Kite Boarding at Extreme Hotel – an interview with Nina
Women’s Kiteboarding in the Dominican Republic is growing! The other day I had the pleasure to sit down with the Lovely Nina. We’ve been lucky enough to have this Norwegian gem stay with us at Extreme numerous times over the years, and she always bring great energy and lots of friends! Two things that we love here at Extreme Hotel. Nina has been on the kite boarding scene for some time now, so I thought it would be fun to see how she started this relatively new sport and how it has evolved over the years. As I said in my previous blog, this is a very male dominated sport, but if you’ve ever watched Nina out on the water you’ll know that she can outrun most young bucks. Nina first discovered kite surfing when she was swallowing too much salt water battling the surf waves in Australia. She was traveling with her friend in Perth when caught site of some kites in the air. With some encouragement, Nina and her friend decided to give kite boarding a try. It wasn’t easy; back then equipment and teaching styles were much different: leashes were strapped around your wrist, there was no ‘de-power’ option, and no ‘donkey-dick’ (which prevents your bar from unhooking from your harness…very important). It would be four years before Nina would start traveling and try kiting again. Her plan was to go to South America and do one month Spanish classes, one month of volunteer work and one month kite boarding – let’s just say that her Spanish stuck to “una más cerveza” but she learnt how to rip up the waves. The lovely Nina was officially hooked. Over the past two years, Nina has traveled to Brazil, Cape Town South Africa, Tulum Mexico, Lisbon Portugal, Terifa Spain, Cartagena Columbia , Sicilian , Holland, isla margarita Venezuela , snow kiting in Norway and Cabarete Dominican Republic to kite board. How did she find Cabarete? Well, this area has been a popular kitebarding location for epic kite boarding in the caribbean for many years. Checking up on kite boarding forums, this place was highly recommended. How did she find eXtreme hotel? After checking out other hotels on Kite Beach she explained that she stuck with eXtreme beacause “that’s the problem with kiting, when there’s no wind, you need something else to do. After seeing how many activities eXtreme had: yoga, trapeze, dance classes, crosffit, boxing, I thought it would be a fun place”. And that’s definitely something we take pride in here. GoKite is a great kite boarding school, but how about a little cross training every once and while? We had a pretty big laugh while we considered how to explain to people the relationship kiters have with the wind. “ It’s like being in love with a guy you can’t have. You just have to wait. You sneak around his house to see if he’s around, but it’s never up to you. When he finally decides to call, he’ll totally blow your mind like and endless organism that could last for days” That’s the tricky thing about kiting – when there’s wind, it would be bliss for days and days. But when there’s not, it’s a waiting game. You get tired of waiting beachside, but you’re too scared to leave in case it picks up and you miss out. That’s why having so many activities at eXtreme makes things convenient. You can stay occupied, while waiting for the orgasm. But there’s more than just the wind that keeps Nina coming back. Cabrete has a great vibe. There are fantastic restaurants and great clubs where you can dance Bachata, Meringue, and Salsa. There are kiters, surfers, and circus artists everywhere, “a lot of six packs running around”. Plus, eXtreme tends to have a lot of familiar faces coming back. Making friends with locals, guests and eXtreme staff, it becomes a family that you want to return to. Nina mentioned that seeing locals and tourists mingle as much as they do in Cabarete is not something you see very often. “I guess that’s why I think this place is so special, it’s a friendly destination. “ — So I asked Nina what we can expect from the sport these coming years, “more girls will start kiting!” Nina makes a very good point that most girls are scared to start because they think they need to be really strong. In reality, people of all sizes, ages and strength levels can kite. You’re not holding on to the kite with your arms, you’re steering the kite with your arms. The kite itself is attached you your harness around you waist. “People are scared to take control of the kite – but it gives you good abs” …nuff said. In the end it’s all about having fun and wearing cute bikinis. I would like to thank my good friend Nina for this wonderful interview. It was great fun hanging out at Chichigua and laughing over the good times we’ve had in Cabarete. Please feel free to comment or ask any questions to Nina – she’ll be staying with us for a few more weeks. Until next time, Genevieve
Surfing With The Sun
I don’t often get to see the sunrise, but when I do I get a chill running down my spine. It’s a special feeling that I liken to taking off in an airplane, or the first day of a new job. Like you are living and breathing ‘beginning’. So the idea of getting to see a sunrise is pretty cool, but actually getting out there and doing it is another. For starters if you want to see the beginning rays of the day, then you have to get out of your cozy bed before that day has even begun. While your laying there in a half wake state there are tones of reasons to NOT get up. Living here at extreme for six months I’ve managed to find a few more reasons to get up with a pop. For one, our slogan is live by the sun. So once I see those rays coming through my curtains, I know its time to go…. And when the sun starts to set at night I begin concocting my plans for a wholesome dinner shared with friends and an early tuck in time. This past November I went surfing more times than I did in all of 2011. Or for that matter the entire rest of my life. Surfing is a pretty cool sport. We all know that. But the reason that its cool to me is that there are so many elements that line up to that perfect wave. And getting up early is one of them. I stood at the shores edge at 6:45 this morning staring at the massive rippling grey soup of swell wondering why there were no other surfers in the water. All the other surfers had a similar stance to me – standing, watching, calculating….. except I didn’t know why I was doing it. So I said to hell with that and went and got my board ready. By the time I got in the water I was about the fourth person out there. 30 minutes later once I’d battled past the break (I’m totally still an amateur) there was probably 20 people waiting for their perfect wave. Beating the crowds. Now that’s a reason to crawl out of your covers before the sun. When we say live with the sun, maybe we actually mean live ahead of the sun. Maybe set an alarm, or mark on your calendar – “today is the day you tell the sun what to do”. When you have a fierce desire and attachment to a sport/ hobby/ game – whatever it is that drives you – it doesn’t really matter where the sun is, or the wind or the powder… you have to put yourself there and be ready for whatever mother nature will give you. Big, small, gnarly, suave … its all a part of the challenge and the reason to get out and play.
DJ Avana at Voodoo Lounge, Cabarete
Voodoo Lounge in Cabarete is relatively new. I don’t know if it was that, or the fact that my Spanish is non-existent and I had only been in Cabarete for two days, but my moto driver had no idea where I was talking about – neither did the three other people he pulled over to ask. “Doodoo?” he said, “No. Voodoo!” “Whodoo?” It went on. I finally remembered that it was on the same street as the pizza restaurant with all of the aquariums. Again, non existent Spanish so that took a minute, but eventually it worked. The crew from eXtreme was already there, and apparently so was everyone else. But it wasn’t crazy, it was a nice crowd, and almost all locals. The people who tend to spend relaxing evenings at home, decided to grace us with their presence. They also already know that a party at Voodoo is probably worth the effort. And they are all over the bottomless mimosas the next day. At first I couldn’t tell if it was a DJ or a CD playing and then it was obvious. People crowded around the DJ booth, Papo showed up. The music was good. Hip Hop I haven’t heard in Philly since the Hipsters invaded. Two emcees from Santo Domingo took the stage, Basico and Eme de Meta. Again, no Spanish so no idea what they were saying they could have been rapping about kittens and jamba juice for all I know but those motherfuckers had flows for days. This was not the first and it will certainly not be the last time that Papo throws a great event. We are all looking forward to Rap N Playa on November 17th, which will feature a killer line up of hip hop groups from Santo Domingo, including our friends Lo Correcto, break dancing and a beach front graffiti battle. Be sure to check out Avana’s music on Facebook, Soundcloud, wherever you get your rocks off. That one track “I speak no English” is hilarious… I feel you hommie. Until next time. _ Dodekah
Circus Retreat Performance at Extreme Hotel
So how do I put this… last night was amazing. Thanks for the show…? You girls were great. Can I put the tip in your bra…? Where did you learn those mean skills?… nope, that all sounds oddly sexual. But then again so are aerial arts and circus performances in general. But if you ask this team of highly skilled, highly talented, and highly ripped acrobats, they’d tell you that it’s an expression, and that creating each act is an extremely artistic endeavor. Circus girls I had the pleasure (ahem – again with the sexy words) of catching Kerri’s brand new show last night. Since the Sweet Retreats†k Team has only been at Extreme for ten days, their routine was still in the works and is still a little wet behind the ears. Of course this actually worked to their advantage. The girls bantered with the audience between sets, asking what everyone thought, and did back flips, walkovers, and handsprings while fluttering around like little birds. It was so natural it seemed like it was how they always interact with people. And when the beautifully elegant knife-dancing-Olga dropped her knife, we were all able to drop our jaws a little farther when she was able to recover with the same grace. circus crew at extreme Their one hour show kicked off with one of Kaiceitos‘ very own doing a graceful strength routine on the hanging bar, then an areal arts routine by Chloe and Kerri, followed by the circus boys on the beach throwing poi, which are basically burning balls of fire on sticks (ahem). This is actually a pretty big thing internationally, and we welcome poi dancers to our beach side paradise every year. The whole show was done to booming pop-hip-hop-technoey beats. The crowd went wild for the group, and I’m sure I’m not the only one that left vowing to myself that tomorrow I would pick up where I left off with my hand stands and by next week I’d be skipping town in search of some long lost circus dream. The best part about the whole thing is that I totally could have done that. Or so I felt. The sense of place that you get at Extreme is that anything is possible. Wake up one morning and you’re a circus freak – I mean circus pro, and the next day you could be on your way to being one of the first Olympian kite boarders in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. My point is, this type of stuff just crops up all the time here. For all of you who surely share the same dream, Kerri is also kind enough to provide classes to the public for those who would like to learn the aerial arts, tumbling, handstands, trapeze and much more. Although this amazing group will be leaving us shortly, they do retreats twice a year at Extreme! Be sure to check our Facebook page and website for updates on Kerri’s Sweet Retreats at Extreme Hotel. circus crew By: Monica Rush
Organic Dominican Chocolate Bars and Almond Butter
The best organic chocolate and almond butter can offer a healthy snack at any time: It happened again. I woke up in a sweat and I couldn’t fall back to sleep. I tossed and turned, but nothing seemed to help. I started counting sheep… pointless. I started telling my body to relax and fall asleep…feet, ankles, calves…I got to my stomach and gave up. When I finally caved, I slid out of bed and made my way to my desk. It was still dark, but I knew exactly where it was. As if I had night vision, I reached into my desk and grabbed it. I unfolded the tinfoil wrapping, broke off a piece, and sat down for what would be a midnight foodgasm. The homemade 80% organic chocolate instantly started melting on my tongue and brought me into another world. I will admit now that I’m not proud of my addiction. Most of my pockets are littered with small pieces of tinfoil. I’ve even lying to my friends and family, “It’s just water weight!” but my defensive tone totally blows my cover. Zach taught me that “sharing is caring” but c’mon, this shit is primo gold! The best way for me to avoid this addiction is to only buy one bar and eat it as fast as I can. I haven’t always been like this, but since our good friend Maria started making organic chocolate at Taino Farm to sell, I’ve been hooked. In my defense, its better then eating a box of chocolate cookies or ice cream from Bon. Most health articles will say that dark chocolate is good for you… so that’s my justification. My favourite dessert is when Maria arrives with a fresh batch of organic almond butter AND dark chocolate…can someone say chocolate almond butter sandwich?? YES PLEASE! Both products are made with love and care. It’s not an easy process to accumulate all the ingredients, roast them to perfection, produce and package. We’ve trained up the farmers to help with the process, but Maria still does most of the work herself, including perfecting a chocolate recipe that even Willi Wonka would admire. As soon as she’s got a batch ready she brings it down to Extreme to sell. Maria has almond butter and chocolate ready for purchase most of the time, and the Extreme team staff is sure to let hotel guests and Cabarete locals know when it’s around. You can always make a custom order by emailing Genevieve@ecabarete.com. Prices 250RD – 80% organic chocolate bar 500RD – jar of organic almond butter Because we’re adamant at reducing and reusing, the prices might vary depending on what jars Maria is able to find and use for the nut butter. Prices might also change slightly for the chocolate if she decides to add nuts or fruit to the chocolate. So unleash your inner fat kid and give in to some healthy-guilty-pleasures. Because you only live once and there’s no better way to be decadent than doing so in a eco-friendly-locally-produced-oh-so-awesome kinda way. By Genevieve
Dominican Hip Hop Group Lo Correcto
The hip hop collective, Cooperativa Empresarial Lo Correcto, or “Lo Correcto” is a united group of creative individuals who have fought to bring hip hop to the ears of the people in La Republica Dominicana. As most radio stations are overrun with the classic bachata and merengue music, their music offers an amazing urban sound with lyrics that provoke thought and plant the seeds of action. With a sound that has been likened to that of the Wu Tang Clan and Boot Camp Clik, these guys are rewriting what it means to be in the Dominican music scene. The minute I met the group of smiling, dreadlocked Dominicanos, I could sense that they had an amazing collective energy, and a shared understanding of their purpose. The group was borne out of a collaboration of art, hip hop, and expression in the capitol city, Santo Domingo. Before long, Extreme Hotel had the pleasure of hosting the group while they did a media tour on the North Coast of the island. They broadcasted live from Voodoo Lounge on Zulu Radio, and had two live performances in one night here in Cabarete. The best kept secret of their tour? During their mornings and afternoons when most rap groups would be succumbing to the gluttony of a party lifestyle, they were vigilantly rising with the sun, working out every day in our gym, and embarking on a healthier, more conscious lifestyle change. What prompted this? You might say that Cabarete is a meca for the fit and the to-be-fit. It’s where people come to play like they’re young again, and if you want to play like you’re a five year old, it’s best that you can keep up with a five year old. Enter trainer and jiu jitsu coach: Tomas Papo Sone. Papo has been in this game for years, and has been listening to Lo Correcto since ’98 when the group first came on the scene. He invited the group up to Cabarete to get a taste of the carefree beach-side lifestyle. The group leapt at the idea, especially when Papo threw in the promise of getting to work with the Dominican MMA fighter, Alex Garcia (euphemistically coined the Dominican Nightmare). The creative minds of Lo Correcto and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Cabarete worked together to create a week of culture, change, fitness, and action. The result was a whirlwind education for both Extreme Hotel and also Lo Correcto. They brought us cultural vibes from ‘el Capitol’, and we gave them motivational tools and a fitness education.