In the minivan to Cibauma, a gay German-Uruguayan couple on their honeymoon are having a great time mocking the baffling ways of liberal bureaucracy. According to their marriage licence, one of them is now a “senora” and therefore has to undergo a sex change, which they both find discriminatory and a complete turn-off.
At the end of a country lane, the bus driver kicks me off. I’m on my way to a legendary kite spot, the Barro de Cunhau. From Pipa, you would have to take a taxi for the 7 kilometres as the crow flies. After a short hike, I realise why. At high tide, you can only cross this river on a raft. Now, at low tide, I’m sinking waist-deep in water.
The Barrho de Cunhau is quite off the beaten track. From Cibauma it’s another few kilometres, there are no buses. On the way there, I’m lucky enough to get a lift for me and all my kite equipment from a motorbike. The return journey on foot takes much longer in the evening.
The Barro de Cunhau is an estuary that opens wide to the sea with nice wide sandbanks on both sides. The estuary and parts of the beach are protected from the waves by an offshore reef; there is only a decent swell behind it on the open sea. Inside the Barro de Cunhau there is a wonderful flat-water piste. I’m there around 10 a.m. and out immediately.
Unfortunately, the wind is blowing. After the long approach, I don’t even have 13m² to spare from running up the beach. But there’s more than enough space, there are just 10 kiters today and the four active ones are spread over 200 by 800 metres. The Blue Dream Resort, located directly at the estuary, serves snacks and drinks under the palm trees and offers kite courses at www.brazil-kiteboarding.com.
It is not until late afternoon that the wind finally picks up enough for me to do a few laps without drifting off. The setting sun bathes everything in golden light. The journey was tough, but well worth it. The Barro de Cunhau is a spot for panoramic kiting. After a few days of lousy wind at the surfer beach of Pipa, the Praia de Madeiro, this half hour is even more valuable. Sometimes it’s simply worth walking a whole day for half an hour of kiting. Even the lovesick kiteboarding clown from Cirque du Soleil agrees, as he gazes melancholically towards the sunset.
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.