KiteDays

Since more than a month i´m in Fuerteventura now. I stay in a house of a mate in Costa Calma, next to the Sotavento Beach, where the René-Egli Center is located.

The Island is quite bleak if you don´t like Watersports or hanging around on the beach. The crisis in Egypt/Tunisia brought the Tourism here on the Island up to 40 % more Tourists…

Watersports-Activities offers the Island a lot… Here are a few good spot´s for Kitesurfing, like the Sotavento Beach.. It´s quite gusty, blows side-off and can be crowded but if you just ride a bit Downwind from all the trouble you are fine.. Ah i forget to tell that it´s choppy as well Okay, sounds not like the perfect spot, but there are not so many alternatives in the south..

If it´s not windy you can go to La Pared for catching some waves there. It´s an epic spot with sometimes some really nice waves.. I´m still learning surfing but i had already some good fun.. But i´m practicing in the low wind days more the stand up paddling at the moment which is just perfect for me to train balance and stay in shape.

I also started to do some Windsurfing and i like it.. Riding and normal jibes without losing heigh are already working..

Since i´m here i was every day in the water to do some sports – doesn´t matter which kind of activity, it´s just good to be outside in the sun and enjoy the fresh air

Yesterday Roger from www.spot-shot.com did some pictures. A special thanks to him – if you are on the island, call him if you want some good pictures in action..

More pics you find in the gallery klick!

After seven month´s of traveling i´m heading in less than two weeks back to Kiel.

It will be strange for sure..

Hannes

Wow, time is running sooo quick it´s unbelievable.. (again)

But before i start i have to tell a quite funny story. I had my directional with me an my board bag was 6,7 feet, more than 2 Meters.

We arrived at the airport and the first words we heard from an unfriendly 1,60 m guy was: “How long is that board bag, we will not carry it if it´s longer than 1,90 m!” He didn´t even asked where we are going. He was just yelling to me.

I was thinking shiiiiitt and than he “tried” to measure the bag. He was unable to reach with his tiny body the upper section from the board bag (was upright on the trolley). I was thinking again, shiiiiiit, i have to leave my bag in germany…

The best part after all: After he finished “measuring” and calculating (took a couple minutes) he decided, that the bag is 1,70 m.

I was thinking, “how stupid…”, and had problems not to laugh. But yeah..

This year we shared a beachfront house with 8 People in Small Bay. I enjoyed the stunning view every day and it´s nice to wake up with the sound of some waves coming in. (or the sound of some drunken housemates)

Actually we were partying a lot and went kiting as much as possible. We met nice people and made some new friendships.

But we met evil people as well. So we got attacked by a girl with some high heels, a friend got robbed on the beach and ended up naked. (this one is more funny than sad actually)

But in the end we all survived.

A absolutly must if you visit Cape Town is a trip to the chrystal pools.

Four or five Pools are situated a bit up in the mountains, nice to swim or dive from the rocks.

After appr. one hour walk you reach one of the bigger pools. If you want to go to the highest one, you will walk probably 2,5 hours (all in all).

The start is next to Gordon´s Bay. You just follow the R44 next to the beach and after you passed a white bridge you park your car and start to walk/hike.

Cape Town is a special place with a kiting scene which is probably quite unique in the world. The prices raised a bit since the world cup. But you can still live cheap if you want.

So we payed for a Car 3000,- Rand (ca. 300,- Euro) p.M. which is still quite cheap. For the house we spent less than 10 Euro p.P. / per day. All in all a good deal, especially when you have a look in which conditions you can ride with almost every day wind. From 30 days we had max. 5 days no wind. Or even less – can´t really remember.

I really enjoyed the time in Cape Town 2011 and had a lot of fun.

Thank´s to the Dudes.

For now i will spend two month in Fuerteventura, Spain. My first impression (had my second day today) is already nice. I´m really looking forward for some new adventures, experiences and people.

Then, in May i´m back in Kiel and hopefully the summer will kick in already.

Than my plan worked and I survived the winter 2010/2011 without a radiator.

Hannes

The time went so fast, that i´m already back in Germany for a couple nights. For the last weeks, we went to Rio de Janeiro, to discover this beautiful place. We met a lot of people and had good fun. We did several trips around Rio, like Buzios or Ilha Grande.

Check out the Trailer:

Brazil_TheTrailer from Hanno on Vimeo.

Let´s start in Rio de Janeiro. After a chilled flight from Fortaleza we arrived in Rio. I liked it from the beginning. The people you meet are super relaxed and very friendly. We stayed at the Mango Tree Hostel in Ipanema. I can fully recommend this place. A bed in the Dorm cost about 40 or 50 Reais, which is more or less 17-21 Euro and it´s only one block from the famous Nr. 9 beach entrance in Ipanema.

We did a trip to Ilha Grande, it is an island located off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

The island is noted for its scenic beauty, which includes tropical beaches, luxuriant vegetation and a awesome landscape.

We went that one day to Lopes Mendes Beach, located in the south of the island. A nice beach with some good waves for surfing. You can rent a board in Town if you don´t have one. We stayed at the Aquario-Hostel which was not that good. The breakfast was crappy and the rooms quite dirty. But anyhow a zen place for relaxing, hiking (if you like it), scuba-diving or surfing.

A couple days later we did a trip to Buzios. Also more in the south from Rio. It´s a peninsula with more than 20 beaches.

We hired a buggy and discovered the beaches on our own. You find a lot of good restaurants in the main street. Everything is a bit more expensive but nice arranged. They also call it, the new Saint Tropez.

Rio de Janeiro is the place to be – one of the nicest cities i ever visited.. If you have the chance to go there – do it !!

Tomorrow we are heading to Cape Town again. The House is full with maniacs – so i´m sure we will have a good time..

See you

Hannes

Appr. 250 Km more in the north from Jeri is Barra Grande located. We heard about this place from a couple of friends. “Nice lagoon and as much flat water and space as you like” they said.

So full with high-wrought expectations we arrived in Barra Grande.

“It´s amazing!” was actually my first impression.

We stayed at Stefan´s place. He opened his pousada and hostel a year ago. This year is his first season. In the last year he worked a lot at this place and it´s more than beautiful now.

Nearly everything is made from wood – you will not find any ugly furniture. Everything is so nice arranged that you easily relax.

The breakfast is more than nice with a lot of various food.

You can choose if you want to stay in one of the doubles or in the dorms.

We took the dorm and had only one other guy with us in the room. All in all the place was not crowded at all and obviously still kind of a “secret spot”. Check out the homepage: www.kitebarragrande.com The prices are more than fair.

The Spot´s

100 Meter from the Pousada is your private bay. If you are able to get upwind you can kite here easily. The perfect time is at low tide. A big chest-deep pool accrues and you can improve and practice your latest tricks.

Appr. 2 Km more downwind ist the big lagoon (best time on high tide). Here you also find flat water for just cruising or practicing. After you session you can go upwind again (takes 20-30 Min) or you take a donkey ride. Don´t forget to order one before you go to the lagoon.

The lagoon is so far the best place i went here in Brazil. There is so much space and the wind blows nice and steady.

If you planning to visit Brazil, go to Barra Grande, because it´s a really nice place to kite or just relax.

Today we are going back to Jeri and stay there over Christmas and New Year.

Take care.

Hannes

Since a couple of days i have now the 2011 Slingshot Fuel in 7m.

A quite good kite. Only the “normal setting” confused me a bit in the beginning… I made the frontlines a bit longer and the kite works perfect now.

In the next days we are heading up to Barra Grande (lagoon and rivermouth)

More soon…

The fruit called Cajú.. It taste in the first moment a bit dry but the fruit is full with juice.

They win the cashew nut from the little green thing above. It´s inside and difficult to get out. Here they “cook” it in the oven or pan.

Now you know why the nut is so expensive in Europe.

Time is running so quick. I´m more than 7 weeks now in Jeri and it´s feels defiantly less. Until now there was not so much time to visit some places around. The wind is still there and we had not one day without wind.

We moved to a bigger house.

In the beginning we had no electricity for almost two weeks. That was quite a interesting experience but in the end also pretty annoying. Now we got electricity from the neighbours because the electricity company has some problems to figure out what is not working. (whatever the problem is)

A couple days ago we had a nice halloween party.

A girl made us some nice hats and we were going as a big group of smurfs. Even Papa-smurf was there and struggled to not lose his beard.

Three days ago I went to Jijoca to get cash. (appr. 45 mins drive from Jeri) In the afternoon I went for a kitesession behind the dune. On hightide a little lagoon comes up and it´s a pretty nice place to practise some new tricks.

The wind blows side-off and even quite gusty..

In now 7 days Hanno comes aswell to Jeri and will stay for more than a month. Than we do some trips around and I will have some more footage to share with you guys.

Take care.

Hannes

After a good journey with no problems at the airport with the luggage i arrived finally in Jericoacoara.

I flew with TAP from Hamburg over Lisbon to Fortaleza.

The trip with the 4×4 Jeep to Jeri was quite exciting. (took 4 hours) A lot of animals crossed the street and the last 20 Km we were driving at the beach. You can only reach Jeri over the beach. They don´t have normal streets with asphalt, only sand, sand and sand.

I stayed a few nights at one of the approx. 130 Pousadas here in Jeri. Then i moved to my flat a bit outside from the centrum. It´s a cool small flat with my own terrace and hangmat.

A walk to the centrum take me about 5 Minutes. Jeri is defiantly a holiday village. The prices a higher than i expected. Anyhow, a good meal at one of the cheaper restaurants cost only 3 Euro. A Caipi 2,50 Euro.

I met already some really cool guys from all over the world.

The wind is really blowing every day with approx. 20 – 25 Knots in the middle. Sometimes a bit more or less.

I also did some good downwinders. In Jeri, there is not really a good kiting spot. The only one is at the Club Ventos an there are only Windsurfers. It´s also a bit offshore there.

But i had already a good session behind the big dune. It´s side-offshore here but with flat water and a small wave. The only negative is the gusty wind.

The most of the times i´m in Preá. It´s a place 20 Minutes upwind with the car from Jeri. Here you have some good conditions, a bit choppy but still nice. (like the north sea) At lowtide the waves are small and it´s good for some freestyle practising. When it´s hightide the waves can be big and that´s a good time for a downwinder to Jeri with the surfboard. (10 Km)

Brazil is really beautiful. All the people are so nice and always friendly.

A really good place to relax.

Hier gibt´s ein schönes Video zu Jericoacoara – ab morgen alles live und in Farbe

Cheers

Hannes

Brasilien – da war ich – gemeint ist das bei Schönberg liegende Örtchen direkt neben Kalifornien Eine kleine Welle war auch vorhanden, sodass ich meinen Wellenreiter ausgepackt hab… Als der Wind etwas auffrischte bin ich dann noch ne Runde mit dem kurzen Brett gefahren.. War jut.. Hier gibts die Bilder dazu… Danke an mein Schwesterchen für die Fotos

Noch gute 20 Tage, dann geht´s los ins richtige Brasilien !!!!