February 7, 2013

The Other Side

We've had a quiet few days here. Erin's not feeling well, so we've stayed close to the apartment, swimming, reading (and knitting, though that's just me. I did take Hank to town yesterday, and brought him home on a motoconcho - a guy on a motorbike, just for a bit of a thrill.) I took the camera down to the beach in the afternoon so that I could show you the transformation. Every day, the wind is down in the morning, and the beach belongs to walkers and swimmers, but just after noon the wind comes up, and the beach is transformed - the name "Kitebeach" makes total sense.   (Very infrequently, there is no wind - or not enough, although it always seems windy to me, and on those days the beach is full of kiteboarders lying around dejectedly - staring to the East and watching the flags.  It's sad for them, but those days the beach is ours from morning til night.)

Kiteboarding has boards like snowboards, with straps for your feet on them. You put on a big corset that attaches to the kite, and then control the direction of the kite by pulling on a bar that has lots of strings going to the kite above.

The kites are huge, and they can lift a person way, way up in the air, especially if they get boosted by a wave.  I can tell kiteboarding isn't for me, because this is one of the worst things I can think of.  I keep thinking I'd be in Haiti before I got down. 

They go back and forth along the waves, ripping out to sea, then turning (somehow... I think you do it the way you would tacking on a sailboat, but I'm unsure. See previous concern about ending up in Haiti.)

They do a mysterious something with the kite, launch into the air, change direction mid-air, and rip back again, repeating the maneouver.

All day the beach is full of instructors and students, newbies and experts, and if you really want to see something, look for the young Dominican guys who were practically born on boards. 

I assume I'd be killed in about 4 minutes, having apparently lingered in the fine motor control line far longer than the one that would give you the skills to do this,  but man... is it amazing to watch.
It's like a poem. 

Posted by Stephanie at February 7, 2013 1:43 PM