La Ventana - Day 5 (recap) Friday night, post session, dinner potluck

So, as I mentioned ,Friday afternoon the wind starts to blow. This is day two of consecutive wind. I rode my 11m Eclipse Nano yesterday, and since I am feeling optimistic today I end up pumping the 11m again, even though it is a bit light early on and I am holding out hope that the wind will fill in as the afternoon progresses. I had plans to work with Becky for awhile prior to myself taking a session anyways, so the extra wait for better wind is no big deal.

Yesterday after losing her board, Becky got pulled pretty close (actually scared the crap out of me) to the white buoy just upwind from Baja Joe's. If you don't know already, getting your lines tangled on something like a buoy and then having your kite power up in the wind can spell disaster! I actually jumped in a kayak and paddled out to her. She wasn't tangled up in the buoy rope, even though she went over it, thank goodness, but it was a close call and it did frighten me. She was paying so much attention to getting the kite relaunched that she didn't see herself get pulled right into line with and over the buoy.

After this experience, I really felt like Becky should have some supervision while kiting, until she was a bit more comfortable relaunching, body dragging, and had locked down a few more board skills.

Anyways, today while the wind is light we decide to head up to the campgrounds (in the pic above it's the top right between the two rock jetty piles) where Becky can launch and then downwind it to Baja Joe's.

So we get there and Becky had been pretty insistent that I let her do everything herself....as she starts to suit up she realizes that she forgot her impact vest . One of us has to go back and get it. Becky decides that since she forgot it, she will go get it. So I get to sit on the beach and hang out while she walks back to Casa Verde to get it.

Not all that bad of deal really, sitting on a sunny beach and all, but still a bit frustrating, especially because the wind keeps building and building, getting more prime by the minute. I start seeing fellow pskiters on the water.

More and more kites are in the air, more and more kites are in the air, More and More Kites Are In The Air, and I just sit there and stare and wait and wait and wait...for what seems like an eternity....

green Best Waroo is Kynan

OK, so maybe it wasn't that long, but after about 15-20 minutes she is back with her forgotten gear in hand...and more than a little red faced.  She then ever so subtly starts complaining about being too hot and tired from hurrying down the beach and back, in the sun, and wearing her full wetsuit to "hustle and get out there" as I put it.

Obviously if you know me, then you know by now my patience is running a little thin, so I tell her that once she is in the water she will cool off..."So hurry up and launch baby!" A coaching/supervision session with me being slightly frustrated and wanting to get out on the water myself......yeah, not the best idea!!!!

Becky launches and as only Murphy's Law could dictate, at about 100m from shore, she goes over the front of the board. I try to signal to her to lay out horizontal in the water and bodydrag upwind....not happening. After a few moments she ended up another 100m from her board. At this point there is no hope of her getting the board by herself.

She eventually comes into shore pretty beat up emotionally. I am sure that I did not help matters either. I realize at this point that:

1. I should never work with someone who is learning how to kite before I get a session in myself :)
2. Becky should probably go talk to the professionals that run Girl's Kite Camp at Baja Joe's. I am afraid that she is enforcing bad habits and it will be much better for our relationship if someone else offers her instruction.

Regardless of the snafu and Beckly being upset, I can't help myself, I have got to get out there...the wind is really good right now! I figure that since during Becky's last run she didn't hurt anything more than her confidence, that I have only one choice at this moment...and that is to grab my board, hook-in to the 11m, and hit the water.

I have, up to this point in my riding career, what ends up being a epic session. I work on various transitions: stop, slide, toe side, big heel side.....I even jump two or thee times. It was a blast, even though each jump was a failure and ended in a splash. I land near Baja Joe's after a bit, walk up above Casa Verde, launch again, and pretty much repeat the experience.

This time however, I land a jump. Not all that high of a jump mind you. I took it easy, but all the same I had a lot of speed when I did it...yes I did it...a clear "I came off the water" and "I landed this sh*t, whoa yeah baby!"

After coming to shore in front of Baja Joe's for a second time, I decide to call it quits for the day since I had two epic mini-downwinder runs. My feet are still getting pretty tired and achy within 30-40 minutes of consecutive riding.

When I get back to Casa Verde after walking the kite up from Baja Joe's, Becky decides to go out one more time before the wind stops, determined "not to let the horse get the best of her". She has a decent session, practices body dragging upwind, regains some confidence (it always best to end a session on a good note) but still she decides afterwards that she should go set up lessons for tomorrow. So I wait in front of Baja Joe's while she goes in and reserves a timeslot for the following day, aka Saturday.

That night we have a great evening potluck. Everyone brings or prepares something...the Sierra that John bought taste absolutely great. A little bony, but tasty tasty tasty!!! Dinner is awesome regardless of spitting out a few fish bones, if you ask me at least...we also have lots of guacamole, salsa, beer...mm mmm good.

I must have had a bunch of beer and margaritas mixed with a good time, and so must have Becky, because neither of us took video or pictures of the evening.

One of our fellow pskiters took this picture of the moon that night.

                             

picture by Duncan aka Windman

La Ventana - Day 5 (recap) bike ride, gut some fish, wind on its way.....

Yesterday morning as I head out to go spearfish, Becky got up and did yoga.  She also took these pictures of the sunrise from the yoga deck.  Gorgeous!  I am so glad she thought to take these.

before yoga

after yoga

Waking up refreshed today, we performed our normal routine...I cooked breakfast.  Eggs and chorizo...yum yum! And of course a cold Mexican beer!!!

                           

Then we decided to head off on the Casa Verde bikes.  Having bikes at our disposal was sooo freaking cool! It really did allow us much greater freedom to check out the neighboring countryside. 

The fluorescent green tires on all the community bikes reminded me of the greeen frame bikes that Google provided at BurningMan 07.

                     

Becky and I started riding north toward the next little town called El Sergento.  There is not much there besides a baseball field, a few mini super tiendas, and a local fish market. 

Here is a picture I took, while riding a bike, of Becky behind me on her bike.

Here is a picture of a hotel and restaurant on our way to El Sergento.

We also see some chickens along the way...

Exploring turns out to be a good thing too. You see, I forgot to call my bank and tell them I would be in Mexico. So, when we first got to La Paz and went to the Walmart to get some food and supplies, my ATM/Visa card got shut off when I tried to use it. This means Becky and I were really limited on pesos...and you can not use credit cards to pay for anything in La Ventana or El Sergento.

So, on the way to El Sergento we pass a gas station. We decide to see if they will exchange a $20 usd bill for 240 pesos. The girl at the counter makes the exchange, but we also notice that there is a ATM machine outside, right next to the window. YAY! We can come back and get some pesos later. (I had already called from Casa Verde's Skype phone and got the hold taken off of my card and account).

We stop just short of El Sergento and head back to La Ventana. We can tell the wind shouldn't be more than an hour away. On the way back Becky has us stop at a real estate office to look at the local prices. Pretty much you can find land on the water for about $35-50 thousand, and then once you build on it the land and house is worth $150-300 thousand dollars instantly.

On the way back we stop to take this picture of Palapas Ventana. They have built a purple rock drain for the water run off when there is a rain shower. Definitely pretty looking...the palapas huts look pretty cool too. I would say, if not traveling in a big group of people, the palapas would make a nice intimate stay for a romantic couple.

Palapas Ventana

Here is a picture of Becky and my shadow when riding back.

Then after working up a sweat biking to El Sergento, we get a pretty good rest and cool down period by just coasting down the hill on our way back to La Ventana.

When we arrive back at Casa Verde we join ranks with the other pskiters on the beach front.  Here you can see us lingering around while collectively trying to "will" the wind into action.  This is pretty much a daily occurrence until the fan actually turns on.

John Hausman, a good friend of Becky and mine, shown in purple shirt in the above picture, decides to walk down to check out what some of the local fishermen have caught as they land their boats on the beach just north of us.  He returns with 6 Sierra, a small jack tuna-looking fish that has yellow spots on their sides. 

He got all 6 for 90 pesos, or $7.50 usd.

Here I am cleaning them.  I cleaned and gutted them, while John had the hard duty of filleting the fish with the dullest knife known to man!

After we finished prepping the fish for tonight's dinner, we head back to the beach where the wind has finally turned on.  It's a beautiful day and time for me to get suited up and out there for day #2 of consecutive wind!

                   

You should be here: La Ventana

That pretty much goes without saying! If you kiteboard, have ever wanted to kiteboard, or just think all this stuff I post looks like a good time...then you should have been here!

But one person gets a special shout out... Alan Wilson.  We have been friends since 3rd grade.... yes, it is OK to feel sorry for him;)

You see, since I started kiting in June, Alan has been asking me if I have met a guy named "John Carroll" of whom he does business with at Amazon.com. Alan is a buyer at Amazon, John Carroll a manufacturers rep and avid kiteboarder.

I did not know who John was until one day I put two and two together. I am friends with both Devon at Urban Surf and Colleen at Bellingham Kiteboarding, and the two of them are brother and sister.

Alan told me that he thought that John's kids were really into the sport, and so I connected the dots.  Yes, they kiteboard as a family....super cool!   John is one cool dad and all around guy!

Well, at Casa Verde I finally got to meet John Carroll, hang out, have a few drinks, and talk about how we need to get my boy, Alan Wilson, into the sport.

This one's for you A!

La Ventana - Day 4 (recap) Thursday...the sting, the wind, sal' good

Old Cactus in front of Baja Joe's

So, Thursday morning started at 7:30am with Wally knocking at my door exclaiming "Ryan, wake up dude, time to spear fish!" or something along those lines. Within minutes I was up and out the door, in the van, and on our way down the road to the reef near the hot springs.

OK, the first craziness of the day is that the van's gas tank was on empty. Wally and Glen had just filled it up the night before, and someone had siphoned the gas out during the night.........or so we thought.

Needless to say, Wally was a bit pissed...if you know Wally then you know it was a bit of an issue, so the two of us stopped at the gas station to get some gas in the bitch since the gauge read empty. After dropping $15 in the tank it started to spray out....as in the tank was full....the gauge just didn't work.
I am pretty sure Wally just didn't know that the gauge was broken, although it did occur to me that the whole "broken gauge" ordeal would be a great way to get a full tank of gas from the new guy..... heh heh heh, as in this sounds like something I would pull on the new guy!

Don't get me wrong though...Wally is one of the coolest guys I met in La Ventana, he is hella cool!!! Totally trustful and generous....but hey, I could see how it could  be a right of passage to put some gas in the van, even if I never rode in it again.  (I did get a ride back in a jeep owned by Glen from Wally later in the week...so the gas was a wash).

OK.  So there are no pictures of the spearfishing trip.  Becky didn't come and bring the flip in the water housing to document it...so all I have is prose to describe the experience to you.  It was AMAZING!

They do not call the Sea of Cortez the "world aqarium" for nothing!  It was alot like Hawaii.  Tons of fish everywhere.  In fact you can hear the fish eating away at the corral....thousands of tiny clicking sounds the entire time. 
Here is a video (taken on the second to last day we were there when we chartered a fishig boat) that you can hear the sound of the fish eating on the corral underwater and get an idea of what I was swimming in. All those clicky sounds...yes, those are the fish eating and pecking at the corral and rocks for food.

I have no pictures if this spear fishing trip, although Wally did bag a nice tigerstripe-ish 1lb parrot fish. I hadn't seen one before, and it was not the normal blue variety, but it had cool looking stripes and was greenish in color.  Later in the week I saw them at the fish market. Wally said it was incredible tasting, but I expected him to say nothing less.

We spent about 2 1/2 hours in the water, and I think I got stung by jellyfish about once every 60 seconds....do the math. Pretty much I felt like I had ran through a field of nettles for 2 hours straight. It was not pain that overwhelmed me...but it sucked nonetheless!

OK, so hear is the funny thing.  When I finally stopped spearfishing, unsuccessfully I might add, (although I did bounce a spear off of a nice 5lb parrot fish's face...they are all bone, which I did not know)...my arms and legs were burning from all of the jellyfish stings I had collected over 2 1/2 hrs of snorkeling. I am guess about 200 stings all together!

Here is the thing though....everyone, I think, has heard that in order to stop the stinging of a jellyfish sting, all one needs do is pee on the sting.  Yes, urinate on it....that is what I have heard at least. 

So that is what I did...I stood at shore and pissed in my hands and rubbed it on my arms and legs (aka. the parts that were not covered by my wetsuit shortee.) Then I waited about 5 minutes before getting into the water and washing off.

And you know what?  I would like to tell you that the stinging went away...but it didn't!  I imagine somewhere in a grave a 2,000 year old fisherman's corpse is laughing at what has to be the longest running fisherman joke on the planet.  Pee on jellyfish stings to make it quit burning and stinging....better yet, have your friends pee on your stings...not that is funny.

Moving on, we leave right about the time the wind starts to pick up.  By the time we get back to Casa Verde there are kites on the water.

So I rushed to screw the fins into my board and then proceeded to get out on the water and have some much anticipated fun.

                  

I had a great couple of rides by following the plan set the day earlier, by starting off at the campsite and making a mini down winder to Baja Joe's. The trip lasted about 30 minutes, which I then walked up and did twice. I practiced my turns and transitions, and even one jump...although I didn't land it.

All in all a good couple runs, and my skills of getting back to my board by body dragging upwind have really improved since last summer, so that made board retrieval much easier. Also Becky and I each have an Ocean Rodeo Go Joe on our boards which help the boards to blow downwind after a good yard sale.

Becky also had a good day. She used my board, which since it is larger and has more surface area, it got her up quickly. She got several good water starts before finally catching an edge and getting dragged from the board. She was too far to retrieve it, and her one handed upwind body dragging was a bit rusty, so she brought herself in to shore and called it a day.

Afterwards we headed to a local little restaurant for dinner with a new friend, Brian, from Seattle. He took this picture of us at the table. I think you can see how tired I was, from the 3 hours of snorkeling and 2 hours of Kiteboarding, by the look on my face.  Yes, I slept good this night!

And that was it for the day.  I leave you with one last picture of the sky from Casa Verde as we started to walk to dinner.  It was a surreal purple tint that looked amazing with all the green foliage as natural accents.

 

La Ventana - Day 3 - Wednesday evening (recap)

After the rains stopped, Casa Verde really did look like the oasis in the desert that it truely is!

A look off our deck.

A look back at our room from the deck.

Becky and I love it here...even though we haven't ridden yet. Hopefully tomorrow will bring the wind! That is the rumor at least.

So, once the wind arrives tomorrow the plan is to set up mini downwinders from the sandy beach of the campgrounds on the northern side of La Ventana to the sandy beach, bereft of black sea urchins, located in front of Baja Joe's.

After scoping out the beach and planning tomorrows kiteboarding strategy, and since the rain had stopped, John and I head to the highest rooftop of Casa Verde for a 360 degree view of the surrounding area.  The things we do when we are bored...I think John and I both said a few prayers to the wind gods while we were up there.

So, one thing...or should I say the only thing cool about the rain is that the clouds make for a beautiful sunset.  Kynan, Becky, and I start to discuss the fact the we had seen a picture entitled "La Ventana sunset" in a post or on a website...the only problem is that the sun sets behind us...so the sunset picture was really a sunrise or at least that was my final take on it.

Regardless here is a look at the sunset facing out over the bay...the sun is behind us.  Still, it is remarkably beautiful!

And here is a direct view of the sunset off the balcony of our room facing the hills behind La Ventana...Becky filmed the sunset for about 5 minutes total and I sped it up to about 50 seconds....so this is the sunset time-lapse fashion.....you can see the colors change dramatically. (it is a little hercky jerky, but you get the idea)  Nightly this was our view...I  know, tough right!

I leave you with one last picture from Casa Verde that shows the simple beauty of a bit of painted concrete and rebar construction along with nature doing her thing.

La Ventana - Day 2 & 3 (recap) - Feb 2nd and 3rd

OK, so I know I need to appologize for not coming through on the whole "keeping up with my blog" plans, but in all reality, once I finally unplugged and the calming balanced feelings of vacation set in...opening my computer became the farthest thing from my mind.  I breathed in and soaked up the wonderful blissfullness of a vacation filled with great people, kiteboarding, and a whole bunch of other adventures.

Thus I apologize for keeping you in the dark and can only hope that you enjoy the "recap" of my vacation. I am also posting videos on the previous La Ventana post for Day 1 and 2.

So.... Day 2 night or Tuesday night, was amazing.  We went to pizza night at Glen's place.  On the way there about 5 of us pack ourselves into Dave (from Conneticut)'s rental car:



Glen has an amazing looking view from his roof top...he is an artist and has incorporated his artistic style into the whole house by designing it himself...and he is a master pizza maker.  All the pizza made that night was a big hit with everyone.

Further, we had no idea what wonderful pipes Glen has for singing, check it out yourself:


Here he is rolling his world famous pizza dough while Wally and I discuss the finer points of filming a spearfishing trip underwater with a flip camera:



Moving on..... Day 3, Wednesday turns out to be the pits as it rains throughout the day. No wind. Becky and I do however get out and explore before the downpours. Here she is after we crept up close to some pelicans. 

The birds are so large they have no real natural predetors on land, and the fact that fishermen feed them scraps all the time mean that they are not very concerned with humans so you can get quite close to them before they take flight. Man O man are they weird looking. They remind me of prehistoric birds, pterodactyls.

And here is a close up of the pelicans:

Becky took many cool pictures on our little adventure.  Here is one of a dead puffer fish on the beach...just one more reason to watch where you are stepping!!!

And another of a dead eel washed to shore...this one is cool!

After the two of us take our walk down the beach, we headed as a Casa Verde group to Baja Joe's to check out the kiteboarding shop.  Becky and I didn't actually buy anything, but some of the crew picked up rash guards and / or neopren booties.

Personally I was just glad that all week I could ride barefoot....I hate riding in booties.  I lose all board feel and somewhat slosh around on the board.  Yes, I had be careful when launching and landing to make sure that I was not doing either at the heart of a black sea urchin bed, but that was easier to do than ride in booties if you ask me.

Baja Joe rentals

The boyz in front of Baja Joe's

Here we are walking back from Baja Joe's after the sky starts to clear a bit:

La Ventana - Feb 1st & 2nd - Day 1 & 2

Ok.... so I have found time today (which since it is slightly rainy, although warm, the wind isn't blowing) since we can't kiteboard, to update my blog.  Unlucky for us...maybe lucky for you if you read this.

Casa Verde is amazing!  A little oasis in the middle of the desert.  Pictures will be posted as I take them, so stay tuned for that over the next few days.

Driving in from La Paz was quite fun, and Becky and I really liked our extremely friendly and portly driver Manny.

He stopped at Walmart for us so that we could pick up food, alcohol, and other supplies for our stay in La Ventana.  There are not many options in La Ventana, so it is good to get this stuff out of the way before we get there!

After the 1 hour Walmart stop we head on our way.

It is amazing to see others enjoying the deserted roadside on the way in.  Whole families are parked on the side of the road, having a picnic in the middle of the desert.  There would be 2-3 cars in the middle of nowhere, with kids running around and adults in lawn chairs and on blankets.   Ahh..the simple life.

As you get close to La Ventana you have to be careful not to hit a cow...you break it, you buy it.  And they rule the roads so be careful driving here...especially at night.  The nights get cold, the roads are warm...so guess where they like to sleep.

After checking in to Casa Verde and getting settled, a group of us headed to Pablo's for dinner.  I had carne asada...excellent I must say. I even ate the veggies as everyone attests to the safety of the food.  I feel fine today so they must be right. Also, everyone enjoyed what has to be the biggest margarita in La Ventana.

Then back to Casa Verde.  Here is a picture of the bay and beach from our roof top.  Beautiful!

They say that no one ever makes it to midnight in La Ventana.  Either you are tired from kiteboarding all day, or there is no wind so everyone is partying it up.  That was true of yesterday.  Party raged until 11pm....then everyone carashed early. 

Communal dinner was amazing too thanks to the fish others Seattlites had caught.  Wally brought in a 12lb pargo yesterday, so we ate it last night too.  The pargo lives by eating lobster and shrimp, so that is what their meat tastes like....lobster. mmmmm mmmm good.

Anyways, the night closed after much partying.  A higlight was when Wally and I talked Steve Anderson into eating one of the pargo eyes Andrew Zimmerman style. 

I took a bunch of video, but the internet is not so fast here.  You will have to wait for the blog to be updated with video after I return.

Until then, I bid you farewell....its margarita time!

OK.  I am back and here are a few additions and videos.

First here is Steve Anderson after eating the above mentioned Pargo eye in true Andrew Zimmerman style:

This video is of the common method of communicating back to Seattle....aka SKYPE.  Everyone i have met in foriegn countries have started to rely on it for a cheap way to stay in touch.  I used it when I needed to contact my bank after not informing them I would be out of the county and having my ATM card blocked.  SKYPE was easy and simple to use, and it had crystal clear sound. My bank fixed my card issue as well.

It never ceases to amaze me by how far technology has come and how it continues to make our world a bit smaller. When you are not as lucky and me to have your wife be a kiteboarder, SKYPE is a life saver on international kiteboarding trips with the guys.  

Here is Vinny talking to his wife and kids back home during the dinner party, as well as a scan of everyone winding down after a good dinner and some frosty beverages. At this point I am fairly loud and obnoxious with the camera,but hey, at least we have some video of kicking it on the first night.

The final video is a common sight on a night after kiting...or even on nights with no wind...that is a gang of people huddled around a laptop playing the Go Pro videos filmed earlier that day or day before.