Mexico: Spot Guide Baja California

Photo: Wyatt Miller

Take a breeze of adventure, plenty of hot desert wind and garnish it with fiery freeride and wave spots - the result is a spicy meal made for all hungry windsurfers.

Baja California - perfect windsurfing infrastructure

Surfcamp Punta San Carlos - Accommodation in simple tents

The waves of Punta San Carlos remain something for windsurfing adventurers.

La Ventana has much more infrastructure.

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Photo: Wyatt Miller

Worlds literally collide on the border between the USA and Mexico. To the north is the rich US state of California with its metropolis of 1.4 million inhabitants, San Diego, which is increasingly developing into a centre for the telecommunications and biotech industries. Less than half an hour's drive to the south is Tijuana: 2.2 million inhabitants, famous for its entertainment and red light district, feared for its gang crime. In between, a fence separates rich from poor, Mexico from the USA, and not just since Donald Trump.

Even though windsurfing tourists from Europe have rarely come here so far, La Ventana and Los Barilles are no longer insider tips. Between November and May, windsurfers and kitesurfers from the USA and Canada in particular transform the small towns into absolute "surf cities". "On good days," says Wyatt Miller, "there are easily 300 people on the water in La Ventana. The good thing is that this is spread over a very long beach, so it never gets too crowded on the water." Due to a local strengthening, the moderate northerly wind that blows almost everywhere in the Gulf of California in winter and spring is noticeably stronger and arrives here at 15 to 25 knots on around 70 per cent of afternoons. Really strong days with over 30 knots are also a regular occurrence, when there is even a nice surf wave here that invites you to jump and ride, but which even less experienced surf surfers can easily tackle.

The fact that you don't really need a car here also contributes significantly to relaxation, with spots and accommodation often within walking distance.

And even away from the water, the area has more to offer than just desert and cacti. There are numerous bike trails and hiking paths in the mountainous hinterland. If you can't do without water sports on the few calm days, you can discover the fascinating underwater world - Los Barilles in particular is world-famous among divers and anglers.

If you then round off your surfing day in one of the numerous bars in La Ventana or Los Barilles with live music and a well-earned "cerveza", you will realise that Baja California is not the same as what is generally associated with Mexico - it is simply a different world.