Back to Koronissia and visit to Agios Nikolaos spot

On Monday, June 27, we headed from Flatland to Koronissia as planned. We managed to get a photo of the islands with the lighthouse at sunset. Upon arrival we were treated to a great fresh water shower and the expected quiet in the parking lot. Just perfect relaxation, almost like a campsite. The next day we were joined by friends from Flatland who had never been here before.

Bad luck

On Tuesday it was only blowing for the Soul 15 and unfortunately, my line broke on the water during the backroll, so only Veronica with her 12-meter kite enjoyed the water. I spent the rest of the afternoon untangling lines and solving this unpleasant problem. We found the broken line, which had snapped due to wear on the pulley, and contacted Lukas from Kite4Fun, from whom I bought the Soul.

On Wednesday it blew again rather only for the 12-meter kite for Veronika. On the water, it was a pure ladies’ ride.

The guys relaxed, the kids played with Lego and I got to work fixing the Soul.

The repair wasn’t that hard in the end. I found replacement lines in the repair kit, and I replaced them with enough information from people who know the problem. It wasn’t until later that I was able to set up the mixer that solved the kite setup as well.

Agios Nikolaos

The next day our friends left and headed back to Flatland. We, however, wanted to go to the spot in Agios Nikolaos where we learned to kite in 2014 and where it all started. Kitesurfing trapped us and changed our lives perfectly. So on Thursday we got in the car and drove to a beach we know very well.

The backdrop and the beach have changed quite a bit over the years. Aris’ beach bar is getting bigger every year. The number of umbrellas and sun loungers has increased.

Services and parking at Agios Nikolaos spot

The overall quality of the facilities is rather below average. The outdoor showers are functional, but there must not be more than one running, otherwise, the water flow is too weak. When someone rinses the boards and harnesses at the bar, you can’t rinse off in the showers at the beginning of the car park. There is also a toilet in a wooden shed and flushing is often just with water from a bucket. Parking and sleeping are right next to the road, either on the sand or, if you can grab a spot, on the grass. We paid 8 euros a night for parking (back in June it was only 7). Frappes and drinks at the beach bar have also become more expensive. The beach was slightly clogged with seaweed and the bar lacked carpets for laying and packing kites (they were still there last year).

How it all started

Check out the photos from our early days of kitesurfing. We were splashing around in the water like everyone else on the course and the first launches were more falls into the water than anything else.

Anyway, immediately after the course I bought my first kite, board, harness, and pump straight away. There were still a few days left of our planned 14-day holiday and I didn’t want to waste a minute that I could spend on the water.

No wind

Otherwise, we met plenty of other Czechs on the beach and a few friends from previous years. I even met Martin, my former instructor. There were also Andy and Rebecca, our British friends from Tsimari. Unfortunately, the friends who were supposed to follow us decided to head straight to Tsimari, so we waited in vain. 

What was more stressful, however, was the lack of wind. We practically only had wind twice out of the four days for our one-hour session. On the very first Thursday, on arrival at Agios Nikolaos, we saw several kites in the air. Then the wind lay down for almost an hour and didn’t blow again until after 5 o’clock. Expectedly only for 12m for Veronika. I was unfortunately stuck in the car at the computer. This is one of the “disadvantages” of digital nomadism. Sometimes the problem really arises that work takes precedence and kitesurfing has to take a back seat.

The next day the wind didn’t come at all and even Milos Beach, which was always a sure thing when it wasn’t blowing in Agios Nikolaos, wasn’t much to go to.

On the third day, there was a lot of wind from the north, but the wind was strong and pleasant. And because of the rare wind direction, I was able to get upwind just in one go to the church 2 km away. Unfortunately, the wind again lasted barely two hours. And with the naked eye, it was obvious that Milos Beach was not visited at all that day.

I had planned to at least take a foil in the common lighter winds, but that didn’t work out either. By Sunday, we were pretty fed up with the whole situation, the no wind and the unbearable heat, and made plans to head back to Flatland. To old friends and hopefully better wind.

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Author: Karel

I simply love kitesurfing :-).