While many of us think of Africa as a place now utterly in turmoil and misery, the New York Times is bullish on Mozambique, calling it one of Africa’s most beguiling destinations. The country has some 1,500 miles of pristine Indian Ocean coastline, and is emerging as a truly viable tourist destination, a notion deftly described in the article here. The culture of Mozambique is a curious melange of African and Portuguese, so you might be given to think of places like Bahia, Brazil. At least, that’s the sense I got from the piece. I have to say, I am intrigued. I have only seen north Africa, but I have a feeling Mozambique may be a place I want to visit in the near future.
Surfing Nicaragua
There have been a lot of articles lately, or so it seems, about new surf
spots in areas once embroiled in domestic problems. Honduras, Vietnam, and now here is one about Nicaragua.
This Times piece takes a
look at the surfing at sweet little spots like Popoyo Beach. It’s cheap, the cabanas are habitable and the surf is
great, so it all seems to come together. One does have to worry, though, when it appears in the Times if a once
pristine surf spot might just get overrun. Better get there fast.
Kiteboarding Moves
Ever pulled a coniption? What about Judo Air, the Toeside Rally or
S Bend? Or the 360 degree tabletop rewind? Or perhaps you have no idea what I’m talking about. Well, these are all
names for moves in kiteboarding, a sport that is amazingly cool. The list names of killer moves goes on an on, and it
is how well you execute them that determines your score in the sport. If you are interested in exactly what these moves
mean, and how some of the best kite boarders today pull them off,
give this link a try where there’s a bunch of video
showing how they’re done.
Surfing Video
I like the fact that lots more sites are putting video up. Some of the more active sites doing this are the outdoor
sports sites, which makes a lot of sense. I’d love to start seeing more stories in video as well rather than just
clips. But clips is largely what is up now, and so I thought I’d post some good ones from
Surfer Magazine. The
video is smaller than it should be (let’s go 320 x 240 for all video now folks, ok?), but the shots are pretty sweet.
This set comes pre-event from the 2005 Billabong Pro Tahiti. Couple of interviews, some sweet waves. Very
nice.
20 Years of Windsurfing for Club Mistral
Some things are odd to me and for no real reason. Like, it blows my at times simpleton mind at
how some of the best windsurfing locations can be found off the coasts of Egypt
and Turkey. And all this is probably fairly striking to me as I’m not much of a windsurfer, but I
certainly found myself caught up in Club Mistral’s history on
the sport as well as their 20 year time span in the biz.
From the big 80’s boom in windsurfing came several innovations in boards and sails and enthusiasts sought after
distant shores. Created in 1985 Club Mistral has been known for some of the best windsurfing spots past and
present, but with the 90’s came a slow decline in the sport. Many locations have since then been replaced
by new windy destinations, but on the whole Club Mistral is still looked to as one of the best in booking
your next windsurfing adventure.