Saturday September 22, 2012 Aviva had a kite boarding lesson today and I was able to join her, watch the beach come alive with avid kite boarders, and note the set up of a kite and the wrangling of harness and gear for this sport. Everyone is happy here. The athletes share equipment, comment on colorful kites and new models, congratulate novice boarders of their new achievements, and generally assist each other in whatever way is called for. I watched Aviva hold up her kite and we both saw if fly to life as it soared above our heads. Aviva’s instructor Lars, gave her the commands, and off she went, seaward with her kite. Aviva walked into the sea with the kite bellowing in the wind and soon enough she was being dragged out to sea, this is called Body dragging, while Lars motored the boat to meet up with Aviva and give her the board. In such little time and with our incredible fortune of having a huge wind, Aviva disappeared into the blue horizon. I could only note her kite from a great distance and I thought I saw some lateral movement on the surface of the sea and I hoped it was she, riding the board, for the goal of the day, over a 100 meters. At the beach, various others were entering the sea and being pulled into action within an instant. Soon enough, the talented started doing what they do, whipping by at fast clips and as if on display, heaved themselves high out of the water in what appeared to be awesome airtime. I can only imagine Aviva’s delight when it will be she who is mastering the art of catching wind and deciding which direction to go into. As for now, she is brand new, learning how to capture the wind and harness it’s strength to control the kite, but, it’s coming. Lars mentioned that it takes a good 30 hours to ‘get it’ and to feel the wind, to know your outcome, and to play with options. She is currently half way there and will have plenty of time to practice when her next friend shows up this week as she is not due to leave until the start of October. My friend came out of the ocean tired and happy. We spent the rest of the late afternoon at Jibe City, a little commune consisting of a restaurant/bar and wind surf paraphernalia. The water is a pale green, it is shallow, and you can sit/tan/mingle as though you were just going to the beach and hang out. And we did. Once home, the little feline cat followed us to our apartment, so Aviva let her in, and fed her, and she nested on our bed. The cat is nameless. So we named her Divi. It almost felt as though we were home with the little cat purring away as we changed and readied to head out for diner at Cite Café, for our last night on the town together. Indeed, Saturday was a very good day. Dd