30 days in La Ventana - Part 1

East Cape of Baja

Nancy and I just completed a month long house rental on the East Cape of Baja.

La Ventana is less than an hour drive from La Paz and a two hour drive from Cabo.  It also happens to be a destination kiteboarding spot.

We shared Casa Yoyo, with our friends Mike and Katie from the sailboat Pangaea.  The house was a short walk to the beach and kite area, and had a big patio to store all our gear.  

Move In Day at Casa Yoyo

View from our deck thru the cacti to the beach

Next door, cattle and the Kite School, "Girl On a Board"

Sunrise from our balcony at Casa Yoyo

Our shared goal was to explore this dusty little town and kiteboard our asses off.

Reflecting on our stay I have to say.... "Goal Achieved."  (more on that in part 2 of the blog)

What makes La Ventana so special for windsports?  The wind of course.

Below is a wind profile of a great day of kiting.  The wind turns on fast and peaks in the afternoon.   At night it dies off.  You have 5 or 6 hours of riding to choose from.

The red line indicates the gusts, blue is average and green are lulls.  From 10am to 6pm it is on!

When you string many days together it is kiteboarding nirvana.

The La Ventana Classic and La Ventana Windfest competitions happened while we were there.
The death defying jumps and tricks were awesome to watch.  They do things that seem impossible and defy the laws of physics.

The Classic showcased team riders and amateurs.  Categories such as Foil boarding, course racing, freestyle and big air competitions filled the windy hours.

Foil boarding competition at the La Ventana Classic

Need some beach flops?

Local kids perform a traditional dance at the La Ventana Classic

Crazy big jumps.  30 to 40 feet high were typical.

Here is a great video that highlights some  jumps and one competitor that lands on the beach by accident and drags off into the waves.

Tom from Cinnabar enjoying the event

Judge's Table at the Ventana Classic

The next video is of Fred Hope.  He is a 15 year old kitesurfing machine!  He won the big air competition on his foil board.  Check out this last jump where he ditches the board on the way up and flies way downwind, ending in a splash/skip.  A crowd pleaser for sure. (The video quality is poor.  Best to watch in full screen mode)

Post Windy afternoon
Happy Hour at Coya's on the patio