out when everybody is going with 5.0. It is easily possible to change boards as the wind conditions vary; they even have a few young very friendly locals to help you carrying the sails to and from the beach (not that the distance is very long, 25m, but the sand does get really hot).
When the wind is blowing, the instructors from the surf station in the afternoon are often on the water demonstrating a variety of freestyle moves.
The surf station organizes some activities, in case you get sick of the ones from your hotel: Movie nights right on the beach on Mondays, on Saturdays there seems to always be a voodoo party somewhere in town.
 The wind is irregular, due to the presence of other hotels in the bay (either there or being built).
The area for total beginners is pretty good, behind the surf station, a little artificial lagoon, but it is very small. The beginner’s area on the sea itself is very small, maybe 25 meters long, and for someone who is not comfortable water starting or would like to learn, there isn’t much room for doing so, without being in the deep water where you cannot stand, or being bothered by other people that use the flat water area to practice free style maneuvers and jybes.
Lessons seemed expensive (but I wouldn’t have anything to compare with)
 

Just returned from El Gouna and thought I would share a few thoughts with you.

Have been to Colona at Hurghada twice and although the wind wasn’t all I had hoped the guys at Colona are excellent and very friendly, the beach is spot on and it has been a great couple of kiting trips. This year having the girly in tow meant somewhere not quite so kite orientated and so chose El Gouna and the Movenpick. The Movenpick… wow, what a great place to stay. The staff were helpful beyond expectations – just couldn’t do enough for us. The room was lovely, with a great view. In fact my only real criticism of the accommodation was the price of food and drink - £5 GBP for a burger! I wouldn’t pay that here, let alone in a country where that’s probably equivalent to a week’s wages! Easily avoided though, we just went into town every evening and bought rolls which we filled with meat and cheese taken from the breakfast bar every morning and made lunch from that! 

Unfortunately my impression of the kiting isn’t quite so positive. Although generally the kiting was great, the wind blew just about all week and I kited 5 out of 7 days, I found the staff at the kite centre really poor. My “briefing” consisted of about 60 seconds during which I was told not to kite over the string of buoys marking the swimming area, not to kite at low tide because there is a reef 100m or so off the beach and the water gets too shallow and not to jump over the coral. No questions about my ability, which surprised me a little. But all fairly self explanatory stuff really and obvious to anyone with any common sense. 

Imagine my surprise and shock as I watched a member of the team at the kite centre blatantly popping over the line of buoys into the swim area, carving around people swimming (my girlfriend at one point), jumping and landing (most of the time) in the swim area and generally where he felt the need. On several occasions while people were having lessons in the shallow area the same lad was carving around the learners and passing them just feet away. I remember what it’s like to be handling a kite for the first time, the last thing you want is some hotshot buzzing passed you all the time. Watching from the beach while a lesson was taking place the tutors were so inattentive it bordered on negligence allowing beginners to body drag into the swimming area where people are prone to be snorkling and unaware of what’s going on above the water. I oleft with the impression that this was a really poor teaching centre. 

Generally I found the staff really unapproachable, totally unenthused by their job and got the impression that they would be much happier if everyone went away and left them to sleep in the shade of their hut. Speaking of which, it is all they seemed interested in doing, rather than watching out for anyone who might need rescuing. I witnessed a guy trying to body drag back to his board for more than 20 minutes and was perhaps as long as half an hour with absolutely not response from the centre or rescue boat. Once the guy did get to his board it took him ages to get back up wind to be able to land his kite and was clearly exhausted by the ordeal.  

Luckily for me I didn’t need to use the staff or the centre much and so was not affected, however if I had gone to learn to kitesurf I would be rather annoyed. 

One thing that did affect me however was the tide. When discussing with you where to go and we talked about el gouna there was never any mention of the fact that you could only kite 2-3hours each side of high tide. I found this really irritating as it meant planning day around when the tide was, and as high tide was late afternoon for most of the week it meant only a few hours in the afternoon rather than the whole day kiting that I had hoped I would get. Of course if you get the tides right then you can do 6 hours kiting a day, but get it wrong and you could be potentially looking at no kiting on some days. 

So in summary, a great location for a holiday, not so good as a kite location. I was lucky and the tides were fairly kind to me but your staff really should make people aware of the tidal situation before they book the movenpick. I would go there again but take the shuttle bus down to Mangroovy rather than have to deal with the unhelpful, unfriendly, unenthusiastic and unattentive crew at the Movenpick Kite centre. And certainly if a beginner asked me I would point them firmly to Colona instead.

Safaga: 

Brilliant place to learn and the only place I’ve been with constant wind. Going out on a boat together every day meant that we got to know the others on the course really well. My instructor, Dave was  fantastic . I was really impressed by how safety conscious he was, how he realised that kiting can be a bit scary for some (not just girls!) and that although he speaks like a girl, he shouts like a man (his words!) He was really helpful, every evening after the other instructors had gone he would still be there fixing kit, helping people etc.  General consensus was that he was a top bloke. Gareth had Phil and said he was really good too. 

Really liked the accommodation (menaville)- very handy - good food, nice shisha bar and very conducive to group dining with the others. Dave orgainsed a meal out to a local restaurant and Julius led an alcohol fueled night out (I will send photos!….) 

Only slight criticism is that on arriving in hurghada, Dave did not have us on his list and we could either wait 2 hours or so for the next flight to arrive and get a lift back with him or get a taxi. we got a taxi meaning that we paid for our transfer twice (to waveriders and to the taxi). (oh, and there weren’t any small/ medium waverider rash vests and large is too big so if you have any smaller ones I could swap it with……….):-) 

El Gouna: 

Too expensive!! We were paying 70p for a beer in safaga and they were charging £2.40 in the movenpick. I supposed that it to be expected for a resort but it was a shock to the system non the less! It also meant that kiting was more expensive. We did a couple of hours at the movenpick which ended up costing £100 for 2 (supervision, equipment etc) (we’d paid about 25 euros for an extra hour lesson in safaga). we then looked at mangroovey beach - very crowded as Julius said it would be, before moving on to Red Kite Zone. They were by far the most friendly of the el gouna places. All the kit was really new (which after having a bit a rope as my board leash in the movenpick and getting rope burns and a helmet that was too big and obscured my vision) was a relief.

There were only about 5 people on the water, which was amazing and it was cheaper than both movenpick and mangroovey. the guys picked us up in the morning and took us back if needed and will organise lunch if requested. A good find! We had a bit of tuition but must admit it wasn’t up to safaga standards…

I wrote a huge letter to you yesterday and for some reason when i sent it, it deleted itself. So, I’m gonna give you a shortened version and will have to forward you a few photo’s soon. I had a wicked time, loads of wind ( 25-30 knots from Friday to Thursday) & Friday No wind- so i’m lookin for a one day refund….!! (JoKE) The Captains Inn was alot nicier than i was expecting, very cumfy bed and clean room and Hotel. Breakfast was a bit samie but did the job. 

The only thing i would say that would put me off going back was the amount of Kraut’s and how BLOODY naff they are. I would have thought being Kitesurfers they would be a bit more down to earth. Its obvious they can’t help being the most boring, miserable and down rite anal European’s around and they can’t kitesurf for toffee. The Marina is very peachy ( as Jules discribed !!) But i did spend too much time there as i did leave the kite beach most nights till 10ish as i chilled with the Aswani dudes who were very cool. I was knicked names Shamss meaning Sun, which nice of them. At least i think thats what they were calling me……. 

Cheers Guy’s & Girls, I’m one stoked Muther F**ker !!! 

Please see the attached photos showing what an awesome time we had.  It was my first go kite-surfing and I’m now officially hooked - you will be hearing from me again for sure!!  The wind was perhaps a little too strong for us beginners at times, but at least by the end of the week we were getting up on the board (if only for a few seconds).  The whole week was fantastic, the hotel was better than I expected (loved the shisha bar), it was great to meet the other waverider nuts (and instructors!) and also the locals who cooked lunch, organised the boat, and very importantly rescued me on numerous occasions, for which I am extremely grateful. 

 
The only downside to it all was that at the start of the week we (2 beginners) were put in the same class as 2 water starters.  Naturally they were getting bored repeating the stuff they already knew, and we were being rushed with stuff we’d never done.  Luckily we brought this up after two days and we were then put with different instructors which made all the difference. 

 
One of my buddies had a book called Kiteboarding Vision which we all had a look at, and we thought it might be a great idea to tell beginners to have a look at it before they go, as it would have certainly helped us out with some of the theory.  Also, I spent hours scouring London for ‘lock tight’ only to discover on arrival that it was something I would never have needed - perhaps this should be taken off the list of things to take? 
Otherwise it was all spot on!

I went to the Intercontinental at Abu Soma 9th to 17th September.  We had an excellent time and a special thank you to Simon (from waveriders) who organised everything.  He was so friendly and helpful and got genuinely excited for us about the trip.
The place is fantastic and unbelievable value for money.  Everything was excellent from the food to the friendly staff.  Next time tho I would definitely stock up on duty frees and supplies from outside as anything you have to buy there was too expensive and we felt a little fleeced
sometime: £2 for a can of coke, £15 for suntan oil, etc.  Anyway, I know it’s the same wherever you stay in the world in 5 star places.
The best thing there was the kiting conditions and the Mark Warner kite surf team.  We had perfect conditions every day and the kite lads: Dan, Oli and Euan could not have been better.  They were very helpful, cheerful and friendly and gave top rate instruction to us all.  They were also very enthusiastic and got excited to see us learn new stuff which you don’t always get with kitesurf instructors who you sometimes feel are bored by you.  Anyway, when I booked your advice was that the Surf Motion Centre may be better.  I would say the opposite as we had a couple come to us mid way through the week and they said it was not a patch on the Mark Warner guys.