Chapters > Peru
When I think of the Peruvian coastline, I really have some fond memories of kiting. I must admit though, the one memory that always pops up first, is how I seriously thought that my life had come to an end.
We stopped at a place called Pacasmayo, which I will talk more about later. As always, I had itchy feet to get on the water, but was a little apprehensive about kiting here, as the wind is offshore. I don’t like to go out alone in offshore winds. Those are two cardinal rules that most kiters should abide by. Don’t kite alone and don’t go out in offshore winds. Let alone do both. Anyhow, I was chatting to two guys that were at the hotel and asked them if they would be going out that day. They replied (one of them being the Brazilian wave riding champion) that they were pretty shagged from kiting the whole week and thought they would take a break that day. So I did what any other kiter with itchy feet would do. I broke the two cardinal rules, all in one go. So off I went on my kite in the offshore wind and cold sea, on my own. As I was cruising out, I thought to myself that I had better not go too far out in case something goes wrong. Low and behold, at that very moment, a pulley broke on my kite and down she went. I was pretty far out to sea and being dragged further out when I decided to make the decision that all kiters dread. Release everything and swim back. Saying goodbye to all your kiting equipment is heart wrenching enough without worrying whether your body will cope with the swim through the swell in the bitterly cold waters. I seriously thought that this could well be the end.