Session 22 - Famara, Lanzarote

Caz and I decided to take a little bit of a road trip today to the National park. Now don’t get me wrong we were both very amazed by the sheer volume of baron volcanic landscape but about 10 mins in to the bus trip, which covered 14kms of the volcanic countryside, we were a little bored. I know it is bad to say but after a while one rock looks the same so we spent the journey amused by the couple in front who both insisted on taking a picture of every rock and every bit of harden lava formation they could see. Seriously I hope I never have to experience their holiday pictures! (They still didn’t beat the lady whole filmed the entire ferry journey to Fuerta and back again!). We then took a drive up to the hill to admire the views across the bay and headed to Famara again for another wave session!

The wind today was stronger than yesterday so I always knew that it may be a mission to kite as the smallest kite I have is my 7m, but hey you can only try and the depower on my C4s is pretty incredible! Following a conversation with Vyky over dinner last night, she informed me that if I kited more in the middle of the bay the waves are more even and I would get more gap between the sets to just cruise and enjoy. So when we arrived I called her as I could see a few kites just inside the turning and this to me looked a much safer place for me to kite without Simen there and also because it was more onshore so I could play in the flats between sets more. Ummm. So I rig up the 7m and Caz launched me (oh yes love her she has been taught to launch and land now – perfect best mate!!) I went out completely powered so tugged on the depower to about half way. Had some fun getting over the little waves and then hit the slightly bigger ones at the back, though – pah I coped yesterday and popped myself over one LOL. Big mistake. Board got caught and I was swimming again. Gutted. Board came back and I tried again. This session pretty much stayed like this for about 15 mins until I realised I had to play nearer the shore line and then I got wider gaps between the waves to just enjoy. I was not having a good day though. I tugged on even more depower as the gusts were high and then it would drop right back down, so whilst having to negotiate wind differences I also had the waves to cope with and the sheer wind strength. I will admit that I came in after half an hour, shattered (I had done too much driving to cope with a longer session to be honest) and completely over powered, well so I thought. All my depower on and I still couldn’t get upwind. Gutted. But when I finally landed my kite I was relieved to get talking to man who landed my kite. Same height and weight and he had come in at the same time because he couldn’t cope on his 7m also. Then I started to note that all the other guys there had swapped to 5m and 7m kites and then I realised Yay for once it wasn’t me being a girl!! Happy days. Home for dinner on Caz’s last night and to perform the ritual de sanding and de-salting before we glammed up a little and went for some awesome Champagne Sangria at this awesome restaurant on the beach!! I will get the name for you all!!

session 21 - Famara, Lanzarote

After nearly a week of not manning up to kiting Famara I decided that I had to at least try so at least I could say I had done it. I am not too sure why I was so worried about kiting it but I was. If I am brutally honest the whole female thing doesn’t help! Due next week and naturally I become more sensitive and more cautious about my well being and therefore kiting is not a good thing for me to do!! Cautious and kiting do not mix as you tense up and then get wiped out even more than usual!! Hey ho, c’est la vie. Anyway I finally manned up and me and Caz followed Simen to the beach and ended up in a little bay which was 600m down a bumpy dirt track and I got progressively more and more quiet as the drive went on, knowing that I was going to be ending up in the bay that Adam had mentioned that was higher waves than the rest of Famara....... ah well may as well start of big and then the smaller waves look fun!

I park up the Car of Choice and then help Caz find a little stone circle to hide herself in (poor cow had been sand blasted enough at Flag beach) and then I got to getting my kit ready to go out. Simen took his kit to the beach and proceeded to talk to all and sundry and then by the time he finally decided to get ready my kit was ready, he launched me and off I went. The waves were definitely higher than they looked and all I could hear was Matt and Ben saying “man up and get on with it” in my head. I knew I would wash up on the shore worst case! So I went out, got out over the first few sets and then saw the biggest wave coming towards me, I got scared! I turned and came back in towards the shore and then turned and went back out and the same thing happened and took my board from me. Not happy. Body dragging in this water really isn’t like it is in anywhere I have been. The board gets moved by the waves and the waves move you down wind really quickly and you swallow more salt water than I have ever swallowed previously! I got scared. I got back to my board and came back to the shore. That was not fun. I was not happy.

I stood on the beach for ages, watching Kirsty Jones turning in and out of the waves on her wave board like they were the smallest waves she had ever seen, is was even more amazing to watch her practicing her free style and I was so jealous that I couldn’t man up enough to get out there and practise mine!! After about 40 mins of standing there getting progressively colder I decided to go and see Caz in her little circle. I was trying hard to hold back the tears, more from frustration than actual sadness that I couldn’t get the balls. She was priceless, “get out there Brunner, you told me I was not allowed to accept any excuses today so get out there and let me get some pictures!!” She was of course, right. So I manned up and Simen promised to kite with me and off I went. This was better. I finally got over the big set at the back and found familiar water, the swirling 1m chop of Fuerta!! I was happy here, I came back in and out and then eventually got told by Simen to stop going so far out as there was no rescue and wind also changed direction out there from the cross on to offshore and then I would just not come home – ever! That worked for me so I stayed closer in, well a little at least and spent 45 mins (ish) really enjoying myself until I got wiped out near the beach, the wave washed me and wrapped my lines round my bar and I kite looped smack into the beach! My kite just missed this poor newby who was setting up for a beach lesson, I got slammed into the sand about 3 inches below the shallows and grazed my knee and then I decided it was my time to call it a day. I felt awful as I had only managed about an hour on the water but god I ached and I was happy with my achievement! Poor Caz had also had enough of being sand blasted and we were due to head out for dinner with Vyky.

Girlie dinner with Vyky proved hilarious as always, brit watching was the order of the night and for the first time this trip I have had a burger and chips! The Cafe we went to in Puerto Del Carmen was a nice change from Costa Teguise but it was definitely good to get back to the chilled out vibe Teguise offers over the Brit filled hustle that seems to occupy the rest of the bigger towns. We are all still trying to answer why British men think football shirts are a good addition to a holiday wardrobe!

Some things I know...

1 – Marmite is not sold anywhere when all you really want is Marmite on toast.

2 – The grass is never greener, just people say it is to hide their regrets!

3 – Your mum really does know everything you have ever done; you just hope that there are a few things she hasn’t worked out yet.

4 – Sometimes the hardest things are the best.

5 – If you cannot nail what you did in the session, give up and try something else, frustration and kiting don’t work together.

6 – Sleep and eat well, you never realise how much energy you use up kiting until you haven’t got it and try to complete a new thing.

7- Pay the rescue on the beach if it available as you never know!

8 – Don’t forget your parent’s birthdays while you are away as they definitely won’t pick you up from the airport!!

9 – If it seems too good to be true it inevitably is! Although if a door opens and you want to chance it go for it, worse case you can say you tried and lived!

10 – There really is nothing better than your own bed when you remember for 2 mins what it feels like to lay in it on a cold winter’s day.

11 – I never thought I would miss being cold.

12 – Listen to your friends for their advice and experience, the first aid kit i compiled has been priceless thank you Matthew.

13 – Family and friends will always be there, don’t forget that.

14 – Take pictures as one day you won’t be able to picture the memory.

Lazy Days

Woke up this morning feeling even worse due to this bloody cold, therefore me and Caroline decided to potter about in Costa Teguise and then go of exploring in the car of choice, as she has now become known. I sorted some boring things out like travellers cheques and a new phone sim and then we had some lunch and decided to head of to the Cactus garden! Now as I am sure you are aware if you have been to the Canaries, there is not much around in the way of greenery that is not a palm tree or a cactus; when we are driving to the Cactus garden and I see 3 massive fields full of just plain old cacti I was a little disappointed. We pulled into the car park to find a small number of cars and people milling about and this enormous metal sculpture of a cactus in the car park and a small entrance. We were charged to enter (no issues there) and we walked through the gates. At first you are very underwhelmed by the Jardin Du Cactus and then after a small time when you stop giggling like children that some of them are so phallic you realise that it is a truly beautiful space, although not huge it contains over 1000 different species and some of them are massive! The grounds are very clean and there is so nice sculptures tucked into the mix for you to look at also. Me and Caroline enjoyed a very nice cold beer at the cafe and watched the world go by from the patio. It would be an amazing place to a bbq / birthday party although I am sure that there would be a few accidents on the walk home which wouldn’t be painless! By the end of the visit I had decided that I should open one of these in Swindon, LOL although it would have looked hilarious with all the tiny small cacti I would have used..... “so tell me again Miss Brunner, why are you bankrupt?” “Oh well I decided to spend all my redundancy on Cacti to build a tourist attraction” Maybe not hey! Famara tomorrow for a lazy beach day for Caroline and for me to finally man up and get out kiting!!

New Experiences

1 – Driving abroad. At home I passed my test 2 months after my 17th birthday and I have never really being without a car since. I enjoy driving and I really enjoy good cars; yet I have never driven abroad. So when I braved getting a hire car in Lanzarote I was a little anxious and consistently thought “I must remember to stay on the correct side of the road!”. Luckily Caroline was with me and I had her to navigate our way across the island and help keep me from ending up the ditch because I seemed naturally drawn to the edge of the road!! It was funny, we have a tiny little chevi thing that barely fits my kite kit in but hey it will do at 94Euros for the week!! I get to venture to Famara in it tomorrow to test the kite kit properly!!

2 – True Spanish Paella. With a fairly adamant aversion to sea food Paella for me has predominately involved being vegetarian and although good always felt a little like I was cheating. So when myself and Caroline had proper full on paella the other night with squid and mussels and prawns I was a little worried but it turned out to be very delicious! Even if Caroline got attacked by prawn spunk!

3 – Kite moves that I hadn’t been taught in a lesson. I am naturally a worrier, I get it from my Mum, wish is no bad thing but I also have a little bit of my dad’s lack of worry so kiting works out quite nicely for me sometimes. When I finally switch of the inner sensible I then start to try a few things and I am always surprised about how much progress I make. I am looking forward to getting back on the water tomorrow and get practising my back rolls and heel to toe turning!

4 – Driving a car on to a ferry! Sad huh! Funny though!

5 – Thinking about change. With losing my job I always expected this trip to be a little time for me to assess my career and the way I wanted my life to go. I never expected to meet so many wonderful people and experience so many different out looks on life and enjoy it so much. I have had an offer for a job working in Egypt as part of the team that I was kiting with and a year ago I wouldn’t have even consider taking it with everything at home, now my outlook is although I would be away from home I would also be at my surrogate home and learning at least one new language! Ha.

6 – Waxing. I am blessed with a very dear friend at home who does my bikini line every few weeks and I know her very well and it doesn’t worry me one bit, when you are away for 10 weeks in foreign climbs this simple and short task becomes a mission! Luckily I have a friend who lives in the canaries and recommended a great English owned salon which I managed to visit today in relative comfort! Thanks Vyks.

Stir crazy and wind blown.

Fuertaventura was the order of the day today, I want to kite somewhere I assumed would have wind and say hello to the guys on the beach an show Caz where I had been hanging out a little also. Unfortunately there wasn't much wind and what was there was onshore which doesn't play well for the rocks along the shore line. So we had a very lazy day watching the lessons on the beach, man i have seen some slow learners but these people should never kite, ever!!

It was nice to go back for me but I think a little boring for Caroline and I think by the end of the day we had both gone stir crazy as we found ourselves discussing schooling of children and I think that I wont send my kids to school, they will be called Broccoli and Marmite and they will be in charge of learning everything themselves whilst living in the garage.... It is obviously not the truth just a demonstration of what happens when I don't get to kite and when Caz is left in the wind too long.

Luckily I am glad I didn't kite as my friend went out and came in with a huge gash on his knee which required a hospital trip and 4 stitches in the end - those rocks would have found me first if I had gone out!!

Happy lazy days, looking forward to wind on Thursday as I would have had nearly a week off and I am getting very very bored!!

XX

Prawn Spunk...

As Caz had only arrived late on Sunday night we decided that due to a lack of wind on the island we would just chill and get some food in and catch up as we hadnt sen each other for about 2 months.

We eventually surfaced about 11am which is normally not heard of in my world and we wondered about the town and explored what there was to offer, to which I found a great place to have a good massage which I had no idea how much I needed - wow my back was sore!! We then went and sat down at Poco loco's so i could catch up with updating my blog and went for a walk down by the beach. Here the lazy mooching ended as we discovered this great little Tapas bar and we sat there for the whole afternoon playing catch up on the news and gossip and reminiscing on old days from school, it is amazing how much we have covered in the 20 years we have known each other! After several glasses of wine in the sunshine we move in to the shelter and decide to have paella.... well when in Spain and all that! It was hilarious I have never peeled a prawn in my life so Caroline is trying to teach me and all of a sudden her white beach top is covered in the contents of the prawn and the waiters have noticed and they are laughing with me!! Bless her, we have yet to get the prawn spunk out of her top but hey priceless moment!!

We are not in Kansas anymore ToTo.....

After 12 hours well deserved sleep I finally surface and decide that making my own breakfast is pointless when there is a very cute little french cafe just up the road from the apartments and they do great Coffee!! I go and settle in with my book and decide to text Vyky's housemate Simen and ask him to join me for a coffee. I am veyr glad that I did. We had a good natter and he invited me to join him at his flat so I could use his net to update this and also chat to Bennie on facebook for a couple of hours. It was awesome to just hangout in somewhere that looked like a home. I am into my 5th week away and I am really missing my home comforts and my pictures!! (Obviously Katie and Charley too, but I am not sure that Katie would appreciate me calling her a home comfort!)

After a very very lazy day hanging out with Simon I brave the local supermarket for some basics for me and Caz and then chillout in the sunshine by the little pool in the apartment and try and decide what to do whilst I wait for Caroline. I thought that I was joining Simen and Vyky for dinner but it seems I am having mobile issues which sucks. They tried to text me and I have not recieved anything, very odd. So i jaunt out to a cute little bar I found last night which is run by a very friendly man called Angelo. I decide to have meatballs for dinner in there and a few glasses of vino whilst watching a very dark movie which had been dubbed in spanish - no idea why I was trying to watch it but it amused me!!

Then the phone rings - YAY Caroline is here!!! I run out of the bar leaving all my stuff with Angelo and go and collect her from the front of the apartments. I was sooooo happy to see her!! We spent the evening having a few drinks and Simen came along too for a few also. Very nice chilled evening and amazing how much cheaper it is here compared to fuerte.

Happy Days, Caroline is here and we are going to have a lazy few days and I will kite as and when I can be arsed!!

More to come but my battery is just about to die. Time to find the place to get a bikini line wax..... hey I have been away 5 weeks.... LOL

We are not in Kansas now ToTo!!! XXX

Lanzarote, Costa Teguise

Well well well that was a journey!!

I strolled with a hangover and 4 hours sleep with 32kgs of luggage, how it gets heavier I dont know, to the ferry which was about 10 minutes away from the apartment but felt like an age!! I get my ticket and sit with the girls and wait basking in the sunshine for the 2pm ferry. The journey was really pleasant if I am honest as I have never been on a ferry and I had no idea what to expect (although to be honest it only took 25 minutes so I was hardly braving the big wide world!!). I arrived in Playa Blanco and then had to negotiate finding the bus stop!! I eventually managed to drag the body bag up the road and used it as a very comfortable seat / bed for the 45 mins I had to wait for the bus to Arecife. The bus journey was stunning and I have to say that I was very surprised at how stunning the Lanza countryside was. The bus ride took about an hour and hour and stopped in some very cute little villages. I eventually arrived in Arecife and managed to grab a taxi from the bus station which took me to Costa Teguise. My first impressions were, wow it is so clean here compared to Fuerte.

I walked into reception and within 5 minutes I am greeted by Adam from Active Adventures and i have got into my room and dumped of my bags!! Adam then explained the local area and I was really pleased to hear that unlike Fuerte, almost everything I needed is on my doorstep!! He then kindly takes me for a walk / tour and we end up where I am currently using the net at Poco Loco, where I finally meet Greg. We all have a few drinks and I finally manage to calm down after a very hectic journey. About 7pm i decided to try and wonder back and unpack. My apartment is basic but much nicer than the one in Fuerte and the little pool bang outside is perfect as hardly anyone is there to share it. I am excited as my best mate arrives tomorrow so I decide to have some food and a few vinos and hit the sack. I was shattered thanks to staying up way to late with "Young" Ben and drinking a few too many mohitos!! Life is short eh!

Welcome to Costa, I miss my Flag Beach boys and Bella but it is nice to move. Jesus I am turning into a hobo!!

Session 20 - Flag Beach, Fuertaventura

Wind - about 12-16 knots
Kite - 10m C4
Water - flat
Aim - grow a pair and nail toeside and continue with jumping and popping off the wave!

So after a day of progress yesterday and a good lazy night in with Annabel I was ready to brave the kiting for a good long session before I left the island.

Sods law! I arrive at the beach for about 11am and there was no one there apart from the crew and no wind!! So I sat basking in the sunshine like a typical English girl, you think i would be tired of the sunshine by now!! I sat and read and chilled and then had a bit of a swim, something that I hardly do as normally being in the water involves me being attached to a kite! Then thankfully the wind came through in the afternoon and I got out for about an hour on my 10m. I had a ball! I came in completely out of breath after jumping, popping and attempting my heel side to toe side turn which was much easier than the straight switch for me! I was sooooo happy when i eventually nailed it, admittedly i cannot switch back to heel yet so so far i have just had to stop kiting and start again but hey this is good progress for me! I was so pleased that I rushed out of the water at the end of the session and had to text Ben my news, bloody good kiting people are never as excited about these things as you! I decided after that that I didn't want to ruin my session memory and packed up and went home.

I have to say that after a very dodgy start I warmed to Fuerte. The apartment was basic and that is an a slight understatement but when it is covered in sand from 3 girls no where is good! The weather warmed up and the sea state changed completely after the first day which made me very happy. I would say however that flag beach would be a shite place to kite if it wasn't for the team. The actual kiters keep themselves to themselves and they don't seem to have the manners that people have in Egypt. I am very grateful to Vyky at Active Adventures for putting me in the apartment with Annabel (and later Christmas) as i think my evenings would have been mainly spent on my laptop missing home, as "Bella" and I got on very well and I am very much looking forward to spending much time with her on random jaunts in the future!

Massive thank you again to Maurin (spelt wrong I am sure) and "Young" Ben for amusing me and putting up with me all day! Without you the days would have bee lonely and dull! Although I am sure I would not have had to travel to Lanza with a hangover if I hadnt have met you!!

session 17, 18 & 19 Flag Beach, Fuertaventura

Wind - Ranging from 12knots to about 28.
Kite - Ozone 7m & 10m.
Time on water - in total about 5 hours over 3 sessions
Aim - Toe-side and Pop and to work on jumping techniques

After a shitty day on Monday feeling rubbish and full of cold I haven't really recovered. I am just hoping the salt water will work it's magic and make me better in time.

Tuesday morning came and I braved the beach even though I felt rubbish and I thought i was going to have a lesson but this was moved (no issue!) to Wednesday. I had a short session on Tuesday but I was much happier as the water condition were much more fun for me and easier. So I got to practising a few jumps and had a bit of fun there. The team at Flag beach were there in full force also and they kept me amused for the day whilst I was resting in and out of water.

Tuesday night I went out with Annabel for a few drinks along the sea front. I am really glad that Vyky put us in a flat together as we get on really well and it has been really nice to have some company of an evening; as unlike Egypt the kiting here is not very sociable. The beach tends to be full of very sole centred kiters and they kite and go home. Christmas joined us for dinner later on and we mangaged to find this awesome little place that made the best Gin Fizz and also the most amazing sword fish coujons on long wooden skewers - yummy!!

Wednesday came and I had my first private hour. Ben aka "mr flysurfer" was my instructor which I was really pleased about as he was English speaking and also I had watched him fly about doing some awesome tricks which made me want him to help me along with the freestyle! So I went out for a little session before the lesson to warm up and see what the water was doing today (higher tide so more choppy over the rocks) and then we got to a follow the leader lesson. I really enjoyed this style of teaching as I got to watch what he was trying to explain and also he was close enough by me to make sure I was in the right position and also it seemed to keep the other kiters away from me to give me a little space to practise. I was soooooo happy when he explained toe-side and I just did it and straight into a toe-side to heel-side turn!! Absolutely perfect. Have not nailed it again since!! LOL sods law. I will get there though. So we are just about to head out to the deep deep water to get away from everyone and then crash. I put my kite over his by accident and his lines snap! Sorry I should highlight that he was borrowing his friends kite and he had only flown it for the first time the day before..... dear god I felt awful! Luckily I have managed to replace the lines and it is all back to good, but wow the poor guys face when he rocked up for his lunch-break session and I have broken his new baby. In true Becks style I lent him mine for an hour or so, of course he came in converted to the C4!! Bloody Cabrinha and there shit quality lines! Ah well! C'est la vie!! Massive thank you to Ben for helping me sort this whole mess out, I would have been lost if it wasn't for you!

Eventually I managed to get home about 7.30 and me and the girls went for some food and drinks to chill out after the long day. Christmas makes me laugh so much, she is the third housemate and no one can pronounce her name so she tells everyone to call her Christmas!! We have now acquired a plastic plant from one of the restaurants that we went to! It is called Geraldo and he now lives in our flat! I think i may have to take him on to Lanza and Morocco for the ride as he definitely looks like he needs to kite surf!

Today bought a bad start to the day, still full of cold and I didn't sleep very well because of it. I awoke tired and then I got homesick. I really craved a hug from one of my male mates and the fact that I was so far away from UK home or surrogate Egypt home made me really sad, but I manned up anyway and got on with the walk to the beach to spend the day getting sand blasted!! I got out for about an hour and a bit today and actually enjoyed it! YAY progress. I have finally got used to the chop and the slightly gustier wind than what I am used to and I still flying my 7m without worrying, man i love my kites!! I had the next instalment of my lesson with Ben and i was happy days using the waves as kickers but jesus I couldn't grasp toe side for shit and I was getting really angry! So on instruction I came in and had a break for an hour and then went back out after a jumping lesson on the beach, I am getting it much more now, although what is really annoying me is I got it fine 2 weeks ago and I swear I am just thinking too much into things because I am not so comfortable with the conditions!! GAY, I need to grow a pair and realise that I will not die trying toe-side!! Tomorrow is a new day and after Annabel's amazing chilli and tomato pasta I shall sleep soon and get up early to enjoy the water instead of being a gutless monkey!!

Lazy days full of cold

It is blowing about a force 6 out there at the moment and I am currently sat in my apartment feeling sorry for myself after taking a sensible pill! I woke up this morning with a very sore throat and a bunged up nose so decided that staying out of the water would be a better idea than going kiting and feeling rubbish!

So today I have wondered aimlessly around Corralejo, it is pretty town when the sun shines (weather is much nicer than yesterday) although it has a little spanish charm it is nothing compared to the old town in Valencia but then I was very spoilt with that! Thank you Matthew!

I am now currently waiting for my roomie, Annabelle to come back from surfing so we can go and explore and have a beer! Hard life hey. I will take some pictures whilst we are out exploring for the blog and for facebook!

Miss you all!

Session 16 - Flag Beach, Fuerteventura

Wind - 18 to 30mph
Kite - C4 10m full depower.
Sea State, 1-2m chop and some waves
Aim - to stay warm and keep hold of my board!
Time on water - 2 hours

So after about 20 hours of flying and travelling I finally made it to my apartment in Corrallejo. Shattered. On the plus side I also managed to get my luggage here too! So as I ride from the airport in a big white van with yet another blonde and tanned hottie I am thinking ok this doesn't look to bad. The wind is constantly coming at the moment and seems the forecast is for this all week which is good.

I arrive at the apartments and as I hadn't bothered to really research where I was going I wasn't either shocked or surprised when I arrived. The flat is basic and will do me for the time that I am here. I have facilities to make my lunch and breakfast which is the main thing for me and somewhere to sleep and grab a shower!

I sat up waiting for my room mate to arrive but couldn't keep my eyes open any longer so headed to bed at about 9.30pm and slept the sleep of the dead for about 10 hours! I awoke at the usual time of 7am and got all ready for a 10am start. I needn't have bothered! Seems unlike Egypt the wind is better here in the afternoon and so I eventually made it to the beach to sit there for 3 hours doing very little!! I hasten to add that I was in a hoodie and jeans as it was so cold. I have also paid for wetsuit rental (5/3) for the week as it is just too cold for my little Egyptian skin!

So I managed about 2 hours in total on the water which was pretty lame if I am honest but I am simply just not used to the swell and and the conditions and I was still shattered from 16 hours, 3 flights and good knows how much crap coffee! So I postponed my freestyle lesson till later in the week and tomorrow I will head over to the beach about lunchtime and have a good afternoon on the water!

I am not totally happy here at the moment but I am sure that by the end of the week things will be different. I am missing my 2 homes both English and Egyptian. And I miss Denzil and Charley!!!

Munich, the travels continue.

Wow wow wow it is sooooo cold!

I flew on possible the quickest flight from Hurghada to Cairo and the flight was awesome. I landed in Cairo and transferred easily between the 2 terminals which surprised me and I found a cool cafe with a milkshake and logged into the ever lasting free wireless that Egypt seems to provide. Thank god as I had 2 hours to kill before i boarded!

I eventually boarded the AirBerlin flight to Munich, obviously surrounded by German people (not a bad thing - just a language I have not a single word of!!). After take off i quietly get up from the seat i am in and manage to find a seat which is empty and curl up and sleep for the majority of the flight, apart from through some of the turbulence and I have never been the best flyer as many of mates know!!

I then arrived at Munich airport, well when friends said it was a big airport they werent lying!! I would highly advise and ordinance survey map if you can get one as I negotiated my way up Snowdon in fog and snow better than I can find my way round this place!!

Anyway the internet is not free here and I am currently paying 8 euros for the pleasure of having to do with the 3 hours that I have to kill!

I will write more when I get to the Canaries, hopefully manage to sleep all the way there too!!

XX

The end of the Egypt era.....

I am currently sat on the free wireless in Cairo airport and I am heartbroken to be leaving this country yet again!

I have spent 3 weeks in Safaga staying at the Oasis and the weather has been perfect, I have had 15 sessions in 21 days which is awesome and I have met so many wonderful people!

I am not sure why I have such a love for the Egyptian way of life, in theory it goes against everything I am at home. It is dusty and hot for one!! Yet everytime I come back here I fall a little further in love. The sun, the warm sea, the people, the kite spots, the lifestyle and the landscape. Ah well, I am sure I will be back soon enough!

Good bye for now Egypt and see you sooner than planned I hope!!

Session 13, 14 & 15 - Surf Motion with the Girls!!

Wind - between nothing and maxing about 26 knots on all three days
Kite - 10m C4
Water - Flat sometimes a tiny bit of chop
Aim - Keep going with the jumps, back rolls and back board grab.
Time on the water - between 2 hours and 4 a day.

Well what a lovely week I have had! I hooked up with Doro and Valerie every day this week and it has been really nice to have some company on the beach! There is definitely not enough kiting females in Britain!! I have had a fair few great sessions here this week and I am really beginning to feel much more comfortable about jumping now, looking ahead instead of at the kite or down at the water! This makes me really happy. I came off the water this afternoon after a great last days kiting, happy and shattered!

The surf motion team are awesome too, had some time with Brad watching him teach as I hurt my ribs (yes again!) so thought better of ripping it up for the morning. It was good to hear his experiences and travels and made me so want to continue following the wind. He also gave me a lesson for the back rolls (which seems I am going to have to loose my mind before completing!!) which was handy and he has helped me loads with my position for jumps.

Wednesday night bought me a night out with Doro and Valerie and the surf motion boys (see facebook for the pics!!), we had a great night and drank far too much! Seems Sasha more so than the rest of us as he didn't even make it to work yesterday, although to be honest the rest of us were there but only really in body!

I am even more glad now that I came back from Zafarana. I have had an awesome week! Thank you Girlies!!!

Also great to meet you Brad, Jon, Fhilip ( i think that is how you spell it) and Sasha!!

Now to the Canaries!

Session 12 - Surf Motion, Safaga

Wind - 20 knots max
Kite - Ozone C4 10m
Time on water - 2 hours or so
Aim - to land my jumps better.

A frustrating day for me to be honest. I went out with James and Guy last night for a few drinks and got home too late and drank to much so I didnt sleep well at all. I could have stayed in bed but refused to miss the wind!! I also stubbed my big toe last night on the walk home and now have a chunk missing and I am really cross as it makes it really hard to get my foot into the straps!! GRRRRRRR bloody clumsy arse! Anyway! I eventually got to the beach about 10.30 and on the water about half an hour or so later as I got talking to a girl that I had met on the boat over the last few days.

I had a good morning session, using half the depower as the wind was good. I got a few good jumps landed and I also got the timing diabolically wrong on a few others. I did however manage to rescue some one else's board so I am happy that I have mastered that!!

Other than that there is not much to say about today. I am going to have an early night and get to the station about 9am tomorrow and get on it. Got to get my landing sorted and then I can start back rolls and toeside (when my foot has healed!!)

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Chill out sunday!

So there is still no wind but at least I am back where I feel at home in L'Oasis with my friends! I had a very chilled evening with Amr last night with a few drinks and some quality food and then back to my room for a good nights sleep!

I was up early early though as I arranged to go on the BigDayz boat with James. As there was no wind I didnt even bother with my kites and we just chilled out in Soma Bay for the day, bit of swimming / snorkelling and some food and alot of down time, which frustrated the hell out of James and Guy but I needed it after the last few days if I am honest! Also it means that my ribs have had another day to heal!!

Looks like I may be headed out for the same trip tomorrow which will be good. Seems like I am blessed to be doing so many new things over here and then I will head to El Gouna on thursday I think for a session with Holly and then a beach party!

Looks like the wind will be coming back to us for 4 days before i leave starting on Tuesday so I am happy about that!!

Royal Zafaraana Hotel.

If I am honest I was hoping this would be a little piece of quiet and luxury for me. I expected a large hotel in the middle of nowhere and an amazing spot to kite, so when I arrived and saw the very large hotel I was not surprised! From the outside the hotel looked weathered but hey, appearances are not everything right? So the friendly driver and his colleague drop me off and help me inside with my baggage. On the journey up Milad had joked that I would be the only person in the hotel and I just thought he was messing around with me, he was however not far wrong. I walk in to the reception area, which I imagine when it was first built would have been astounding and there is no one there apart from what looked like 4 german guys with a beer who were leaving and a particularly rude man behind the desk. As expected they didn’t know who I was and they didn’t seem to be expecting me, I wasn’t surprised if I am honest. So I eventually check in to find that they have no wireless and what seemed to be no guests either! I started to cry. Poor Milad had done his bests to keep me in good spirits after leaving my surrogate family behind in Safaga and now he had a crying English female on his hands. The thought of having to spend a further 8 days in this strange place scared the hell out of me and also didn’t seem to be the point of the trip. If there was any wind I guess it would have maybe been a different story but with none forecasted till at least Tuesday I was not holding out much hope. I agreed with Milad to take his phone number and I would give it the night to see if a few guests emerged from the deeps of this massive complex after dinner.
I parked my bags in the room, yet another shock if I am honest. I opened the balcony door to take a look at the swimming pool and pool bar, hey if i cannot kite at least I could swim, well I would be able to if the pool was not dirtier than my mum’s pond! So still trying to find something good here I decided to have a look around maybe everyone was still at the beach as the sun was still shining and there was a little wind left in the air. So i wonder off with my camera to the beach. Well I was say one thing they were not lying about the spot, the clear water and immense lagoon is a kiting paradise, however there was no one at the kite centre and all i passed was 4 people with all their kiting kit (turns out these were English people who had journeyed up for 2 days kiting from a windless El Gouna. The spot was truly awesome and I can imagine on a windy day there would no better place but the fact that there was no one there and no wind was breaking my heart. I had no wireless so I couldn’t even whittle my days away on writing my blog and job hunting or anything internet based. I also only have about half a book left which would have disappeared in about 4 hours there!
I was shocked and for the first time in my life I really couldn’t see the bright side of this situation. My instinctive reaction was call Yann and Amr and ask if I could come back to Safaga, so I did and yes my room was still free. So I organised to be picked up the next morning after breakfast. This has ofcourse cost me an additional 400 Euros in total but I think I would have gone mad if I had stayed there for any longer.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think in the summer months when there are more people there this place would be sweet and I will go back again with a group of friends to kite and drink, but definitely not a spot for a lone traveller.

Anyway I can safely say that I was very happy to see the familiar smile of the regular driver I have gotten used to in Safaga first thing this morning and I am now back in Safaga till Friday night and I will kite it around here! Happy days!!

L'Oasis de Safaga

When I first arrived in Safaga I was gutted that yet again I have arrived to Egypt in the dark!! I disembarked the plane and followed the herd into Hurghada airport to be greeted by a mass of people all trying to join the queue for their visa with all the tour operators trying to find their guests and none of them seemed to have my name!! I eventually found the correct desk and a very efficient man helped me sort my visa and dragged me through the passport control and customs before I could even blink and say thank you, I think it must be a record for me, about 5 mins all the way to the baggage. Anyone who travels with excess baggage or sports luggage will know that it baggage claim is always your worst nightmare. So you wait and wait, knowing full well that the sports luggage is the last to come through. The luggage carrousel starts to turn and all the pushchairs and suitcases start to come through, you wait. You wait and wait as people slowly pick up their kit and you watch to see if the divers are getting their kit and then bang............... the electricity goes, the whole airport completely in darkness! It could only be Egypt! Eventually the electricity comes back and all of a sudden my luggage arrives, thank god! My gorgeous new board as made it here!!

I travel in the dark to Safaga, the driver seemed lost and that was not the best sign but after asking a few locals we eventually pulled up outside the Oasis de Safaga. I was welcome by Maude and Philippe and shown to my room in a very swift manner. I dumped my stuff (literally as I was shattered) and Philippe and I went back down for some dinner and a lovely glass of red. The pictures on the website had not done the place justice. I expected it to be small but the colours and the decor where amazing and the first dinner was amazing. I was happy. My trip has started and I was in what would be my home for the next 2 weeks.

I have to admit that I was a little nervous following conversations with Philippe, turns out the multi spot was a new trip for the team and I was the first person.... Wow. The least inexperienced customer they could have hoped for, with brand new kites and board to break in and I have hardly kited this year!! C’est la vie! I had a mare of a first day (see session 1) but it has turned out to be the best 2 weeks I have had. I have kited 11 times in 14 days and only been to 2 spots twice. I have been to some of the best kiting spots in the area and developed much quicker than I ever hoped.

I wanted to write about the Oasis when I first arrived as I was so impressed with the set up and the decor and the food, but I thought that I would be best placed to wait until the end of the trip just in case it turned out to be just a bunch of pretty colours and nothing more.

Could I be more wrong! Yann and his team have set up what can only be described as a kiters dream! Simple, friendly accommodation, which is perfectly placed for so many parts of the Red Sea to kite, yet far enough away from the mass production type hotels for you to be able to feel at home there and chill after a good session on the water. Amr who is the manager of the apartments also loves to cook (and makes a mean Mohito) so the meals there are second to none, home cooked for you at a time that suits you and then you can chill out in the gorgeous courtyard area with a good drink or a sheesha (not my thing but hey!) with your iPod going over the speakers if you ask nicely.

Yann and Philippe (Philippe for the first week and Yann for the second) joined me for dinner (and the few others on the multispot) and it was always great to feel like you were part of their big family! The multispot itself is the best idea I have seen for kiters (although they also do a boat based safari for the more experienced riders). I have been to more spots in 2 weeks than most people see in a lifetime and you so benefit from their local knowledge which has being accumulated after years of kiting and windsurfing locally. I had massively populated spots with a good rescue system and also secret spots which Yann has kited for a long time but no one else goes to! One great example was a place in the middle of a building site and we were pumping our kites surrounded by a pack of wild dogs!!

I cannot write enough about what a great time I had whilst I was there if I am honest, even if the first week I was in a group of 4 with 3 of them speaking French!! I know for a fact that everyone I have kited with on this trip will come back and would have stayed on for a lot longer given the chance. I am devastated that the volcano made me miss a week of the time there, just think I would be semi pro if I had come over earlier!

Overall, great place, awesome kiting, wonderful people (including the team at Nathalie Simone at Menaville), good food and an experience I will not forget for a very long time!
Thanks guys!!

Session 11 - Tobia Island, Soma Take 2

Wind - Low but managed a session so happy
Kite - 10m C4
Water - choppy but flatter than last time
Time on water - 3 hours i think

I loved Tobia the first time and when I woke up this morning and looked out the window, I was heartbroken to see a collection of trees all still fast asleep!! Ah well, I have worse days but if I am honest I was dreading getting there and having to sit and read my book whilst Rob played on his 17m beast, with no shade and nothing to do! ANyway I couldn't be more wrong. The wind came in!! Admittedly not a huge amount but enough for me to cruise about and play in the chop for a few hours. Chucked in a few jumps (man I am loving having a new challenge) and landed a god few of them which is a great start!!

I am hoping we get a good last session here tomorrow. I am going to be really sad to say good bye to Rob and Rich tomorrow as they have been awesome kiting partners but I have a suspicion that I will head down to Wales and meet them for a weekend session very soon!! It will also be my last session here i think as I leave at 2pm on Saturday and head north ish for a week at Zafa. If I had known how much fun this safari would be I would have stayed here forever!

Anyway the Oasis will get it's own page!!

Session 10 - Secret spot near El Gouna.

Wind - No where near enough for my 10m 10knots max I think
Kite - umm didn't really!! Tried to exist on the 10m = failed

Well, after an hours drive we arrive at this absolutely perfect spot. Huge lagoon and no one to be seen; but gutted. Pumped up the 10m and i am (yet again) first on the water and after three goes at getting upwind the wind died completely and that was the end of the session for the day!! Seems the cyclical wind cycle is back and 3 days of wind is swiftly followed by a day off!! To be honest I needed the rest as I was really sore from the day before so happy really.

SO after a while we headed to El Gouna for lunch and a few beers and then we just chilled for the afternoon and came home, nothing exciting but a good day none the less!

Session 9 - South Bay near Safaga

Wind - about 18-20 knots, cross / on
Kite - C4 10m
Water - flat lagoon waist height for about 1/2 a mile!
Time on water - 3.5 hours straight through.

Well well well, today was the session of my life!! This spot was empty when we arrived and for the entire time we were there it was just us!! Surrounded by typical Egyptian half built buildings and yet more sand we walk from the car and find a home for our things near the water. There was a pack of wild dogs basking and playing in the sun near by and playing in a small lagoon that was left after high tide, it was cute to watch but that is not why we were there!! SO to work. I pump up the kite, attach the lines and shove on my harness and I am ready to go, always a little confused to why I am the first one ready every time, anyway!! I was on the water by 9. 45 I think and i stayed there till I physically couldn't take any more!! Which turned out to be about 3.5 hours!

Today's aim was to try and get toe side started, which for those of you reading this who dont kite means facing away from your kite on the board, and having your toes facing downwards instead of your heels. For some reason I keep struggling to get my head round this and seem to avoid doing it by doing anything but! So I decided that trying to jump will be a much more fun way to go and with all this shallow water and hardly anyone on it it seemed the perfect place to begin!! So here goes! Heading left and so i slowly bring the kite to 1 o clock and then up to 12 and pull the bar towards me and I get a little air but nothing much. So I edge upwind and I come back the other way decided that I need to make the movement faster and a little more aggressive, well that was fun!! I was off, alot higher than the first attempt and wow what a feeling, I had no idea I would actually pull it off and landed the jump and came out the other side!!

There is hope for me yet! I continued with this practise and toying about for rest of the session. By the end my neck, shoulders, infact all of me ached; it felt awesome and I came in to get a rest and the wind died!

This spot was absolutely perfect for me as i had space and shallows and I really hope the wind comes good for yet another session there for me before I leave. I think it will be a very simulator place as Zafa for shallow and space to practise.

I have a few pictures from the spot which I will add at some point!

Session 8 - Secret Spot, Near Safaga

Wind enough to be powered on the 10 and dropped in the afternoon to about 12knots.
Kite - 10m C4
Water - choppy, sore knees today
Time on water - about 1.5 hours.

Wow what a sweet spot! No one else there but us 4 and a rescue boat we bought with us. It was a gorgeous day and the wind this morning was lovely but for some reason I just wasnt in the mood today, not feeling it at all. Maybe tired or just generally a little sore; but I was ahppy just sat in the boat watching Jan, Rich and Rob tricking about!!

I am back there tomorrow and hopefully will have a little more enthusiasm to carry on with my floating turns and then get going with the toeside work!

The hotel nearby was awesome, really small and hardly anyone on the beach to get in your way so when this spot comes out in the open get there before to many people here about it!

The water in places was clear as glass and the flying fish coming along side you is a a great feeling!!

The love of the C4s and the xenon boards has now spread with a yet another recruit who wants to buy a quiver of C4s after trying mine and another dude interested in getting a xenon board!

Tomorrow should be a better day with more wind forecast throughout the day, we are headed back to Tobia for the morning, lunch at the hotel near the secret spot and then back to secret spot for the afternoon session. I am hoping we will manage a sunset session soon although it is getting a little late for that now i think as the sun is still up at 7.30pm.... we shall see.

Session 7 - Red Sea Zone, El Gouna

Wind - ummm to be honest I haven't a clue, enough to be riding my 10m powered up! So I guess about max of 22knots....ha
Kite - Ozone C4 10m and Ozone Zephyr 17m
Time on water - 3 hours ish i think.

Well yesterday turned out to be a complete wash out when the forecast was showing an awesome day, so I spent the day with Olivier chatting, reading, drinking and he taught me how to play backgammon. Happy days. Sadly the french one left this morning for the journey back to his normal life and I went off to El Gouna for the second time.

We went to a different kite centre this time though, which was smaller and if I am honest I preferred it alot to the massive one next door that we went to previously. A little more friendly and the water was awesome.

Sadly the wind dropped as soon as we arrived so I spent the majority of the morning talking to a very friendly Swedish girl who had the same kites as me! After a while the standing about started to annoy me and there was a little more breeze, so I convinced Rob that he should use his zephyr and that i would happily pump up the 17m beast if I could have a go on it!!

Wow now there was a huge surprise if ever I have seen one. That kite was great fun!! It felt awesome to fly and I completely forgot about the depower on it so was riding it fully edging and absolutely lapping it up! I WANT ONE!!! Had a good session out and that and loved watching Rob jumping on it in the afternoon! So quick for such a large kite!!

Thankfully the wind came back after lunch about 2pm, and the 10m C4 came back into the room. I had a great session practising my floating turns (oh yes I have progressed) and also generally loving the sheer speed I can get from these kites! Jan has started making a little film for us this week so I hope to be able to take a copy of that when I leave next weekend!

Tomorrow we are headed to a secret spot which will be cute, just the four of us and my aim for the day is carving turns and toe-side riding along with continuing the floating turns and I enjoy doing them!!

I am really happy with my progress in 7 sessions and I think by the time I leave eygpt I will be astounded at how far I have come on!

Now anyway I must sleep!

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