First Kitesurfing Lesson and Rekindling of Old Online Business

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learning-how-to-kitesurfThings progressing nicely in the camp. Got a bit shakey as a few times got tired of all these little children (volunteers) passing through, doing minimal work, breaking things, negligent. Seems that people these days have been turning into zombies, can barely walk across the street without getting run over with their faces in facebook all the time. Blew up at them a few times, and pretty well they always apologised and realised their error. But have been adjusting things, including my approach letter, which now offers lower food costs for someone who can stay longer term and act as a for(wo)man so that i don’t have to tend to all these little babies, repeat myself and police them. Things that i really do not like doing. Meanwhile, the number of paying guests passing through has been on the increase, so I am slowly getting back my investment, while still investing little trickles into it, mostly in the form of little purchases through ebay. A constant stream of little presents brought to me in little spurts by arriving volunteers who pick them up in batches from a distant post office on their way here. Bought myself yet ANOTHER phone. Am so tired of the crap they sell in Asia. Learned that I should always take it apart and check the battery before initial purchase, so that I can tell if it is an imitation fake or not. Now I’m getting a Samsung s3, so should be the real deal, and really looking forward to having a reliable phone. Got protective sleeves for it as well. Getting some other toys and will have it set up so that I can sit at the campfire and use bluetooth to dj the big stereo without having to run over there whenever I want to change the song. From ebay I’m also ordering a 64gig external memory, in addition to the device’s 32g internal memory, so I’ll have room for all my music, and will have a kickass system with which to entertain guests.

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Have even had my first kitesurfing instruction, and as I expected, did fairly well on my first attempt. The volunteer even gave me a high five, although everyone was somewhat concerned. Before she came here some Brazilian volunteers showed us all that it is possible on a nearby island. We all hired the owner’s boat one day and went exploring around, because they failed to get the sail up on this island, on both sides. But with the boat we managed to find two islands where the wind was strong enough. The second island (Bolina) is the best, because it has a very wide, soft and fluffy beach, so easy to launch, and where I later took my first course – excellent for beginners. The Brazilians were excited to have broken virgin ground (it is every kitesurfer’s wet dream to have such a paradise all to themselves) and the owner, who came with his boat, was also excited, because he saw for the first time what I had been trying to sell him since we first started this venture now almost a year ago.

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Brazilians attempting to “get it up” on the other side of our island.

After the Brazilians, this other girl came but the weather pattern had changed somewhat, blowing more in a southern direction instead of west. Perhaps it was more intense as well, but she managed to get her sail up on my own island, on both sides of it, so that was quite exciting progress. But learning the ropes myself was certainly the most exciting. After all that I had read about it on the net, and watched youtube videos, especially about people hurting themselves, I realised it can be quite a dangerous sport and didn’t want to pull out my own kites until I was certain. The Brazilian couple looked at what I have and said I needed to replace a bunch of my valves, so another pump and repair kit is on its way. At the moment I have a volunteer with three years of kitesurfing experience, so perhaps he will be able to put the sails into operation and complete my training. The girl had gotten as far as teaching me how to body surf, but getting that far within a couple of hours is still pretty good. My left ear was starting to hurt as I was being dragged through the water from side to side while controlling the kite with one hand. I was also getting rather exhausted. But after she gave me her initial, introductory lesson, I was practicing controlling the sail while standing on the wide fluffy shore, with her 9m and modern kite. I was just starting to get the hang of it at the 10am (left) position when she said I can go ahead and start practicing it at the 2pm (right position). I swung the soaring kite over to the right when all of a sudden it started swooping further down to the right and out of control. These sails can be quite expensive, the entire kit easily at more than a thousand euro, and I had agreed to buy it off her if I caused any harm to it. As it was descending out of control to the jungle side of the beach, I was afraid it might get ripped up in the bushes and was trying to get the kite to swing back up to the 2pm position. While the kite was getting out of control it was also swooping down into the “power zone”, which is more downwind and closer to the ground. My instincts were good as I kept my eyes on the kite, trying to get it back up to the 2pm position, although by this time the power of the wind had lifted me off the ground and I was sailing through the air, upside down, my back occasionally bouncing off the beach and the occasional coral. I scoffed when she initially asked me if I want to borrow a helmet, wondering what on earth for, but now I know. I scratched up my back a bit and luckily did not hit any rocks with my head, but after being dragged down the beach and being lifted and carried in the air for metres at a time, I finally managed to get the kite back up in a safe position and re-establish myself firmly on my feet. Thank goodness for all those years of gymnastics!

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My instructor wailing away just off our main camp.

Another problem, which I will make sure not to miss as an instructor, is she gave me a quick speech about the safety mechanism, but obviously I had completely forgotten about that in my horror as I was being dragged upside down along the beach. If I had not managed to get the kite back up into the safe position well over my head and if it had continued to remain in the power zone, I would have certainly made it to the end of the beach and thrown out into the open ocean, dragged for who knows how long before I remembered the safety mechanism. She’s obviously not a trained instructor, but I suggested to her that next time she teaches someone they should practice with the safety mechanism for a while first before having a real go with the sail. The safety mechanism releases the sail. It is still strapped to you, but it loses all its power and falls harmlessly and slowly to the ground. I feel beginners should hold up their harms and pretend to be controlling a sail, when the instructor hollers out “emergency!”. At which point the beginner quickly releases the mechanism. Keep practicing that until it is automatic. It was certainly not automatic for me as I was in shock while flying upsidedown through the air and occasionally bouncing off the fluffy sand. Another problem is that the two kites I have are from 2001, so ancient technology, before all this fancy release mechanism stuff. They have some sort of a safety mechanism but I wont touch it until an advanced surfer can complete my training. Not to mention that my two sails are 12 and 14m!!!!

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View from Bolina island as a Tao Expeditions boat sails by.

On another note, a thought had been brewing in my mind for about a year regarding the rekindling of KENAX as a translation agency. As you remember, the last big project, when I was in Bulgaria more than five years ago, turned out somewhat of a disaster and I ended up owing the translators some $6,000. Since then I have been slowly paying them back and am now getting reasonably close to having that completely paid off. But the failure and resulting debt has demotivated me from focusing on that element of my enterprise and instead focused on me translating only. Especially for this new customer which pays double what I had been receiving from everyone else up until then. This has given me a good cash injection over the last four years and an ability to pay off various debts (like to my good friend Roger, a thousand Euro alone). But now that I am approaching the end of my debts, while my costs are practically zero because of my food and beer arrangement with the volunteers and because I don’t pay rent, and with profits starting to increase with an increasing arrival of paying guests, I thought I might rekindle the agency. But this time hand the entire management to someone else. I decided to try out the head project manager for the last disaster project in Bulgaria. I managed to find many other project managers who were willing to work for $3 an hour, located in such countries as Nepal and the Ukraine and working together to cover the different time zones. All were reasonably sharp, loyal and good workers, but none were remotely intelligent enough to handle the more technical end of things. This dude, Tony, spent a lot of time in the US and now lives back with his family somewhere in bumf*ck China. He would accept no less than $10 an hour, but it was worth it. A hardcore dude who could get things done. I even had a skype video conference with him once so that I could show on his computer how to navigate in the software, because it can get quite complicated.

Anywho, thought I’d approach him. The deal is that he would focus on certain things, mostly promotional and marketing, while I would focus on production. We would both work for free, pulling this monster out of the dust heap, and once work starts trickling in, he’d be in charge of project management while I would be in charge of production (automating everything through programming and the website). For actual jobs, he’d get his $10 an hour, I could charge something for my time, and we’d split the profits 50/50. If we eventually need to expand, he could manage other project managers like he did last time and I could fill in for him if he is ever busy, since he explained to me that his family’s business is becoming successful and raking in some 2-3 thousand bucks a month. He explained that he has to give that priority, but agreed that he could work on kenax in his spare time, and if things get heated, I generally have lots of time on my hands and can step in to fill his shoes when he can’t.

So it will be fun to reactivate it. It’s been a long while and I can see all the dust that needs removing. I will also need to set things up so that he can approach my translators without giving him complete access to my database. I decided I will also need to convert the thousands of webpages into a newer, online format, so there is lots of work that needs to be done, as well as training him regarding the promotional work etc, but it gives me another fun project and looking forward to kickstarting this baby again.

[Must have about 5,000 words already written about the various travesties that have taken shape so far, but need to proofread it several more times before going public. Sometimes letters to mom, like this one, are easier for quick updates.]

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Home » Palawan » Boat Stops » First Kitesurfing Lesson and Rekindling of Old Online Business

Chloe BlanchardChloe Blanchard
13:38 27 Mar 24
The most wonderful experience from booking to beach! Karel and Mel were so fast and responsive to my very last minute trip over the holidays. We booked a private boat for two and could not have been happier with our four day trip! We didn’t think about anything other than snorkeling the entire time. Linda, our captain, cooked wonderful meals and took us to totally empty beautiful beaches. We loved staying the night in Pical especially! Wonderful to experience the Philippines this way! Will come back again and would recommend to anyone!
hotel luci del farohotel luci del faro
08:13 31 Jan 24
We booked the 3 day 2 night expedition, from Coron to Sibaltan.First of all the booking part was really simple. I organized this trip to the Philippines last minute for my family (my parents and my uncles) but Karel answered all my questions very quickly and really made everything easier for me. It was an incredible experience. Albert, our tour leader, is a wonderful guy, always smiling and ready to help us. They assisted us in everything and really took care of making everything go smoothly. The accommodation on the islands is as spartan as you expect but the location of each hut alone is worth the trip. The wonder of nature was then added to the goodness of cuisine. It's really difficult to argue how you can cook all that goodness on a boat.If you are looking for an authentic experience, in contact with nature, off the beaten track, this company's private expedition is certainly for you.
Kate BrownKate Brown
00:22 27 Oct 23
What an unforgettable experience! We did a two night (3 day) island hopping tour from Sibaltan to Coron. Everything was so well organized and the boat crew were amazing and really made sure we had a great time. The accommodation was rustic, but added to the authentic experience of the Philippines. Karel always responded to any queries we had promptly. Our boatman, Albert, was the most amazing chef and we enjoyed every meal. The crew taught the kids how to fish with a line which was their highlight of the trip. They took us to the most unbelievable snorkelling spots along the way. Would highly recommend this trip.
Ian PascualIan Pascual
02:43 10 Aug 23
One of the most amazing, unforgettable things you can do in your life
Lou PrataliLou Pratali
11:04 25 Jul 23
This is a must to do!!Super ultimate tour is the best with Kayangan and barracuda lake, twin lagoons (my favorite), coral garden (blue fabulous coral) were the best. It’s really worth it to pay for private tour (3500 to 4000 PHP). You will also have to pay for entrance fees (150 to 200PHP by location) and eventually shopping at the market - must do (count 300 for 2 for fish, pork, fruits and vegetables, water).
Gérard BENOITGérard BENOIT
16:11 07 Feb 23
I was looking for a personalized excursion to the stunning Bacuit Gulf.Based on the comments, I contacted Mel.Very responsive, very efficient and perfect organization.The on-board staff were very friendly and very helpful.And I'm not even talking about the meal on board...a marvel.In all fairness, this excursion will remain an excellent memory and I cannot recommend Mel and his team highly enough.A big thank-you.
Alyse TarbottonAlyse Tarbotton
23:48 30 Aug 22
This tour went well above all our expectations! I couldn't recommend this enough! The boat crew, captain and tour guide were nothing but amazing, everyone was so kind, helpful and friendly. The crew knew the best spots to visit that weren't overcrowded with tourists, 3 times we were lucky enough to have whole islands to ourselves! It was my partner's birthday while away and everything went above and beyond, bonfire, cake, birthday card, singing and celebrating with us.If you love camping this is definitely a tout you should do, it has been the highlight of our trip!!
Danish KayaniDanish Kayani
10:24 31 Oct 19
Coron is the best place i have ever seen.. picturesque. Beautiful. Peaceful
We booked a 4 days/3 nights private boat trip from Coron to Sibaltan. The organization went very well from the beginning, the owner answered to all my questions, and we were able to choose which islands to visit and where to sleep. The first night we slept in a bungalow in Banana Island, the second we camped in Araw beach and the last we slept in a seafront bungalow builded on a tree in Pical on Iloc Island.The islands in that area are the most beautiful islands I have ever seen, with clear water, lots of coral reef and fishes to see, white sand and almost deserted. The crew was very friendly and polite and they organize every single meal and for camping they give you a tent which was just perfect! This was our highlight in our 2 weeks in the Philippines and I wish I had booked a longer trip. A private trip gives you the freedom to decide where and when to go.
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Gérard Benoit
Gérard Benoit
2023-02-08
recommends
I was looking for a personalized excursion to the beautiful bay of Bacuit. Seeing the comments, I contacted Mel. Very responsive, very efficient and perfect organization. The crew were very friendly and very helpful. And I'm not even talking about the meal on board...a marvel. In all fairness, this excursion will remain an excellent memory and I can recommend Mel and his team highly enough. A big thank-you.
André Mardoñal
André Mardoñal
2019-10-22
recommends
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The island world of Linapacan between Coron and El Nido with the clearest waters in the world is truly a dream for itself! Without a boat you won't be able to see it! But what this boat trips makes so amazing is the crew! Once you come on board they might be shy in the beginning but will make you feel welcome and home from the first moment. Not only that they are looking that you sit comfortable all the time, they will prepare fresh and delicious food what the buy from local markets. They know the best spots and most beautiful islands and will bring you to places where you get this "Robinson Cruisoe feeling". Every day you visit 3 to 5 spots for snorkeling, enjoying a beach or exploring a little island. The accommodation we had was good and simple. We slept in bungalows and tents right at the beach. Sheets and towels were always provided and sometimes towels. After a while you feel like a family on board. We loved living the boat life didn't wanna leave! If you doubt take a longer than shorter trip! For any questions please message me.
Sarah Uhan
Sarah Uhan
2019-01-31
recommends
All in all it was a really great experience. It's a once in a lifetime thing to do and you won't get more authentic and basic Philippino experiences anywhere else. We were not so lucky with the wind and waves so we couldn't do all the stops we wanted to unfortunately. So be aware that especially the months from January to May can be very rough on water. But we still saw some great places Benji took us. Benji and his family was very nice and they did everything they could. The food was amazing - always freshly made in authentic Philippino style and way too much for the 2 of us. Make sure to bring enough cash - many of the islands cost extra (entrance fee) and be aware that any kind of accommodation and food (200php per meal) is not included in the boat fee. Also the deposit and commission fee for the agency are a little over the top, especially since the crew does not get any of it. The costs all in all are rather high for phillipino circumstances especially given the basicness of it all. However if you think about that all 5 boat people (in our case) live off of the boat fee alone, you spent the money willingly. Be aware though that accommodation and sanataries are very basic if even existant. So you gotta have the right mindset. Bring tissue, sanatiszer and earplugs to get some better sleep. Another feedback I have concerning the size of the boat. I don't think it is sufficient for more than 4 people. If the weather is like it was these days, you always have to sit on top and it was already a little squeezy with us 2 and 5 boat people. So I guess 4 guests can be fine but more than that won't have the space. There is different boat sizes but make sure to talk about that with Karel in advance. Other than that it was really worth it and we got to see so many great beaches and reefs which we could have never been able to visit without the tour.
Eric Liu
Eric Liu
2018-03-15
recommends
It was scary to book a 5 day trip with no places to stay confirmed or a strong itinerary. And in the Philippines, communication is difficult. But that is part of changing mindsets to a rural island mindset. In the end, everything worked out. We had some tough moments with bugs. But we also had some amazingly beautiful secluded beaches, the best snorkeling in the world, relaxing on the beach, and freshly made food on the boat while docked at beautiful places (better than being on land). Note, we went with Benji. Recommendations: - you must get a local SIM when you arrive to make sure pickup and everything works out - some islands have bugs - use bug spray! Pros: - a fraction of the cost - away from the crowds - can customize what you want - just ask! - a truly local experience - saw a REAL rural town Cons: - locals aren't really polished tour guides - if you don't ask for it, you won't get it, need to be pretty proactive - pretty simple "activities" - no frills like bathrooms or kayaks etc.
Ángela Deand
Ángela Deand
2017-04-26
recommends
We can't be more grateful to have had the opportunity of experience the peace in Patoyo Kitesurfing Camping! Spending two weeks in Dimancal Island, gave us the chance to experiment the rural and traditional way of life, in touch with the nature and people. We have learnt how to cook with fire, how to open a coconut and how to survive in an environment where for a time we forget about unnecessary needs, just to focus on enjoy the small details and pleasures of life. Mentioning too the amazing snorkeling and beautiful islands around this place, which make it unique​ and special. It is a lovely option if you are running away from tourists and overcrowded places in the Philippines. You will find yourself in the middle of virgin beaches and nature, surrounding​ by charming people. We will definitely come back!
Caroline Danielle
Caroline Danielle
2017-02-13
recommends
We haven't done a Tao tour, but I would suspect that this is a cheaper version of the same thing. Our boat operator (Benji) and the entire crew were were fun, friendly and made an effort to ensure we had a good time. If you get a large group of people together it can be a really inexpensive alternative to other Coron-El Nino and vice versa island hopping tours. The food was good, but more expensive than as advertised by Karl. The price quote we got was 100 php a meal, but the boat charged us 200. Since the food was good we didn't mind the extra expense, but it is important to keep in mind if you're on a budget. Definitely plan for some incidental spending. Our boat did have some mechanical issues and as a result we ended up being stuck in the same place for longer than we wanted to be. That being said, little could have been done about it and the trip was fun nonetheless.
Hauk Are Fjeld
Hauk Are Fjeld
2017-01-01
recommends
If you believe that doing the touristic tours in El Nido and going to "The hidden beach" takes you off the beaten path, you are wrong. There are lots of beautiful places in Palawan, but few of these places are without any other tourists. If you want to spend some extra effort on getting away from the tourist places, and don't mind a little "primitive" living, Island Hopping in the Philippines is definitely something you should check out
Arnold Cabiguen
Arnold Cabiguen
2015-05-08
recommends
The snorkeling in this area is phenomenal. Clearest waters in the world. I guess it's because there is relatively such lower tourist traffic through here, and the locals really protect the reefs!
Karel Kosman
Karel Kosman
2015-05-08
recommends
Love it so much, just had to say it twice!

We are a family operation managing private custom boat tours in the beautiful Palawan area, and are happy to help travelers with their plans through the country, having traveled a lot of it ourselves and planning to visit it all.

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