Hi all,

I'm doing a bit of a roadtrip in june...flying from sydney to hawaii, then onto peru and bolivia for a week or two, then its brazil time!!

I'll be venturing into brazil around the end of july. In my head I would love to buy a 4x4 somewhere and roadtrip it up, stopping off in some kite spots along the east brazillian coast, then keep going north...but i dont know how viable that is on my own. It would be handy to have the 4x4 as accommodation and to check out all the spots around fortalenza (cumbuco obviously, Jericoacoara, Paracura etc). I'll be leaving in december to go home to Ireland.

Anybody want to join?? Or is anybody gonna be in cumbuco for the season? Any advice on accomodation and where to go?

Any tips on hawaii?

Thanks,
Finbarr (fincollins at gmail dot com)

hi finn

i was in the area last year for about 2 weeks end of july, starting in cumbuco
stayed in the bada hostel for a few nights - really nice caretaker (lina i think? memory struggling now), but safe, chilled and friendly on a budget. but you could splash out and stay in the kite hostels or pousadas right on the beach for twice the price too - better for meeting a rich brazilian bird from sao paolo or something

we rented a car and drove stopping at a few spots until we got to jeri, then took a 4wd taxi in. just winged it and stayed in hotels as we found them on that 300km stretch, but as papa said, there is no way i would camp out there. don't stop and pick up hitch hikers, don't flash our money or gear around. basically be on red alert. the people are generally lovely, but the ones that aren't are on another level of dangerous. especially if you have ladies with you according to my mates from there.

anyhow, my advice would be to arrive in combuco, stay in the bada or similar, and get chatting to everyone about what is on the go. i bet you could line up some cheap accomm longer term, and bus and walk to kite spots for a month, and then sign up to a week long epic downwinder to jeri and then have a month there, and that would work out the same as paying for a car up front and the hassle/risk that comes with it.
a local car rental mob sorted us out for about $50 per day if you do go down that route. there are some "entrepreneurial" kite surfer euro types that might rent you a car for cheaper too - but careful who you trust.


other tips - take a smaller kite in the quiver, the wind gets stronger the further north-west you head that time of year ie towards jeri. 25kn at 10am and building to 35+ and only the polies out by 5pm is not uncommon in jeri. if you can fit a 5 or 6, take it. cumbuco has a less gusty, less strong wind generally, suits the freestyle guys more than free ride
paracuru is ok for the conditions there, better if there was more swell, really loved icarai de amontada for the town and offshore spots around the corner, jeri is a bit over rated - i thought a couple of nights was enough. amazing coastal spots an hour buggy ride either side though

you'll have a ball i'm sure. safe travels

Most people either pay for a beach buggy to get down and back, or are with a group (instructors, learners, friends etc) and they have a rented buggy between them so they load up and share the ride.

I'm a tight arse so I down winded to the lagoons, and then just paid or scammed a lift back. and there are some sections with better waves (relatively) and kickers along the way.

You can head back the other way about 5km and there is another less busy lagoon. Go on the local bus that runs every 10min or so too. Just take enough for the fare up.Cost you about a buck, then borrow a pump, kite the lagoon til you are tired and sore and then blast downwind and land close to town on sunset for a cold couple of beers. good times.

Some of the day trips to other lagoons close by (less than 1 hour away) are worth doing for less crowds too. Find out how much up front though, as some of the guys who teach and run little side businesses are super friendly but they will hustle for an extra buck any chance they get, and telling you it cost more for whatever reason is a classic scam they pull.

Last tip - eat at the local BBQ chicken joint in town with the big cartoon bird on the wall. Doesn't look flash, but It's a ripper!