Costa Rica

[lmontejo]

Hey everybody,

I have now spent 4 days kiting with Jeff Ruoss of KITEWINDSURF at Bahia Salinas in Costa Rica.

1. The place has a pristine beauty that I have rarely seen!
2. The location for kiting is simply awesome. The wind is slightly ONshore, like Alameda, and you have a huge bay that offers many places to land on the beach if you happen to get stranded.
3. I have been able to kite every single day. I have even gotten to test the new Switchblade. Other days I've used a 12m Crossbow and a Rhino 14 06.
4. Emily, your host, takes care of you in a grand way. Great cooking, always a smile...
5. Wes Matweyew from Ventura is also teaching for Jeff, so if you want to improve your skills, he's the man. From him, I learned to kitesurf on a surfboard.
6. For those of you who are single, don't bring sand to the beach - there are some awesome looking kite chicks here.

All in all, I highly highly recommend this kiting vacation for anyone. No ifs, ands, or buts! Bring the family too.

[Guest]

Bring the family too.

Is there something for the family there to do?

[Big Al]

Hey everybody,

The wind is slightly offshore, like Alameda, and you have a huge bay that offers many places to land on the beach if you happen to get stranded.

Leo

Do you mean slightly onshore? I've never seen offshore or slightly offshore winds at Alameda

[OliverG]

Bring the family too.

Is there something for the family there to do?

If they like relaxing in the sun, going for walks or hikes, reading and being away from civilization, yes! I think Jeff and Emiy can also make available many activities and outings which are listed in a previous posting. Check the KWS site for more info or the previous posts here. I think if you have your own car there's quite a bit you can do on outings and daytrips. If you don't, there may be extra charges if they take you out on some of the adventure possibilities.

[OliverG]

Hey everybody,

The wind is slightly offshore, like Alameda, and you have a huge bay that offers many places to land on the beach if you happen to get stranded.

Leo

Do you mean slightly onshore? I've never seen offshore or slightly offshore winds at Alameda

Yes, it is side-on wind.

[Guest]

OK, I've corrected the post. Of course, it's onshore. Sorry for the error :!:

As for family activities, I think nature walks are ideal. Surprisingly, there are few mosquitoes, which would for me make them miserable. You can see monkeys, parrots, many different species of plants and birds, so bring your nature guides along. I plan to come back with the wife and kids in February.

Some of the other kiters here have done day trips to Nicaragua to see the lake with the very large volcanoes. Of course, there are other beaches one can visit.

Finally, one can do kiting surfaris. There is an island inside the bay that one can kite to. Yesterday we left from a beach called Papaturro which is literally next to a jungle like setting from Jurassic Park. You could backpack some lunch (or use a bucket as Jeff does) and spend some great time there. It takes some 20 minutes to kite out to the island from this location.

Again, I highly recommend the setting. Yuri - you really need to come here!

[lmontejo]

I spent 6 full days in Costa Rica, and I kited every single day.

The place is AWESOME.

What did I learn?
1. Micro-sailing. Moving effectively around the bay required much attention to the winds at all times, making quick direction changes, having excellent upwind skills, hovering in a certain area until a push came by, etc.
2. Edging hard is a poor technique to go upwind fast. Jeff Ruoss showed me again and again that a small wake means a good kiter.
3. Pumping my kite is also a poor technique when I want to sail in a given direction. Again, riding straighter and flatter on my board, and powering my kite instead of pumping it allowed me to sail faster to a given destination.

All in all, I think that if I want to join the St. Francis races next summer I will be better prepared.

Finally, I went by a giant turtle in the middle of the bay - an experience I will never forget. The turtle took a quick look at me, and continued its merry way.

Happy kiting!

[andyandmarlys]

Good to hear you had a good time Leo...Just think, a few short months ago you were just getting up on the board... Now you are a world traveler kiteboarding extrodinaire..

[lmontejo]

:-)

[Greg]

This sounds like a great location for a "kiting vacation"....
But, If you want to pay through the nose! Like get bitten by things so small that you'll NEVER see them! Can wait three hours for lunch then another two for the bill! Can then walk miles and miles and MILES of empty beaches, play tennis or golf, ALL while getting bitten by those un seeable little creatures! You really REALLY REALLY love tons of warm weather and sunshine! LOVE working out on a staircase to stay in shape for your next EXTREME KITING ADVENTURE!!! All while being absolutly along, Then have I got a place for you!!
Now, if you can survive months and months of the above described trials then you might, JUST MIGHT! have the most amazing kiting experance of your life....
I warn you!, this spot is truely NOT for the meek,
L.M.G.