As Joe has stated before, days 6 and 7 were an unexpected series of enjoyable events! We originally had planned to head over to the coast were we would try our hand at surfing. We soon realized that we would rather head North instead of West to avoid all the crowded beaches near Tamarindo and other high traffic areas.
The largest city in the Northwest part of Costa Rica is La Cruz and we took a one hour bus ride there from Liberia. From there, we found a taxi and asked him to take us to a hotel at the nearest beach.
Our driver first took us to the Blue Dream Hotel yet we were anxious to see the ocean so we asked him to drop us off at the beach (Playa Papaturro) which was located about 150 meters away from the hotel.
While we were swimming, we couldn't help but notice that it was extremely windy. In the distance we could see several people that were kitesurfing further down the coast. Soon enough, we decided that we should better find lodging and we walked back to the hotel.
After getting through some communication barriers and a bit of negotiating, we were lucky enough to get a room because most people had to reserve in advance. We quickly settled into a small cabina between two other couples. Upon meeting them and everyone else we came across in the hotel, we learned that the sole reason they were there was because of the kitesurfing. It was claimed to be the best in the world. Everyone also looked extremely happy all the time as well as extremely fit. We knew that we just had to give it a try.
That night we met Nicola, a nice Italian man who seemed to wear a perpetual smile. He was one of the instructors and he also ran the hotel. We gave him the rest of our cash and he scheduled us for three hours worth of lessons the next day.
The next morning, we woke early and had a good breakfast and soon enough we were down at the beach were there was already another group enjoying the water and wind. We situated ourselves further down the beach and began our lessons.
Accompanying the three of us was another woman whose boyfriend was an expert kitesurfer and he was already out on the ocean catching some air by the time Nicola got us through an introduction.
The first part of the lesson we used a 2 meter wide trainer kite to get the feel of how it worked in the wind. To start the day we learned how to steer the kite and how to make it swoop down and gain speed. Next was learning about the window of wind and where the power zone was. Then we put on the harness to gain an understanding of how the kite can pull us around. After simulating being in the water and being pulled up on our board by the kite, it was time for lunch.
The second half of our lesson involved learning how to work with the larger kite which was 9 meters wide. We learned how to attach the kite to the harness and how to get it up in the air. Then we proceeded to a sand bar to learn how to work with the kite without being in the water. We each took our own turns sitting on the ground hooked up to the kite in a harness. Joe was first and he did very well. It seems that his experience with paragliding was beneficial to his learning experience. Soon it was my turn.
I sat down and planted my feet firmly in front of me. Nicola kept a firm grip on the back of my harness as he guided me through the movements. The enormous kite yielded so much energy and before I knew it the kite crossed over through the power zone and I was being lifted off the ground with Nicola hanging on to my legs yelling commands at me to get me back down again. In my panic, I drew the control bar closer to me which made me go even higher. Nicola lost his grip on me and finally his words sunk in and I released the power bar completely, which landed me quite abruptly back onto the ground again. The kite dragged me a few feet across the sand upon my descent and I got a nice little sand rash from it.
Needless to say, the whole event shook me up quite a bit and I didn't think my heart would stop racing. Still, Nicola being the good teacher he is, wouldn't let me quit and in his words I "got back on the horse" again. This time, I handled the kite perfectly, but I was still shaking by the time I finished that I couldn't suppress a few tears of tension from slipping down my cheeks. Luckily, the dark glasses that were protecting my eyes from the wind and the sun also hid the redness that would have been apparent.
By the time Brian's turn with the big kite, our lessons were over. They had been well worth it, and even though my experience was a little more than I anticipated, I can't wait to try it again and really get the feel of the sport. What a wonderful way to spend some time while we are living in Costa Rica! I can see a lot of windsurfing in our future and many more nights spent at the Blue Dream Hotel.
Thanks Nicola for the great lesson. See you again in May!
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