Tejon Padre Kitesurf: El pantano del ebro (ebro lake)

El Pantano del Ebro

This is one of the best spots to visit in Spain during the summer season, it does work goes from beginning of June till the end of September. It is the only spot apart from Tarifa that has kiteboarding vibe apart from astonishing surroundings.

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It´s located in the North part of Spain, approximately 80km north of the city of Burgos and 80km south of the city of Santander. So if we take into account the location we can say that this place is quite isolated from the most touristic destinations of spain. but it really does pay off visiting it.

As said in a previous post, this lake is located in a mountain range 1000mts above the sea level, which means that even in July/August, were we "suffer" the hot temperatures all around Spain, this place is cold. (to give you an idea, I´ve been kiting in July here at 9º), so if you come here do not forget to bring winter time clothing.

Both spots share huge landscapes to set your kites and launch. It´s all covered by grass and you will be sharing the location with some cows and horses, apart from kiters (of course). There are not hazards to crash with the exception of some animal excrements (it´s part of the experience, remember you are in the nature).

Marked in Blue, you have 2 locations:
Cabañas de Virtus:
North wind spot, side wind direction, quite shallow in the shore. Some flat areas for freestyle and learners, choppy inside.
Here the wind is thermal, and it does blow from 13:00 till 20:00. It can be gusty compared with thermal winds in the coast but it´s also stronger, and perfectly rideable. Expect 15-20knots in "soft" days and between 25-35 in "strong" days. Recommended kites are 10 to smaller sizes.
As the wind is thermic is difficult to predict, and there are many kiters that seem wizards with weird theories on how it will perform. Basically, the norm would say sunny and hot days, with high temperatures differences between Santander and Burgos, but last year I did go with crappy weather forecasts as rain and cold and did work perfectly.
If you go there, Here you will be able to see the full process of wind formation, and it is an spectacle. I will briefly describe the process.
1-Around 12.00, no wind at all.
2-The windmills on top of the mountains start to turn at a very slowly pace (each in one direction), you dont feel wind at all.
3-All the windmills start to point the North. (you measure 4-5knots)
4-A dense cloud starts forming on top of the mountain in the north.
5-Suddenly the wind starts to blow at high speeds. time to start kiting!!!!!
then 2 things can happen:
a) The wind blows till late afternoon.
b) The cloud that was on top of the mountain starts to descend over the lake (you can see it coming down), and depending of the day, you will have clouds passing on top of you, or it come to ground level forming a fog that you can not see 3 meters away from you.
Usually, when the fog appears the wind suddenly stops, but there are days that it still continues. My advice here is to stop kiting because you can get lost or crash with another kiter or the shore (you don´t see anything).
2 more advices for this place in foggy/cold days:
a) Bring with you a rain coat or a wind protection tent for your breaks between sessions to protect you against the cold wind (I have this one http://www.decathlon.es/refugio-seconds-0-azul-id_8056073.html) because if not you will be frozen within minutes and you will have to pack and go to your car.
b) If it has become really foggy, do either of these 2 things, try to comeback to your car with a local or use your mobile gps to locate your car (you wont be the first one to get lost).

Concorte:
This is predominantly a south wind spot, onshore wind, shallow and mainly choppy, it can have some flat areas but it depends on the water tide. It can be used as a flat spot with offshore wind (North), but I would only recommend it for experts only or when the tide is too low (end of august, september as you would avoid walking long distances to the shore in Cabañas de Virtus). Also, this is the spot windsurfers use with North wind.
The spot description of Cabañas de Virtus can also apply to this one (grass, cows, etc).
The south wind can be predicted by watching several weather websites, so here is no mystery. also note that Pantano del Ebro main wind direction is North, so you wont have many chances with this spot.
The south wind usually blows from 12-17knots here, and is not gusty, so a big kite is recommended.
If you attempt to kite here with North winds, keep in mind that the wind blows at the same strength of the other spot but it is a bit more gusty (but rideable too).

Recommendations for this place:

Make your couple a favor, and if she/he doesnt plan to kite do not bring them here, because they will hate you (can become cold), and while you are happily kiting he/she will be planning how to kill you in a really slow and painful way.
If the forecast gives sun, spot can be a bit crowed during the weekends, if you are coming during the working week, you will have the place almost for yourself.
Be prepared to eat one of the finest meat you can find in Spain (remember all the cows surrounding you) at really affordable places.
Do not expect to find party or many shops as this is a rural area, people here come to enjoy kiting, eating and relaxing.
Take a look to all the sports activities that you can perform in this place: mountain biking, biking, horse riding, paintball, rafting, off road. This area has started to grow in the nature activities.
Accommodation is quite cheap, and there are no problems with people coming with their caravans.
There are a couple of kiteschools here, so maybe this is the place to start kiteboarding.

Webcam (On top of Conchita restaurant): http://www.meteocampoo.es/corconte/webcam.php

Some pictures: