Easy living under the sun

Coming back to the Dakhla trip, I must say that it's with great ease that you get into the "daily routine" of this place... When you wake up a nice breakfast awaits you, giving just enough energy for the first "task" of the day.

After pretty much the same thing until lunch time, you're greeted back in the camp with a tasty and copious meal. Topping the "far too much to eat" feeling with a glass of sugary mint tea, what else can you do?

Of course, this precious moment of "introspection" is then used to decide, with great care, in which way you're going to occupy yourself until sunset. No wonder that everyday finishes with everybody showing clear signs of fatigue... And a big smile!

Beauduc - Kitesurf Sessions 73 and 74

Not even the cold could stop us from a wonderful sunset session... With winds at 27 to 35 knots, perfect for testing the 7m Switchblade once again, thanks to my good friend Julos!

(photos by Baptiste)

The morning after it was difficult to get the motivation to jump in the water, mostly due to the freezing temperatures at sunrise... But a couple of hours later, after a good breakfast, a big coffee (thanks Remi!) and with the wind picking up a bit, it was a different story. Just stopped to do a couple of photographs... Beauduc still as some good sessions left to offer before the snow season, even if it's Viking style!

Massilia - Kitesurf Session 72

A little session in Marseille... It was fun to kite with the big buildings as background!

(photos by Lucie)

A very special thank you to Julos, for letting me try his brand new 7m Switchblade! A wonderful little kite with a lot of spirit...

The lazy desert winds

Our week in Dakhla was really cool. Running away from the first signs of the coming Winter season, we were all happy to be under the sun all day long. I never got to use my shorty when kiting, just a simple t-shirt to avoid sunburns!
Although we had fun discovering the Moroccan Meca for kitesurf, we must confess that it was somewhat disappointing to have mild to light winds all week long!

The conditions didn't really allow us to try all those new tricks and stunts we had been dreaming about, but nevertheless we had enough magic moments to share, like when the fog invaded the spot in a matter of only a few minutes and we found ourselves riding in the midst!

That was actually the only time our skin had a little rest from the omnipresent sun... Me and Gilles we both had our day of frustration, just what was needed to digest the fact that this time we wouldn't be able to do the crazy stuff we'd been planning. But soon after we decided to enjoy the easy ride that marked the trip, saying that the strong winds and big jumps would be postponed for the next visit!

At the end of one of the days, with the wind dropping completely but under a pretty light, I took a series of photos to edit into a nice panoramic of the spot (click to enlarge). Even at low tide, you can see all the potential...

Dakhla dream spot

After hearing so much about this place, I finally embarked with a group of friends on a plane to go see what all the fuss was about. Arriving at the Dakhla Magic camp (best know as Auberge des Nomades du Sahara) at night, we had to wait until next morning to have an idea of what was around...

(click on the panoramic photos to enlarge)

The flat water spot is just huge and, together with the magnificent surroundings of mostly desert, it's not difficult to imagine why so much people praise this little corner of "kite heaven" so much. Our camp was well integrated in the scenery...

Placed just in front of the lagoon, all you see from sunrise to sunset is the playground area, constantly calling you.

Promising, wouldn't you say?

(to avoid repeating myself, I use this first post on Dakhla to thank the photographic contribution of Florence, Laure, Patrick and our new acquaintances Olivier and Jean-Yves)