Caroline: “Ok, don’t dip the kite in the water.”
2 min later.
Manuel: “Carolina, kitesie não agua, ok?”
Caroline: “Yup, I get it, don’t crash the kite into the water.”
After another 42 seconds approximately.
Manuel: “Carolina! Atenção, kitesie NÃO agua!
Caroline: “Yeah yeah, I get it, really. Keep the kite out of the water. Do NOT crash the kite into the water. I get it.”
And I did understand it the very first time. The kite should be in the air and not in the water – easy as that. It’s wasn’t really the theory part failing, and in this case, not even the communication part. It was the transfer from theory to practise that was the challenge. But after an hour of body dragging, a lost instructor’s t-shirt, a broken kite, a broken pair of sun glasses (instructor’s again) and sand scraped knees, the frequency of the kite hitting the water had definitely decreased. So all in all, probably quite an ok first lesson in kite surfing and a very relaxed afternoon at Lagoa de Araruama. Perfect set-up for kite surfing (so I’ve been told at least), a narrow sand strip out in the lagoon, creating a beginner’s windward side and a leeward side with no waves for the ones with a bit more control. Not too many kids playing in the water, just a family or two who suddenly decides to bring all their sunbathing chairs out in the water to sit in the most perfect kite surfing spot. Must be great to be so close to the action with boards swooshing past you, best view you can get. And best way to get unpopular as well.
Have been promised that they will bring a board out for me next time. Sweet. Looking forward to some nice “edge-getting-caught-in-the-water face plants” aka “full body whip lashes” for next time. And probably more kites in the water.
New Years in Rio was of course a memorable one. The rain did seize after all, at about 3 pm the last few drizzles seemed to give up. The sun never made it out but at least Copacabana wasn’t covered with black umbrellas instead of white shirts. Once again, colleagues and friends treated me with some nice food and drinks, this time in a flat just a block from the beach. Just before midnight we grabbed the fizzy stuff, glasses and a bunch of kids (the kids did belong to people at the party so not any random ones) and headed down to the beach. So, for the third time ever, I walked into a New Year with bare feet.
Have to admit, that Copacabana at midnight wasn’t as stunning and amazing as I might have hoped for though. Of course, it was great to be in the midst of all these happy people (didn’t count so don’t know if we ended up being 2 million or not, but there were a lot of us for sure) and of course the fireworks were good. Guess a bit of wind to clear the smoke would have helped a lot. Next time, I think I’ll try to get a boat sorted and squeeze in between the cruise ships in the bay.
So what’s the plan 2010? Any exciting New Years resolutions, anyone? I’m good at following up on them and put some pressure on you if you want to share them. Think I’ve got quite a boring standard list, like copied from a magazine somewhere; Get more training done, eat healthier, stress less, spend more time with friends and family, make new friends, send more post cards (yup, I still do that and that system still works even though it’s not used that frequently any more), what else? Oh, got these Brazil related things on the list as well, learn to surf, learn to kite surf and get that Portuguese going, can’t wait to start the lessons. Supposed to work as well I think…almost forgot. Seems like it’s going to be a busy year. Might have to skip the Samba classes.
2 min later.
Manuel: “Carolina, kitesie não agua, ok?”
Caroline: “Yup, I get it, don’t crash the kite into the water.”
After another 42 seconds approximately.
Manuel: “Carolina! Atenção, kitesie NÃO agua!
Caroline: “Yeah yeah, I get it, really. Keep the kite out of the water. Do NOT crash the kite into the water. I get it.”
And I did understand it the very first time. The kite should be in the air and not in the water – easy as that. It’s wasn’t really the theory part failing, and in this case, not even the communication part. It was the transfer from theory to practise that was the challenge. But after an hour of body dragging, a lost instructor’s t-shirt, a broken kite, a broken pair of sun glasses (instructor’s again) and sand scraped knees, the frequency of the kite hitting the water had definitely decreased. So all in all, probably quite an ok first lesson in kite surfing and a very relaxed afternoon at Lagoa de Araruama. Perfect set-up for kite surfing (so I’ve been told at least), a narrow sand strip out in the lagoon, creating a beginner’s windward side and a leeward side with no waves for the ones with a bit more control. Not too many kids playing in the water, just a family or two who suddenly decides to bring all their sunbathing chairs out in the water to sit in the most perfect kite surfing spot. Must be great to be so close to the action with boards swooshing past you, best view you can get. And best way to get unpopular as well.
Have been promised that they will bring a board out for me next time. Sweet. Looking forward to some nice “edge-getting-caught-in-the-water face plants” aka “full body whip lashes” for next time. And probably more kites in the water.
New Years in Rio was of course a memorable one. The rain did seize after all, at about 3 pm the last few drizzles seemed to give up. The sun never made it out but at least Copacabana wasn’t covered with black umbrellas instead of white shirts. Once again, colleagues and friends treated me with some nice food and drinks, this time in a flat just a block from the beach. Just before midnight we grabbed the fizzy stuff, glasses and a bunch of kids (the kids did belong to people at the party so not any random ones) and headed down to the beach. So, for the third time ever, I walked into a New Year with bare feet.
Have to admit, that Copacabana at midnight wasn’t as stunning and amazing as I might have hoped for though. Of course, it was great to be in the midst of all these happy people (didn’t count so don’t know if we ended up being 2 million or not, but there were a lot of us for sure) and of course the fireworks were good. Guess a bit of wind to clear the smoke would have helped a lot. Next time, I think I’ll try to get a boat sorted and squeeze in between the cruise ships in the bay.
So what’s the plan 2010? Any exciting New Years resolutions, anyone? I’m good at following up on them and put some pressure on you if you want to share them. Think I’ve got quite a boring standard list, like copied from a magazine somewhere; Get more training done, eat healthier, stress less, spend more time with friends and family, make new friends, send more post cards (yup, I still do that and that system still works even though it’s not used that frequently any more), what else? Oh, got these Brazil related things on the list as well, learn to surf, learn to kite surf and get that Portuguese going, can’t wait to start the lessons. Supposed to work as well I think…almost forgot. Seems like it’s going to be a busy year. Might have to skip the Samba classes.
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