TRIP REPORTS

Day 1- Saturday, November 27th

I could see the wind blowing over the green blue water and the almost empty shore from the flight to Fortaleza over from Rio. The next day, I woke up early today with the sound of wind in my window and a very blue sky. I had breakfast and headed to the beach to see some action with the best kitesurfers on the planet.

In the afternoon, I got a nice and big van and went to pickup Idriss and Michele at the airport with some good news that the wind was blowing at least 18 knots. We went back to the hotel and headed straight to the water. After a couple of hours kiting, a little beer to relax and dinner, we went to bed for the next day of kiting.

Day 2 - Sunday, November 28th

We woke up with another beautiful wind day. What's amazing about this area is that there are at least 300 days of good wind a year. We kited all day long at the beach park hotel right beside the competition area, blue water and wind of 16 to 18 knots. After a full day, we hit the sack to get ready for the road trip!!!

Day 3 - Monday, November 29th

Our driver took us to Cumbuco, a small fishing village about 1 hour from Fortaleza. Leaving the big city behind was a great feeling; you could feel the wind starting to pick up and the view was amazing.

About 30 minutes into driving, we spotted a very good place to kite called Tabuba. Though the area is small, the flat water lagoon had perfect wind direction.

We went through a bunch of small villages until we got to Cumbuco. Once there, we could see the kites from the road giving us the sign we were waiting for. The conditions were good; we had 16 knots for the entire day! We ate at a small but great restaurant with a view of the full moon. We then threw back some beers and headed back to the pousada for some must needed rest.

Day 4 - Tuesday, November 30th
Downwinder Cumbuco-Lagoa do Cauipe

Woke up and we had a huge breakfast at the Varanda of the Chale. Wind conditions were good for the downwinder to the lagoon (about 10km from Cumbuco). The trip down couldn't have been better; warm, turquoise water, the view of white sands and coconut trees, not to mention the perfect waves all way down.

After almost an hour and a half, we arrived at the lagoon in front of the beach. We took a break with some coconut milk and got back to kiting. There was some sweet flat water and a bunch of the professionals from the PKRA. After a big day, we headed for a massage and then back to the pousada.

Day 5 - Wednesday, December 1st Cumbuco - Paracuru

8:00am, the van met us and we did the downwinder from the day before. We started the trip on the beach driving the way to Paracuru, where we stopped in the Lagoon of Cauipe for some photos. We passed by spots like Pecem, Barra of Cauipe, and Taiba. All of the spots offer very good conditions for kitesurfing (river mouths, bays, open ocean) from 15 to 20 knots.

On our way to Paracuru, for miles and miles all we could see was wild vegetation, coconut trees and small fisherman villages. After 1 1/2 hours, we started to see the first kites on the water. We had finally arrived in Paracuru! We all thought this was the best spot. The wind blows from 18 to 25 knots all day long. In the morning, the low tide offers a beautiful swimming pool with butter flat water. The reef has waves that climb from 1.5 meters to about 2.5 meters. There was one restaurant/bar where we ate and drank on our breaks. It's not that busy, so you can take your time. We had a bunch of kiters that day because of PKRA, but everyone was enjoying themselves.

Day 6 - Thursday, December 2nd

Stayed up in Paracuru and went back to the spot and kited for 3 hours. It was time to hit the road again, and by road, I mean sandy beaches.

On our way to Jericoacoara we passed some incredibly spots like Barra do Curu, a river mouth that offers private kiting with great wind. The three of us used 8 meter kites. That's all we needed! The view here was unreal; dunes that surround the river mouth. After a few hours, we came upon Fleixeiras, Ponta do Mundau´ and Icarai´, beautiful bays with good conditions as well.

We arrived in Jericoacoara at night. This great little city has streets that are paved with sand instead of the concrete. It was really amazing! Jeri (as the locals call it) has some great nightlife, we hit some bars, clubs and restaurants.

Day 7 - Friday, December 3rd

Another day and lots of wind. After breakfast we went to check out Prea´ beach that is 12km outside of Jericoacoara. The only way to get around was by our 4x4 on the beach, or a small car that runs smoothly on sand.

We arrived in Prea´ and the wind was already 25 knots! We decided to explore two lagoons in this area; Azul (Blue) and Paraiso (Paradise). We crossed the dunes to get there and we couldn't believe the color of the water! AZUL!!! The wind was perfect at 22 knots. There were only 5 of us out and it was amazing. In the Paradise lagoon we had lunch in a restaurant that has great views of the spots. We kited until the sun went down.

Day 8 - Saturday, December 4th

Jericoacoara offers very strong winds all year long, but the months of Jan and Feb are the rainy season. As soon we woke up we could hear the wind blowing in the windows of the pousada. We knew we were going to have another great day.

We headed back to Prea beach for a day with 12 meter kites and had fun surfing the waves. What is so great about the northeast of Brasil is that it offers a lot of options for kitesurfers.

From Fortaleza to Jericoacoara are 350 kms of pure pleasure beaches. Sad but true, we started our trip back to Fortaleza on the country roads. We got back to Fortaleza at dark and got ready for a great night!

Day 9 - Sunday, December 5th

Before Idriss and Michele went to the airport, we had a very good session at Futuro beach for two hours with 16 meter kites. We had side on shore winds and waves about 2 meters.

It was one of the best trips I've had in this region to date!!