Puclaro Embalse, South America, Chile

Submitted by guest on 22 October 2007 - 11:52am.

Location:

South America, Chile

Forecast sites:

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Nuclear wind Guarranteed, Warm, sunny, interesting area, a bit like Spain, only 4 kiters out every day, Fresh water riding, safes S. American country, Developed. This is where they have the S. American Championships. Even if it's Average living cost per day is a bit more expensive than other S. American countries, it's still very cheap: not scrimping you can live happily on 40GBP per day per person. Not entirely ideal for beginners. You do better if you can speak a bit of spanish.

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Getting there:

Nearest airport:

Santiago

Nearest big city:

La Serena

Nearest town:

Vicuna

Trip from town:

short

Access:

immediate

Directions:

Where is it.
A 4 hour drive (7 hours in a bus) from Santiago, Airport. Head for La Serena, rent a car there (not cheap anywhere in Chile. Cheapest we found was Theo cars 25GBP per day). then head inland to Vicuna, and around KM54 marker there is a turning for Gualliguacca to the left. Take this turning and head to the beach (4WD not necessary although a bit of a rough road). Vicuna is 11 miles away.

Low-cost flights to Puclaro Embalse

At the beach:

Level required:

all

Best style:

freestyle

Watersports:

kitesurf

windsurf

Spot type:

lake

Shore:

sand with rocks

Bottom:

rocky

Crowd:

sparse

Hazards:

- other

Facilities:

+ launch area

Beach rules:

Bear in mind: if you get in trouble you drift down to rocky beach which can be a pain (hence not ideal for beginners). If you loose your board it can be difficult to find as there´s lots of coast to check (yep that was me). Apparently also local kids collect boards that have been washed up so keep an eye open. Sandy bottom but there´s stones on the beach edge so booties is a good idea if you´ve sensitive feet.

Weather:

Puclaro also boasts 310 sunny days a year thanks to it's particular microclimate. It is kiting holiday paradise. Shortie should be fine temp wise (I rode happily with just boardies)

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Wind conditions:

Dominant winds:

Respect to shore:

sideshore

Best direction:

Wind strenght (Bf):

4-5

5-6

6-7

7-8

Blowing at:

afternoon

evening

Best season:
[70% >= 4bf]

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Medium season:
[45-70% >= 4bf]

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Wind details:

If you go to Chile, unlike other places in the world, you are guarranteed kiteable wind 99% of the days. No need to think where to go any month of the year! The wind pics up every day around 11:30am and builds to 25 - 40knts (a wind funnelling effect of the mountains) Most kiters had 7 - 9m kites but 12m bow is still ridable. The wind is incredibly stable considering that it is going through mountain ranges. There are some gusts but nothing tricky. Beach is cross-shore.

On the water:

Water quality:

crystalline

Best tide:

no dependency

Waves:

choppy or rough

Consistency:

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Water details:

water temperature from 16-22°C in spring and summer. 15-18°C in autumn and winter. Flat or choppy .

When is flat:

Day activities:

Biking, Ecotourism, horsback riding, trekking are other activities in the area. As well as some worldwide renown Astronomic Observatories.

Night scene:

This spot is girlfriend friendly. it is in a wine valley, so there´s wine tasting there interesting observatories on the hills for the evening. Fiestas every now and then. and only 40 mins drive away a very cool hippy town of Pisco equis with local distilleries, funky bars, and flashy hotels. The restaurants in Vicuna aren´t that special, but if you´re prepared to commute from Pisco Equis you´ll have some great evenings as well as days.
Restaurants and places to go to Vicu�a has good fullfiling places... nicer places more touristic, you have to go inside the valley.

Kitesurf Atlas

Puclaro Embalse