Cumbuco

Cumbuco is the closest serious wind spot to Fortaleza, which is why it filled with kite schools, European instructors and rental operations from the late 1990s. The wind is reliable from about July to January and the beach is long and open, with the Cauipe lagoon a short buggy ride away giving flat water for downwinders - a run that has become the standard local session. Behind the beach are large dunes, and the buggy trade over them is a fixture: drivers offer the ride com emocao or sem emocao, with or without emotion, meaning whether they take the steep faces at speed. There are also sandboarding, a zip line into a lagoon and camel rides, which arrived as a novelty and stayed.

What you actually see

• Reliable trade wind - kiteable from about July to January.
• The Cauipe lagoon - flat water at the end of the standard downwinder.
• Buggies over the dunes - offered with or without emotion.
• A full watersports economy - schools, rentals and instructors along the beach.

When to go

July to January for wind. Two days.

Honest expectations

The beach is crowded with kites in season and beginners can find it intimidating. Buggy and vendor selling is relentless. The village has developed fast and unattractively in parts. Outside wind season there is much less reason to come.

Nearby

Fortaleza is east; Lagoinha and Paracuru are further west.