The windiest spot in Spain (La loteta)

Had you thought Tarifa? I´m sorry, you are wrong.

Probably Tarifa counts with a higher average of kiting days (300days a year aprox). What I´m referring here is about strong winds. What about if I tell you that I weight 85kgs and my usual kites I fly there are a 7&4 meter sizes?

Where is that place??? I´m sure you probably have not heard about it as this place I´m writing about is quite new.

Now you might think I must be under the effects of something illegal, but Im not.

I´m talking about an artificial water lake built in 1999 (from the data I´ve found) and started to be used as a kite spot 4-5 years ago.

Close to the lake is located the biggest windmill extension of Spain, in the Ebro valley. See a small sample of what I´m saying here:

This valley is famous from the NW strong winds called "el cierzo" that hit this area quite often all year long.

The name of the spot is “La Loteta”, and has an ideal location for everyone from Europe that has in mind to travel to Spain by car or caravan as its close to the French border and it´s on the way to Tarifa (for instance). So if you are going south and you see online that it´s blowing I would suggest a mandatory stop, you will never regret!!

How do I know that it will be blowing:

The Cierzo wind is quite easy to forecast and its predictions are accurate, as experience has told us. It´s a NW wind and its usually blows more that displayed on the websites. You can check the wind in the following websites:

http://www.windguru.cz/es/index.php?sc=216216

http://www.eltiempo.es/gallur.html (I like this one as has proved accurate for me, for more detailed information click on “por hora” and will give you in km/h the wind of each hour).

The good thing about the cierzo is that its a wind that can be blowing 3-4-5-6-7 days in a row, 24hrs.

There is also a webcam (sometimes it does work and sometimes dont, but give it a try): http://lalotetasports.jimdo.com

South wind is the other rideable wind here but it´s neither as strong or as common. Same websites as above can be used to track south wind. But the real experience in La Loteta is riding it with NW!!!

Name me the 2 spots in la Loteta:

“Spot Sur”: Here is where you come when cierzo is blowing. Wind direction side shore, sometimes a bit side-on shore. Choppy, and when real windy you have waves (I´ve seen a guy trying to surf them without a kite!!!! ). If the water level is low you might have some flat areas.

“Spot Norte”: You can come here for 2 things a) south winds which are onshore /side-on depending of water level. Usually choppy. B)

You can also attempt to ride offshore with cierzo so you will have flat water, but I havent tried yet.

How to get there: 

I took the guide from http://lalotetasports.jimdo.com/inicio/acceso-al-spot-sur/, but here I offer a translation so it´s easier for you to understand (the spot is quite hidden if you dont knot how to get there).

Spot Sur:http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4180179065517873102#editor/target=post;postID=3775746522543181016;onPublishedMenu=overview;onClosedMenu=overview;postNum=0;src=postname

Spot Norte:  (will include a description).

Weather:

Summer is hot, winter really cold (thermic sensation caused by the cold wind). In La loteta there are not mid seasons (as spring and autum). Cierzo wind blows all year long, but the experts say that is more common during autumn, winter and spring months (last year I kited almost everyday from the end of August till end of October).

As the lake is not so big, water temperatures are subject to whats going on with the weather, in summer you can kite in swimsuit or short wetsuit and winter time people wear two wetsuits at a time + gloves + hoods (crazy for Spain!!!). In both seasons boots is quite recommended due the type of soil.

What you will find:

La Loteta doesn´t have much vegetation, everything is soil and small to medium size stones (maximum 1kg). Water is clean when the level is high, a bit darker with low level, but it´s not poluted at all (just the mix of water and soil). The entry and exit of the water is a bit messy due the type of soil, as it get quite muddy (dont be surprised to “stick” the legs till the knees in the mud. I usually enter/exit by putting kite at 12 and the bar high so I can have some pull from the kite to avoid sinking. If you fly your kite at 10 or  2 you will be slidding all over the mud).

Special suggestions:

-As wind blows so hard and the soil is a bit unfriendly to our kites, locals use to extend plastic canvas onto the ground (similar to the ones used in camping), fixed with camping nails to the ground. This help prevent the kite going dirty or punctured while landind, launching and assembling/disassembling the kite.

-If you want to rest or if you go to the car to get something, you will want to hold your kite while you arent close to it. The solution, as there is no sand to throw over your kite, is this one:

It´s a climbing carabiner attached to camping nail by a rope. You put your kite faced to the floor and attach it to the kite pumper rope. This way your kite will always in place. 
For more understandable explanation:
http://nachotejonpadrekitesurf.blogspot.com.es/2013/05/accessories-for-rough-conditions.html

Hazzards:

-If you see that the windmills close to the lake are not moving understand that it´s blowing +50knots. Know your limits when challenging la Loteta.

-Due the strong winds to not be on land flying the kite, once you launch, go as soon as posible to the water, and the same applies to when you are comming out of the water, land it ASAP.

You dont want to be dragged in a place like this, because there are some stones and the wind is hard.

-Newbies, unless you have a really small kite or the day you attemp is not so strong, I would NOT reccomend this spot.  

-If the water level is low (mainly at the end of summer), watch out for swallow áreas, as they may be in certain points. You will notice them because the water does “stange” waves. Take your time to identify them while warming up in the first strokes. You dont want to land a jump over one of these áreas.

-If it does start raining I would suggest to leave the lake as soon as possible as it can get really muddy and you may get your car stuck in the uphill ramps to leave the lake.

Any schools:

There is one kiteschool that I would like to mention as it´s one of the most profesional schools I know. Despite teaching in this tough conditions, they are doing an exceptional work. They have being there since the beggining of the lake and they count with appropiate equipment for this high wind conditions. It´s name is: La loteta Sports http://lalotetasports.jimdo.com/escuela-aragonesa-de-kitesurf-eak/  and the guy that runs the school “Carlitos” is well respected. (he is the highest flying guy in the aera, try to win him if you dare).

Can I camp:

It´s forbiden to camp in the lake as it subject to floods. You can get a quite big fine apart of screwing the spot to the locals.

There is a gas station 2kms away in which you wont have any problem.

If you need camping facilities, as far from what I know, there is a camping site in Zaragoza (50kms away). Please check the link.

http://www.campingzaragoza.com

Where else to stay:

The lake is a bit away from any cool town to stay apart from Zaragoza (almost a 1M inhabitants), so my recommendation would be to look for accomodation over there as it´s not so expensive and you have all the services and things to do of any big city.

Any recommendations:

-Bring your food, water an anything else you might need (redbull in my case) with you as there is no place to buy them in the spot (there is a gas station 2kms away).

-Park your car/van/caravan in the same location locals do, so no one can crash against a vehicle if overpowered, and everybody has room for assembling the kites.

-Please do not litter, everything you bring must come back with you.

-Dont be afraid of the spot by the description given in this blog, It´s a hardcore place and I just want to make sure you have all the information in order to avoid any problem while riding in it.

-Enjoy flying.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Buenos vientos

El pantano del ebro (ebro lake)

El Pantano del Ebro

This is one of the best spots to visit in Spain during the summer season, it does work goes from beginning of June till the end of September. It is the only spot apart from Tarifa that has kiteboarding vibe apart from astonishing surroundings.



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It´s located in the North part of Spain, approximately 80km north of the city of Burgos and 80km south of the city of Santander. So if we take into account the location we can say that this place is quite isolated from the most touristic destinations of spain. but it really does pay off visiting it.

As said in a previous post, this lake is located in a mountain range 1000mts above the sea level, which means that even in July/August, were we "suffer" the hot temperatures all around Spain, this place is cold. (to give you an idea, I´ve been kiting in July here at 9º), so if you come here do not forget to bring winter time clothing.

Both spots share huge landscapes to set your kites and launch. It´s all covered by grass and you will be sharing the location with some cows and horses, apart from kiters (of course). There are not hazards to crash with the exception of some animal excrements (it´s part of the experience, remember you are in the nature).

Marked in Blue, you have 2 locations:
Cabañas de Virtus:
North wind spot, side wind direction, quite shallow in the shore. Some flat areas for freestyle and learners, choppy inside.
Here the wind is thermal, and it does blow from 13:00 till 20:00. It can be gusty compared with thermal winds in the coast but it´s also stronger, and perfectly rideable. Expect 15-20knots in "soft" days and between 25-35 in "strong" days. Recommended kites are 10 to smaller sizes.
As the wind is thermic is difficult to predict, and there are many kiters that seem wizards with weird theories on how it will perform. Basically, the norm would say sunny and hot days, with high temperatures differences between Santander and Burgos, but last year I did go with crappy weather forecasts as rain and cold and did work perfectly.
If you go there, Here you will be able to see the full process of wind formation, and it is an spectacle. I will briefly describe the process.
1-Around 12.00, no wind at all.
2-The windmills on top of the mountains start to turn at a very slowly pace (each in one direction), you dont feel wind at all.
3-All the windmills start to point the North. (you measure 4-5knots)
4-A dense cloud starts forming on top of the mountain in the north.
5-Suddenly the wind starts to blow at high speeds. time to start kiting!!!!!
then 2 things can happen:
a) The wind blows till late afternoon.
b) The cloud that was on top of the mountain starts to descend over the lake (you can see it coming down), and depending of the day, you will have clouds passing on top of you, or it come to ground level forming a fog that you can not see 3 meters away from you.
Usually, when the fog appears the wind suddenly stops, but there are days that it still continues. My advice here is to stop kiting because you can get lost or crash with another kiter or the shore (you don´t see anything).
2 more advices for this place in foggy/cold days:
a) Bring with you a rain coat or a wind protection tent for your breaks between sessions to protect you against the cold wind (I have this one http://www.decathlon.es/refugio-seconds-0-azul-id_8056073.html) because if not you will be frozen within minutes and you will have to pack and go to your car.
b) If it has become really foggy,  do either of these 2 things, try to comeback to your car with a local or use your mobile gps to locate your car (you wont be the first one to get lost).

Concorte:
This is predominantly a south wind spot, onshore wind, shallow and mainly choppy, it can have some flat areas but it depends on the water tide. It can be used as a flat spot with offshore wind (North), but I would only recommend it for experts only or when the tide is too low (end of august, september as you would avoid walking long distances to the shore in Cabañas de Virtus). Also, this is the spot windsurfers use with North wind.
The spot description of Cabañas de Virtus can also apply to this one (grass, cows, etc).
The south wind can be predicted by watching several weather websites, so here is no mystery. also note that Pantano del Ebro main wind direction is North, so you wont have many chances with this spot.
The south wind usually blows from 12-17knots here, and is not gusty, so a big kite is recommended.
If you attempt to kite here with North winds, keep in mind that the wind blows at the same strength of the other spot but it is a bit more gusty (but rideable too).

Recommendations for this place:

• Make your couple a favor, and if she/he doesnt plan to kite do not bring them here, because they will hate you (can become cold), and while you are happily kiting he/she will be planning how to kill you in a really slow and painful way.
• If the forecast gives sun, spot can be a bit crowed during the weekends, if you are coming during the working week, you will have the place almost for yourself.
• Be prepared to eat one of the finest meat you can find in Spain (remember all the cows surrounding you) at really affordable places.
• Do not expect to find party or many shops as this is a rural area, people here come to enjoy kiting, eating and relaxing.
• Take a look to all the sports activities that you can perform in this place: mountain biking, biking, horse riding, paintball, rafting, off road. This area has started to grow in the nature activities.
• Accommodation is quite cheap, and there are no problems with people coming with their caravans.
• There are a couple of kiteschools here, so maybe this is the place to start kiteboarding.

Webcam (On top of Conchita restaurant): http://www.meteocampoo.es/corconte/webcam.php

Some pictures: 

The fog:

Kitebuggies can also appreciate the grass in Pantano del Ebro:

Spectacular "1kg Chuletón"

If you have any questions, please let me know.
Buenos vientos.

Why thick wetsuits?

This sport combines wind and water, apart from the general weather conditions, so they can mislead our concepts.

Till date, I´ve just had 2 wetsuits (in 7 yeares of kiting), the first one was a 70€ Decathlon very basic model, it was a 4/3 which gave me a really good result.

(For further description check this link http://www.decathlon.es/traje-surf-100-h-4-3-mm-id_8229475.html , I´ve noticed that they are selling it for 15€ more now). A picture wearing it:

Well, all the time I´ve had friends telling me that it was a piece of shit!! by not being elastic enough, not confortable, that it didnt fit tight to the body, etc. Always hearing that I should upgrade to one of the top brands in the market… well, as I didnt have previous experiences and it did it´s job, I was happy with it and did use it till it was almost wasted. I used that wetsuit both in summer and winter, and different waters like lakes, ocean and seas. It did last all my learning curve of the sport without a scratch. Bombproof, full stop.

The reason why I decided to upgrade that wetsuit was dictated by a nasty experience I had one summer at “Pantano del Ebro” which is a lake in the north of Spain (I will speak about this amazing place in latter posts as it well deserves it´s space).  Till then, I believed that the wetsuit was pretty much useless (in kiteboarding) compared to other water sports as surfing or scuba diving as one you learn to ride on the board you don’t spend time on water. Of course, I knew that you needed it for protecting you against the elements (water, wind) but apart of that I was convinced that I did buy a thicker one that I really needed. Well, that day was blowing side-shore and I was doing long distances getting far away from the shore, then the wind completely drop making me sink and the kite felt to the water. I was fuck as I was 4km away from the downwind shore. By that time I didn’t know how to perform a self-rescue, so I did have to wait for the 2-4knots wind to pull me to the shore. After some time floating, the cold water (FYI: It is a lake that does not warm as it is 1000 meters over sea level) started to make my legs cramp, and after a bit more more, they were almost useless. Luckily I´ve made it, but just because the wetsuit gave the flotation I could not get from my legs.

Suddenly after that, I did decide to go thicker, I went again to Decathlon and got a 5/4mm that I also use it in even warm spots. This one is supposed to be kitesurfing oriented and did cost me 164€. It´s not on sale anymore but here is one picture of me using it (excuse my hair style):

This one has being doing the job for 4 years now and it well deserves a golden retirement.

Right now I´m looking for a new wetsuit and despite what you might think, I´m almost decided to not buy something fancy as I´ve discovered (by a forum writer that I respect) a UK brand that looks that they know what they do. It will be a 5/4 mm again from “Lomo”: http://www.ewetsuits.com/acatalog/wetsuits-1.html. If they are used in the UK waters I´m sure that they will perform and the company strategy does something that I like, direct distribution, so it has all the “key elements” of fancy brands at a more than reasonable price.

 

Reasons to go thick:

·      Despite I now know how to perform an auto rescue, you cant be 100% sure that your kite wont go away leaving you inside the water, or imagine also the situation that could happen if the wind rolls and start blowing you offshore and you have to wait to be rescued by the coast patrol for instance. You will be warm in the meantime.

·      The flotation factor is also a key element for the type of situation described above.

·      Crashes hurt less as you have more protective skin.

·      When you stop for a break to rest on the shore, it will protect you more against the wind chill.

·      Just need to spend in one wetsuit only. Any save means more kiting to me as I have to drive to the coast every time.

Buen viento

Kitesurfing Spots

Hi guys,
This is my first post in my blog, and I think that a good way to present myself as a kiteboarder is to show to everyone where I had been kiting since I started in the sport back in spring 2006.
I´m not a local of any of them as I live inland, so every time I go to the water is where the wind is blowing and that means lots of kilometers in the highway.
If you have any question about any of them, please do not hesitate to ask as I will give you all the feedback I possibly can.
Buenos vientos a todos.



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