If you typed flat-water kiteboarding into Google I can assure you that La Ventana would rank poorly in the results. The conditions in La Ventana are similar to the conditions found in Cabarete only slightly less tumultuous because I don't think there is anywhere in the world that can top the chaotic environment one encounters in Cabarete. After my first month down here in La Ventana I was sorely missing the buttery flat-water I have waiting for me back home in Charleston, South Carolina. The other guys I was down here with felt the same way, we were all craving that felling you get when you slice through some silky smooth water. We had heard about a pond tucked away behind the dunes about 7 miles downwind. I know that 7 miles downwind doesn't seem like much, but when you are living and riding at the last bit of civilization before a vast cactus forest 7 miles adds up quick. Anyway, we were determined to locate the pond even after we had heard basically nothing but pessimistic opinions. Like how it was full of stingrays, dead fish and sharp sticks and logs, and that the water was similar to what comes out of a septic tank. Still none of that bothered us. Me and 4 other buddies set out on our wild goose chase one afternoon with a back pack full of camera equipment, because there was no way we were going to let this experience go undocumented. After 3 attempts of running up 40 foot dunes that we thought might be the gateway to our playground we finally found it. We looked back at our start point and realized we had covered some serious ground. The houses looked like little sand castles nestled into the side of the mountainous terrain of la Ventana. We had to walk about 100 meters inland before we could actually see what we were working with. Once we had arrived we took a look around and began to understand what everyone was talking about. The pond was literally a pond, about 100 meters long by 200 meters wide. It looked like a stagnate breeding ground for bird poop bacteria, but we had gone that far and nothing was stopping us now plus the water looked like a fresh tub of margarine, absolutely butter smooth! We took turns riding 2 at a time and the rest either filming or watching. We were stoked, hooting and hollering as we pushed each other to go bigger and bigger and more and more technical. However, when you fell you paid the price as we found out that the water was actually saltier then the Red Sea and tasted like vegemite mixed with pluff mud. We continued to ride. After about 2 hours and a fading light we decided to make the journey back. The angle of the beach and the wind allowed for a typically easy return all things considered. But, about 5 minutes after we began our return the wind died an hour earlier than it should have. We had to pump and loop our kites just to make it back to the beach with an on-shore wind. We all got back to the beach and just looked at each other and basically laughed like wow did this really just happen. By the graces of god there was this little Mexican couple out there in the middle of nowhere. So my friend and I, being the only two out of the bunch that knew any Spanish, went up to the couple and asked them for a ride. They pretty much denied us right off the bat. But after about 10 minutes of haggling and loads of mispronounced words we were able to coax them into a ride for 200 pesos. Like a can of sardines we packed ourselves and all of our gear into the back of a little Mexican truck. After the 45 minute car ride through the most desolate dirt roads surrounded by cactus we made to our residence at Baja Joe's. We cracked some beers that night and laughed about our stupid luck. We certainly had an experience that we will never forget plus we got to ride flat water so we were more stoked then ever!! Here are some pictures from our journey. If you ever go down to La Ventana and are craving flat water let me know and I will send you the treasure map and the essential words to bribe a ride back ; )