Verano Azul: Festival del Viento, Castelló - KAP Jasa

“¡A lo mejor!”
– Javi

We were a couple of pints deep in Guadalquivir – well, in a discussion about Guadalquivir, having re-ignited the ancient debate of riverine salinity. It was late (or early); we were kinda loud while Javier was, as a proud sevillano, trying to keep a low profile, since we were closer to La Mestalla than to La Bombonera … when suddenly Javi uttered the magic words: “A lo mejor …”

*Javier and the three musketeers from Slovenia*

It means ‘maybe‘, or ‘at best’, but to us was like a time machine switching on, transporting us straight back into the childhood and the Spanish TV series Blue Summer – Verano azul – about a group of kids spending their summer vacation on Spanish coast (one of them was even named – Javi). Yes, we old.

*Saša, Gregor, Jordi, Žuža, Žare, Timotej, and Marczin serenading the wind*

And suddenly we realised that we are those kids right now, having a blast on the Spanish coast – on the Costa dels Tarongers, the Coast of the orange trees …

“And don’t think every festival will be like this!”
– Gregor to Timotej, about Timotej’s first kite festival experience

Kite festivals are all pretty much the same – colorful sky, great people, legendary parties – yet each one is unique. The setting, the weather, the organising crew, the kiters, the food … every time all of these factors combine in a special way that makes a kite festival unforgettable – be it three days on a sunny, windy beach; or a rain soaked bonàccia on a meadow somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

The 2025 Festival del Viento started with a huge applause.

Our flight was a late one, so we missed the opening ceremony, the flag parade, the meeting with Her Excellency the Mayoress … but our master driver Pau got us to the Real Casino Antiguo right in time for the kiters briefing. Enrico was just explaining something very important, when the doors of the Salón Pompeyanoa opened and we walked right in.

“Oooo, the great KAP Jasa has arrived!”

We got a thundering applause on the open stage, we bowed awkwardly, a thousand hugs and kisses ensued, and Enrico had a hard time establishing order again. It was an eye watering moment, meeting so many great friends again …

*The magnificent interior of* Real Casino Antiguo

And then we were treated to an amazing cocktail dinner – from the incredible Jamón ibérico to a paella straight from heaven- and trust us, we know how important food is at a kite festival … 😉

What a welcome to the 2025 Festival del Viento, Castelló de la Plana!

*The heart of Castelló*: the famous El Fadri *bell tower on the right, and* Concathedral de Santa Maria *on the left*

“How strange: every time I see you, I am having fun …”
– Marczin to us, ankles deep in the sand on the Platja del Gurugú

It was around midnight; a bench on a small shady plaça where two shady calles meet, a shady bar with shady customers and ladies of the night …

Me llaman calle, pisando baldosa
La revoltosa y tan perdida
Me llaman calle
Calle de noche, calle de día …

And there was Barbara with Marczin, Arek, and young Nina in a new One India kite club official shirt (courtesy of Sherin and Shahir), and Sabrina, Gregor, Timotej, Saša, and tons of jokes crazy stories and laughs and …

… and love.

It was around midday, the sun was shining, the wind was strong, the beach hot; and there was Esteban, and Žuža and Žare, and the Fat Boys, and Tonje, and all the kites were in the air, and hearts were in the air, and fun …

… so much fun.

“Sorry Pau for all the little problems – tomorrow we will do bigger ones!”
– Grega to Pau the master driver

*Pau trying to instill some reason into kite flyers. He failed …*

Organising and directing a group of kiters is like herding cats.

This was compounded by the fact that Castelló is not at the coast, but some 10 km inland, while the Festival del Viento was held on the Platja del Gurugú near Grau, and the kiters were staying in five different hotels. The ride there and back took some half an hour.

In theory it should be simple: a van does the rounds, the kiters get in until it’s full, then it’s off to the beach. Repeat until every kiter is on the kite field. Even a WhatsApp group was created to help with the details.

In practice it meant a whole lotta problems for the increasingly tired Pau, who had to pretty much guess who’s missing, who is where, which one to pick up now – with all the kiters happily lost in time and space.

The parade of Vespas didn’t help. Neither did we, designated comedians.

“Hey Pau, we’d like to visit Sagrada Familia!”
“That’s in Barcelona ..”
“We know!”

His eyes were hidden behind slick sunglasses, but we could feel them rolling.

But Pau won on the last day.

“Look, Sagrada Familia!”
“What?”

It was the control tower of the Valencia airport. It was time to fly home.

“Is beer considered an alcoholic drink here?”
– Saša asking important questions during the briefing

The kite field on Platja del Gurugú – a sandy beach almost a kilometre long – is nervously close to a serious sports airport. As the Festival del Viento was not just about kites, but included sailing, hot air balloons, acrobatic planes and helicopters, one of the restrictions we were warned of was the maximum permissible kite altitude, and the maximum length of the kite line.

Don’t fly higher than 35 meters. Don’t fly over the road. Don’t leave your kites unattended. Don’t make a mess – large kites can create all sorts of problems when let to their own devices, and can be seriously dangerous when the wind picks up.

So Pascual was completely right: don’t get wasted on the kite field.

We all obeyed Pascual and used those two magic sentences we’ve learned – “¡Tres cervezas por favor!” and “¡Tres más!” – only after the kites were safely back down …

The kite show was incredible – and incredibly safe.

We were hit rather hard with that altitude restriction, because we have KAP in our name and kite aerial photography is our core business, and we really wanted The Cloud to carry the camera high above the beach. But then, photographing kites in action right where they are, up in the wind, is really really cool … except when you mess up the camera settings:

So when The Cloud was down and the photos were checked, we had to do it all over again …

Then Juan came by, curious about the whole KAP process, the passive gimbal, the piloting of the kite – so The Cloud went up again, this time controlled by the newbie!

Well, one could say Juan did better than us! 🙂

“You just got effed.”
– Timotej, to gangsta Tonje Liv

The kite field on Platja was divided into seven sectors (plus one reserved for the acrobatic kites), and this arrangement immediately spurred a competition. And nicknames, of course. There were five magnificent kite flyers on sector F – Žuža, Žare and the three of us – and Žuža had no problem declaring us The Fantastic Five.

“Yo losers,” shouted Tonje Liv and Christian who came for a visit from their god forsaken sector G, clumsily contorting their fingers into a bizarre wannabe gang sign they claimed looked like a G. “We be kite gagnstas, and you be some lousy fu…..”

Timotej calmly did our sign – an F, using the middle finger – and effed the intruders. Our sector was the best by far, of course.

And so was every other sector.

“Don’t do this alone.”
– Žare, on flying kites

Kite flying is very zen, and can be done alone – immersed in the wind and in the sky, the kite riding the breeze high above, the subtle pulls and releases of the line … hours of complete detachment from the ills of common life.

But.

Kite flying is even better with friends.

Two kiters can fly twice as many kites as a lone kiter, and three kiters twice as many again. K(n+1) = 2K(n). That’s why kite clubs exist; that’s why kite festivals are such incredible spectacles of colour and such fun – and that’s why a fellow kite flyer is not just an acquaintance, but a true friend.

Do fly a kite alone, of course. But do it in company too – less is more, but more is even more!

“You know when you are having a good time you want to tell everyone that you are having a good time?”
“Yes.”
“And if you are having a great time you want to brag even more?”
“Yes.”
“But if you are having a bloody best time of your life ever – you don’t really need to brag?”
“Yes.”
“So … you wanna post some photos of this festival on our group?”
“No.”
– some Rotarians, discussing the ancient Slovenian art of kurčenje

2025 Festival del Viento was, if not the best, definitely in the top three kite festivals we’ve ever been to. In only its second (!!!) incarnation (this fact speaks volumes about the prowess of the organising team – bravo!) …

And sorry Timotej (it was his first kite festival ever) – it’s simply impossible for all future festivals to be like this one.

We came excited – and left tired, sunburnt, happy, and full of great memories.

*Before and after* 2025 Festival del Viento

Pascual, Jordi, Esteban, Lidon, Kike, Tony and all the members of the illustrious Milotxes kite club; Enrico and the staff of Sole Rototom beach bar; Pau and his venerable van; Žuža and Žare of the Zmajoljupci – Croatian Kite Association; Almudena and Humberto (who rescued Gregor’s backpack!); gangstas Sabrina, Tonje, Morten, and Christian; Nina, Barbara, Marczin, and Arek; Sabrina; Sherin and Shahir (thank you so much for the official One India kite club shirts – with our names on!); Bernhard; the sweet Slovakians, Laura, Michal, and Peter; André, Ricardo and Renato from Portugal; Juan the future KAP master; Javier, members of Torbellino & Ventolera, Mágica Mente, Mistral, Vortex, and Ventilado kite clubs, all the kite flyers from near and far; the sponsors of the festival; the staff of the B&B hotel Castellon de la Plana; the Mayoress Begoña Carrasco Garcia and the good people of Castelló and Grau; and all the visitors who enjoyed our kite show at the Platja del Gurugú …