Hi folks:

I'm David, 27 and I love action sports. I love surfing, rock climbing, mountaineering. I've never kite surfed before. I have wind surfed (a few days), and snowboarded (capable of doing double black diamonds), and wakeboarded a few times. I have no idea how these skills translate, or if they even do. I'm in fairly good shape; working out 4-5 times per week (cardio and strength training).

Right now I'm in Isla Holbux near Cancun Mexico. I'm riding my motorcycle from the USA => South America so I have a lot of latitude on where I learn. I've been on the road for 3.5 months and will likely be gone 1-2 years from the USA.

In any case I have met a certified instructor here who is willing to do 6 hours of private lessons at $250.00. This includes using his gear to learn. The going rate on the island seems to be about $450.00 for a 8 hour sequence of lessons.

Cost is a really important consideration for me... especially as I have to budget for years of travelling. Kite surfing is something I'd really like to learn on the trip... but I need to really make sure it works for me economically. At the same time, I'm sure having lessons with a qualified, quality instructor is not only important for safety reasons, but would also dramatically speed up how quickly I learn.

I'm wondering (please forgive all my noob questions. I did read through: Kiteforum.com • View topic - How much do Kite Lessons cost in your country? as well as a few other threads before asking these questions.
0) How do these prices compare for other places that I might be able to obtain lessons going further south from here?
1) Is it worth going through the lessons here, if I'm going to leave after the lessons are complete and not be able to practice kiting until I find another location that's good for it? I.e. is it something that you really need hours of practice afterwards to enforce the lessons?
1.5) Is 6 hours enough? I'm reading in the forums that 8 hours should be considered a minimum to learn.
2) Is there a potentially better place between here and Argentina to learn? Ideally I'm looking for some place that offers included rental hours in the price (like the company I took some kite surfing lessons with in the Hood River area).
3) If I did take the lessons, they would start in two days. What would you recommend that I do to get ready for my first lesson so I can learn as rapidly as possible? Youtube videos? Articles? Instructional videos? What's helpful?
4) Would you pull the trigger on the lessons with this instructor and location? Would you ask him for something different than he offered? Holbox is supposed to be a great place to learn... I'm tempted; but would love to get the advice and opinions of those on this forum who know so much more than me.

Best,
David

PS: IMPORTANT: I need to make my decision tomorrow (December 16th)... so if you're thinking about replying ... I'd *really* appreciate you replying now; as opposed to later


PPS: If you'd like to chat over skype, my username is: arooni

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Hi I'm David; headed to South America via a Suzuki V-Strom 650.
http://www.davidparkinson.com