Kitesurfing and outdoor holidays at Lake Garda
Angela Trawoeger
Creator, photographer and content manager
We were very pleased to meet Cesar Portas late last Spring while he was here on a brief holiday with his girlfriend.
Even if it is true to say that the start of June this year has been one of the worst in living memory (rain, chilly temperatures and no wind) we couldn’t resist asking him his opinion of our wonderful place, with a few doubts as to the answers he would give, given the circumstances!
Some of you won’t know Cesar so here’s a brief introduction to him: Cesar is Spanish, born in Barcelona in 1983 and has been a sponsored rider for North Kiteboarding for ten years, the market leader in Kiting kit.
A Kiter since 2000, he took to the sport rapidly and started the World Tour (PKRA) in which he participated until 2011 always finishing in the top placements.
Then, sadly, an injury to his shoulder kept him out of the sport for a couple of years, but now he’s back and training hard to get back on form again and, watching him here on Lake Garda, you would say that he’s got there already!
Simply put, he’s one of the best Kiters on the planet, always courteous and with a ready smile.
Here’s what he had to say during our interview with him during his short stay in Malcesine.
Partner
What’s your first impression about Lake Garda?
My first impression was that the scenario is just beautifull. The lake is so big that seems to be an ocean, the big forests and cute little villages surrounding it created a wellness feeling all the time!
Alltough you found some real nasty conditions (like cold water and rain…), how did you like riding Lake Garda the first time?
Even when the weather is tough, it is just fun to go riding diferently. You jump in a boat and start chasing the wind together with your mates.
On Lake Garda you typically use a boat lift to go out kiteboarding. Did you ever have to do so on other spots? And what do you think about it?
No, we always start from the beach. And I think it is fun to start from the boat, when you go in the boat together in a group for a session everyone is taking care of each other, and the game becomes more like an adventure.
In this region you find water sports and mountain sports at one time. How did you like that? What have you done here apart from kiteboarding?
Luckily, we could join Ivano from 100-one for some mountain biking and he took us to some veeery cool downhill! It was one of my coolest rides ever 🙂
You have travelled the whole world allready, how come you made it to Malcesine now?
Because it was in my bucket list for many years, many people and friends told me it was a very cool place for kiting and have fun. And finally now I had some time to escape for a few days to discover it!
What did you like best?
Hum! that´s a tough one. I can not decide between the Ice cream in Cento per Cento, the mountain bike downhill or the S wind sessions in Campione 🙂
Do you have any idea of where you ended up here?
More or less haha… N Italy, near Verona, 1.200Km away from home driving 🙂
And now give me your Malcesine password, please!
Prosecco time!
Will you came back?
Definitely, I felt very good there and very welcome by the people I meet. And I could do lots of sports which I loved, so there will be a second time for sure. Also looking forward to try some paragliding from Monte Baldo.
