Letting it all go

Boracay West Cove Resort. [Photo provided to China Daily]

There are some places in the world that one wants to return again and again. After my first visit to Boracay, a small island in the Philippines, in March of last year, I knew that I would return soon. I was there again in April this year.

It was on the island that I first tried kite-surfing. The Bulabog Beach on the eastern side of Boracay has many wind-surfing and kite-surfing sports centers. I randomly chose a center, which happened to be an affiliation of International Kiteboarding Organization.

The organization has training centers around the world, and some its courses are tailored for beginners like me.

The center on Boracay has different courses, from recreational to professional. In the recreational category, trainees have to do the "discovery" level before they go on to more advanced levels.

My instructor Brian, who was from the United States, adhered strictly to the center's rules about levels, and began the training by asking me to set up the kite on the sand, which was the very first step at the ground level of the "discovery" course.

I had a teammate, and we both couldn't wait to have the feeling of riding with the wind on the surface of the water.

But we had to practice at length the various skills for assessing the direction of the wind and the movements of our bodies.

I was there in March, which was still the windy season on the island. Because of the winds, the Philippines were important on the ancient maritime trade route. They call the wind Amihan, or trade winds.

From September to May the year before, the hills on the northern and southern ends of the island channel the Amihan wind from the east onshore, and onto the Bulabog Beach on the eastern coast of the island.