Kitesurfing atCape Verde

At the far south of Boa Vista, a flat, shallow and isolated lagoon stretches along the ribbon of sand from Santa Mónica to Lacacão, near the Riu Touareg. On paper a beginner's paradise — smooth, calf-deep water. But the sea opens to the south and the wind blows offshore: the beauty hides the trap.

The South Lagoon is Boa Vista's edge of the world: a tongue of sand several kilometres long, from Santa Mónica to Lacacão, where the desert slides into smooth turquoise water. Everything invites you in — the water is shallow, flat, calf-deep, the setting empty and stunning. Except the sea opens due south and the northeast trade blows offshore and gusty here: the wind pushes you seaward, not back to the beach. The slightest gear or physical failure carries you away from shore with no swim back, on a coast the road doesn't serve. That's the whole paradox of the spot: the water looks perfect to learn on, but you only get in with a school and its boat, never alone. Safety here goes strictly through supervision.