When in Doubt…..4 Rules of the Road during REAL Peru 2010:
• Sessions before Schedules
• Don’t Bring Home your Catch
• Don’t Get Drunk and Brush your Teeth (with tap water)
• Finish your Drink!
REAL Peru 2011 is scheduled for August 5th-15th and we are taking reservations. If you are interested in coming with us in August 2011, please call us at 866-REAL-548 or email us HERE for more info.
August 7, 2010
Trains, Planes and Automobiles
Where we are in Peru isn’t exactly close to anything, but the travel was worth it with the first session! The REAL Peru group arrived in northern Peru with all of our gear, which was a miracle on its own. After a meet and greet with Johanna and Gary, our gracious hosts, we began the unpacking to repacking process. Out front of the resort there was no breeze, so the call to pack your 8m and 10m to go ride a place that was 20 minutes south, sounded a little off. We all followed the instructions, screwed in all the fins and straps and started our first journey….
A Peruvian 20 minutes later, we wound our way through old dirt roads that looked like they were carved on the face of Mars. To all of our surprise the wind was cranking and there was a nice chest high wave peeling off the point. With no delay, the 2011 Naish Park 10m was rigged, and I was on the water. Perfectly long waves and 25 knots after a full day of traveling is not the worst place to try a new kite. Before long 12 kites were on the water and everyone was shaking off their jet lag. I switched on and off with Julian Fillion who was on the 2011 Liquid Force Envy 9m. It was great to see the difference in the same conditions back to back. The Naish Park was quicker turning but spongier on the bar. The Envy was smooth as my grandfather’s Cadillac, and I could not get it to fall out of the sky.
We rode until an hour before dark and there was nothing but smiles. Pack it up and hit the bumpy road. On the return home we shared stories of the sessions past and remarked on the endless kiteboarding and surfing potential of the empty beach after empty beach that we passed. I would have been happy packing up and going home after that session, but I looked forward to getting some more after a good nights sleep.
August 8, 2010
Grit…..
“You get the grit in your teeth yet?” Slezy asked me as I stumbled out of my pimped out villa. The combo of the desert, fine powder beaches, and solid breeze left me with grit in my teeth. Based on the soreness from yesterday’s session, that was a small price to pay. We were planning an excursion a little farther south than we went yesterday, but first a morning surf and some killer crepes for breakfast!
The surf was waist high with some fun chest high sets. I waxed up a LOST… Squash-It 6’0 and walked up to the point. The good sets were few and far between, but we managed to get a few to kick off the day. Trip made the right call on yet another surfboard for me and yes, the Squash It is the perfect surfboard for Peru.
There was a thin cloud cover after breakfast and Paulo, our Peruvian guide, said that the kiteboarding conditions might be questionable. Pack it up and off we head for another day of our Peruvian excursion. As I was notified by our military client on the trip, we were actually almost on time for our departure. Back to rule # 1: SESSIONS BEFORE SCHEDULE!
Up and down we went through the Mars-like landscape until we got the call that our destination was not windy. Plan B. Back up and down to the spot we went yesterday. Paulo said it would be the best bet for wind if it was overcast. Sure enough it was. It was “light wind” by Peruvian standards. 12m conditions. Something most people would die for and something that would send most Peruvian kiters home.
I rigged the 2011 Naish Park 12m, but ended up just grabbing Slezy’s 2011 Liquid Force Havoc 12m since he was coming in when I was ready. The surf was a bit smaller and we started a bit underpowered. The clouds cleared and it was on again. My second session was on the 2011 Liquid Force Envy 12m. It was perfectly powered and the swell jumped up for a bit. No one was riding at the point, so I took the liberty to enjoy the place and had it all to myself. Riding the kites back to back, it was great to really feel the differences. The Havoc had more of a sweeping C kite turn and the Envy had unrelenting stability and was as smooth as you can get.
Other highlights from the day was the big pod of whales that was making its way upwind while we were kiting and the pack of curios seals that kept popping up to check us out. Oh yeah, I can’t leave out Slezak bringing Jonathan’s surfboard back to him by riding his board and Jonathan’s surfboard back to him, side by side, like a set of water skis.
The entire group had break through days. Ronald and Martin were ripping on surfboards. Jon, Jonathan, and David really started dialing in their surfboard skills. Sodie had Bluhm HACKING toeside turns on the wave face. Tiana and Maj were making it look like they have been riding in the surf for a lifetime.
The highlight of Eric Bluhm’s day came when he spotted the “sister shoe” to the janky rubber boot that he drank out of during REAL BVI 2006. It definitely made for an interesting nightcap watching grown men drinking out of a nasty rubber boot that they found on the side of the street. The girls looked on with horror and plenty of laughter. The alcohol probably neutralized anything inside the boot, but hopefully they didn’t break rule #3 : “Don’t Get Drunk and Brush Your Teeth”. My guess is that they might be missing tomorrow morning’s yoga class…….
REAL Peru 2011 is scheduled for August 5th-15th and we are taking reservations. If you are interested in coming with us in August 2011, please call us at 866-REAL-548 or email us HERE for more info.