Date:	Sun, 26 Jun 1994 12:55:35 -1000
From:	lthrall@netcom.com (Lee Thrall)
Message-Id: <lthrallCs110o.8wL@netcom.com>
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
Subject: An American in Fano

	Well, make that many Americans in Fano...

Since no one else has yet mentioned this truely amazing event, I 
guess I'll start.

	Ten of us from the U.S. made the trip to Fano - the group
consisted of Scott Skinner, Dave Gomberg, Vic Eshpeter, Ed and Gail
Lyndsay, Karen Gustavson, Larry Fanoe, Anne Rock, Lee Thrall and myself
(Joanne Petithory, who is one again using Lee's account...).  
In addition, Mike and Linda Sterling were there, staying with 
German friends.

	Talk about wind!!  There was plenty.  It was sometimes clocked
at 30 mph plus.  
	Even though the wind was too much for many of the kites, there
was still an AMAZING number of kites on the beach.  Fano beach is huge
compared to what I am used to (even Long Beach is small in comparison).

	[Some of you Fano regulars out there can provide us with 
distances in miles or km, I don't remember the particulars...]

	There was a public bus route which ran along the beach.  
I would walk downwind to take in the sights and then take the bus
back to aviod walking into that wind for a few miles :-)

	You Cody lovers out there would have loved Fano - there were
many fabulous Codys, rock-solid in the howling wind.  

	The beach was full of buggies - and there was plenty of
room for them, since the beach was so large. 

	This was a "Kiteflier's Meeting", not a festival, so there
were no competitions.  There was a get-together at one of the local
campgrounds on Thursday evening, the auction to benefit a Columbian
orphan's relief organization on Friday evening and a 10th Anniversary
gala on Saturday evening.

	The auction was held in a riding arena, which is the largest
structure on the island.  The American contingent ran the silent
auction, which went off pretty well considering the fact that none
of us spoke German!  The loud auction was run in German by an exuberant
man named Alphonse who really whipped the crowd into a bidding frenzy.

	The Saturday night anniversary party was also in the riding arena.
Wolfgang S. hired a band which did excellent covers of American tunes.
The American contingent was informed earlier that we had to provide
entertainment, so we serenaded the crowd with some old Western favorites,
accompanied by snoot flutes and beer bottles.  At least we were brief!

	During the week our group went to parties hosted by the 
Berlin kiteflier's club and by the New Zealand gang.  Peter Lynn was
sporting a jaunty new haircut given to him by his compatriots while he
slept...  [BTW, we obtained info on the 1995 World Kite Festival to be
held in NZ next March - looks great!].

	All in all, even though the weather was not the best (too much
wind for some of us wimpy California fliers!) we had a wonderful time
meeting new people and making new friends.  It was especially nice to
meet many other rec.kiters - Simo very thoughtfully made up name tags
for those netters whom he knew would be there.

	Fano is a great place to visit - many people there speak excellent 
English, so language is not a problem.  Lodging was not expensive.  
Some of us are planning to return to Fano, perhaps for the 15th Meeting!

	
	


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