Mexico - Kitesurfing Road Trip
21 December 2006 dans Kite Surfing Mexico
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