Searching for the wind and waves
We were lucky to score several days of north swell on the north coast, at Santa Barbara beach, close to Ribera Grande; never big waves but fun nonetheless. That is the spot for wave riding; it works with different wind directions, starboard tack and port tack so a versatile spot. The beach is long, sandy, and with a bight under a beautiful cliff. When the sun sets in the sea, the coast turns orange, misty and the water glows in reddish oil sheens; surfing at sunset here is a gift. Near the parking spot and close to the rocks, there are powerful rights; more to the left, in front of the bight, you have some peaks breaking on both sides and good lefts, but more mushy. One day the wind woke us up blowing hard, and our local friends already had a plan for us go windsurfing on the east edge of the island, Faial da Terra. So we quickly got ready and after a couple of hours driving we were staring at astonishing cliffs in the most isolated place you can imagine, in the middle of nothing! And it was windy! Faial da Terra allowed us to enjoy a long session in its waters, with some waves rolling in occasionally. The locals told us that this spot with swell is something incredible, totally different. And by that time we were starting to believe their stories! From the water, this vertical massive cliff full of vegetation and flowers and the lights and rainbows made us feel like in a far away paradise, like in Tahiti… and we were just a few hours from home… San Miguel, what a place! Our local friends told us that we were the first foreigners to windsurf there… I don’t know this for sure, but what I do know is that to get there was very hard! Little roads turning and twisting until becoming near vertical with the van hardly driving, more rolling downhill! What a road!