Family competible spot Baja

[Proparoo]

Every Surfer knows, you ain't gunna get real waves unless you are on the coast... Some people call them lil things at La Ventana "Waves" but I never have...

You want some waves you go to San Carlos....

[berrisbob]

Well, there are waves... and then there are waves.

La Ventana does occasionally get waves that can be surfed. When the tide is right on a morning after a few days of good north wind, the reefs just a bit downwind from Baja Joes will have surfable waves (for proof, check out these pics I shot last winter on Jan. 5 -
http://69.42.13.193/photogallery/kitesu ... index.html).
It's never epic -- no one travels to La Ventana to surf -- but sometimes you can have some fun in the morning while waiting for the wind to come up.

If you're kiting in La Ventana and you want to do some real surfing one day, you can always make the trip to Todos Santos on the Pacific coast, which is a couple hour drive.

If you want to kite in the waves, that is also possible in La Ventana. The same reefs mentioned earlier, as well as many others between the hot springs and Baja Joes, often have kiteable waves. They tend to be on the small side (think Waddell on a puny day), but are great for learning ir trying new tricks.

And I don't know how common this is, but last winter I kited at the bufadora in non-stop head-high+ waves one day when the wind was big and the tide was very low. This was big-time wave riding, equal to Waddell on a very good day. Even a seasoned wave rider would have found those conditions very fun and challenging. Maybe some baja veteran will chime in and say how often that happens.

The bottom line at La Ventana, though, is.. go there for the excellent kiteboarding in general. And if you're lucky and make the effort, you may get a few days of wave riding in as a bonus. :)

[Proparoo]

OK

I will hand it to you, there are some small waves, but if you want "real" surf you still got to hit the coast...

[whitecap]

I have not done the launch at Rancho BV yet, and it does not look like we are making the trip with the family this year. I will confirm that it should be a nicer hang out for the family than any spot I can think of in La Ventana- El Sargento....the key things are shade and wind blocks - which Rancho has as there is mature landscaping. The pool there is pretty cold, but there is also a hot tub. Kids might enjoy shuffleboard and ping pong, depending on age. I do want to check it out sometime in the future.

My family is talking me into a trip to Antigua for early January. Trying to line up some miles to cut the airfare down, and lodging seems reasonable. Anybody out there make that trip and have some comments?

Thx,

Bob

[knyfe]

Last year, I went to La Ventana in February. I kited 7 days/7 days I was there.

As for the kids - take your Alameda tent, but I don't recall it being so windy on the beach that it was uncomfortable without one. (We'll take one this year, but had none last year).

Leo, I know that you were out all the time and your kids on the beach ;-)

25-30knot is no fun for the kids even with our storm approved beach tent. Otherwise everything else sounds and looks prefect.

Thanks for the thoughts, G

[adamrod]

Hey, what is Rancho BV? I can't find any info on it. Can someone tell me what it's real name is and if there are pictures of it on the web?

[adamrod]

Any other input on good places to stay on the beach in los barriles?

[Bulldog]

Rancho Buena Vista. I think they have a website, but I don't know the address. There are tons of other places to stay in Barilles, too.

[adamrod]

Okay. So I've booked a condo in Barilles for a week. next question: How do we get there? Is a cab the cheapest/best way? Is it worth it to rent a car? what do people usually do?

[K. Cliff]

I'm lookin too... the rental rate wasn't bad, it was the insurance in mexico that killed it for me. I'm hitch hikin.