What are our perceptions of paradise? Is it a place we will never experience due to the fear it only exists in our thoughts and dreams? These are the questions Cabrinha team rider James Boulding explores in his latest edit. We caught up with James shortly after his recent trip to The Bay Islands off the coast of Honduas, and asked him to tell us a little more about the paradise island where this was filmed.
“I spent 3 weeks in the Bay Islands. It was quite a long trip to get there from Europe so we wanted to make the most of going that distance and really enjoy our time there! I built in a few extra days at the beginning of our trip in order to have time to build some features to ride with the local kite shop, The Sweet Spot.
There are a few ways to get there. For most, you fly to Roatan, a popular holiday destination island off the coast of Honduras. United, Delta, and American Airlines all fly there, with direct flights there from quite a few American airports. Then you take a small local flight to Guanaja where the guys from Graham’s Place island pick you up from the airport by boat! It’s pretty cool leaving the airport by boat because there are no roads on the island so all travel has to be by boat!
What appealed to me most was the island’s natural beauty. They say it is the green island of the Caribbean. It’s very tropical, a cross between Hawaii and the Caribbean and to top it off, the island we stayed on, Graham’s Place, was literally a paradise island almost perfectly created for kiteboarding. They really have a gem, it’s so empty and quiet with such a big space to kiteboard. Even with hundreds of kites there’d still be plenty of space.
That being said, the location is perfect for beginners to advanced freestyle riders. All the small islands are enclosed by a reef so the water is flat and the depth is relatively shallow. You can stand up close in, but it gets more difficult the further out you go. The wind blows everyday and just gets stronger throughout the day and you can choose how much wind you want to ride in depending on the time of day. I’d recommend any ability level, and if you’re learning to kite this really is an amazing place to do it.
Thanks to Graham’s Place, The Sweet Spot, and Cabrinha for making this such an incredible and memorable trip!”