My Days of Kiteboarding in Tarifa, Spain

A view to my right along the beach

As mentioned in my previous post, I was headed south to do some kiteboarding in Tarifa. Here, they are known for having some of the best conditions for kiteboarding in the world…, which by no coincidence, is home to some of the best professional kiteboarders in the sport (uh, not me of course). And although I had kiteboarded on the snow before with my own snowboard and kite, the sport is very different on the water mainly due to the fact that on land, you don’t have to worry about sinking. In addition, the kite used on water is somewhat different so the plan was to take a couple lessons before venturing out on my own into the Mediterranean.

So after my second day here, I simply talked to the locals on finding a good school and went by many shops to get the scoop.

I know... I look dashing in a wetsuit...calm down ladies

The third day was the start of my first lesson and my instructor, Jernej (or Jerry as he preferred) He has been teaching kiteboarding in Tarifa for quite a while and was from Slovenia but spoke great English which helped tremendously as the first school I spoke with tried to set me up with a Spanish instructor. That would have made things a bit interesting…

The first day was fun but like everyday out there, very crowded as you can see.

I picked things up quickly which I could tell Jerry was thankful for and was body dragging in the water on my first day.. not bad. The second day was short lived due to poor wind so after a half hour we decided to pick back up on day three which was a great success as I was fully out riding the waves within about thirty minutes. Success. But just to let you know just how crazy it is out here, you only have a very narrow window of opportunity to fly your kite amongst others, especially as there are many beginners out there as well. Its kind of like pulling out in traffic going 60 mph from a dead stop. I witnessed many kite crashes and I was no exception as my lines were crossed from someone behind me in the water and his kite came crashing down and missed my head by about a foot. All part of the fun right?

A great bar spot at sunset

But one of the best parts of my three days on the water was heading to this beach bar above with all the instructors overlooking the kiters along the beach. And once sunset neared, many of them would head back out themselves as many of the beginner’s sessions had ended.  On my last day kiting, I was sitting on the beach waiting for my friend to finish his session and sat and watched some of the best kiters in the world doing tricks as the sun set. Awesome to say the least! Although its hard to tell in some of these photos, its not uncommon to see these guys (and gals) more than 25 feet in the air performing tricks.

My Friend's Instructor... On the way up...

And lastly, probably my favorite view of the sunset before heading out that last day…

Last shot just before sundown