Fortaleza.

Fortaleza is one of the world’s most reliable kite coasts. The surf is real, just early. The city sits at the equator, where the south-east trade winds (alísios) blow side-shore for half the year. Titanzinho, the urban right hidden behind a jetty, holds up against the trades. Praia do Futuro, just south, is the open beach break, surfed at dawn before the alísios fill in. Cumbuco, 25 km north-west, is the freestyle and downwind hub.

This is a wind coast and a dawn-patrol surf coast, both at once. The alísios blow July through January, with August through October the windiest stretch: 16 to 25 knots side-onshore most afternoons, usable 94 to 98% of the time for kiting. Surf is short-period wind swell, 0.4 to 1.5 m, in the window before the breeze fills. Titanzinho’s jetty buys an extra hour or two when the trades are up. March through May, between trade seasons, is the longest surf window of the year. Low tide flattens the kite chop.

Water sits between 24 and 28 °C every month, so boardies and a rashie for the sun. Real hazards are equatorial: heat, glare, and a longshore current at low tide that drifts beginners further down the beach than they realise. Lagoa do Cauípe, ten kilometres downwind of Cumbuco, is where most kitesurfers end the day. Pick the discipline by the clock: surf at dawn at Titanzinho or Praia do Futuro, kite at Cumbuco from mid-morning on. March through May is the surf-only window if you’d rather not chase first light.