DOING BRAZIL – BACKWARDS
THE COASTLINE IS A TWO-WAY ROAD 280KM FROM ATINS TO PREA, UPWIND
Brazil’s northeast coast, from Fortaleza to the Lençois Maranhenses national park, is the best place in the world to go kitesurfing. North facing beaches with super-constant wind, warm water, an absence of large waves and dangerous rocky shores combine with welcoming villages that are turning this place into a Mecca for long distance downwind kitesurfing journeys. Four years ago I started guiding kitesurfers on such trips in this region.
This coastline has become a one-way street with kiters heading from east to west, powered by the generous east trade wind.
The arrival of the hydrofoil is, however, breaking paradigms, allowing you to kite against this great force, and head upwind with relative ease.
The route I usually guide is from Prea, (neighbouring village of Jericoacoara), to Atins in the Lençois Maranhenses. It’s a 280 kilometre downwinder of extreme beauty. I decided to go the opposite way, against the wind, in the same five day period, travelling between 50 and 60 kilometres each day.
SUBTLE DETAILS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
Most parts on this stretch of coast face north, though areas slope northeast. The zigzagging upwind is more intense on a northerly facing beach, more than doubling your distance travelled. On a northeast facing stretch the winds blow more directly
