Sands Beach Active recently caught up with World Kite Boarding Wave Champion Guilly Brandao to talk to him about his 5th World Title Crown and what his plans are for 2011. Here’s what he had to say:

SB Active: First off, congrats on your 5th World Champ Title. How does this year’s title compare with previous years?

GB: This year was really special for me, the final stop of the tour was in Australia and I lived there for 3 years back in 2000, when I still wasn’t quite sure what to do about life…and soon after that I found kitesurfing and became a pro. So to go back there after 10 years to be crowned the world champ was kind of coming full circle.

SB Active: And what are you up to these days?

GB: Right now I’m in Hawaii for the winter season, awesome waves and good winds..!

SB Active: Tell me about this KSP Dream Tour I’ve been hearing about?

GB: The KSP will be a Waveriding tour with the aim to make the stops on the best locations as possible, with the best media coverage and the best riders.

SB Active: So I guess we’re going to be seeing you again real soon at Sands Beach for the clinic you are hosting. What do you look forward to most about getting back to the Canaries?

GB: Yeah I love the Canary Islands….every time I go there its super fun, lots of wind all the time, really beautiful scenery wherever you look and a lot of nice people to be around…and of course Sands Beach!

SB Active: Well thanks for your time and the best of luck on the upcoming season and hopefully your 6th World Champ title in as many years. See you in Lanzarote!

Guilly will be arriving in Lanzarote just in time for the PKRA Lanzarote World Tour Pro, which is being hosted by Sands Beach Active and La Santa Surf from the 6th -10th of April 2011. Make sure and come on down to take in the action and see some of the world’s best kite surfers from around the globe compete for the top prize of 15.000€.

As the Canary Islands continue to revel in their Winter Fiestas or Carnaval as they’re known to the world, the fun, colour, costumes and excitement of the party are heading to Costa Teguise and Sands Beach Resort are pushing the carnival boat out with a very special event.

On 25th March 2011 at 8pm the party will be at the gorgeous Mai Tai bar on the resort’s Paradise Island where a full barbecued dinner will be prepared to be enjoyed in the company of a night of exciting performances and prizes.

There will be entertainment from the wonderful Los Desahuciados Murga group with their costumes, cutting satire and vocal harmonies and there will be a guest appearance by the fabulous Danzarines Canarios dance troupe who this year are celebrating their 40th anniversary. The Danzarines Canarios troupe have collected more awards for their performances than a Hollywood starlet and have been wowing audiences across the globe with their dance skills, choreography and costumes.

As well as the entertainment, there will be fantastic prizes for the best fancy dress costumes with a weekend, half board at Sands Beach Resort for two people as top prize in the Best Costume category, lunch for two adults at the Mai Tai for the Funniest Costume and a basket of goodies for the best Child’s Costume.

At just 18 Euros a ticket (children under 12 years 9 Euros) which includes your meal, drinks during the meal and some of the best Carnaval entertainment the Canary Islands have to offer – everyone’s a winner!

And don’t forget to join the Sands Beach Resort Noah’s Ark Carnaval float in your best animal costume for the Costa Teguise parade on Saturday 26th March.

With carnival in Costa Teguise, or rather carnaval as it’s known here on the Canary Islands, only a week away we felt it was a good time to start to pump up that carnaval spirit in readiness for the fun. So, if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the brilliant Costa Teguise carnaval poster for 2011.

We love it as it captures the spirit and pizzazz of carnaval at Sands Beach Resort and Costa Teguise perfectly. It’s vibrant, full of colour and loads of fun with a hint of mystery.

We just can’t wait for the party to start. Visitors staying in any Lanzarote hotel over the next couple of weeks are about to have a fabulous experience.

If you haven’t been to carnival in the Canary Islands, you’re about to experience one of the most enjoyable and colourful times to really let loose and have some fun in the Lanzarote sun.

Visitors to Sands Beach Resort at the end of March are in for an absolute treat. Not only do you get to wallow in some warm winter sun, you’ll be in a prime position to see one of the highlights of the Costa Teguise carnival, the Gran Coso. This collection of decorated floats, dance groups, carnival queens and dames and hordes of revellers in fancy dress that make up carnival’s most flamboyant parade starts its exuberant journey through the Costa Teguise streets from Sands Beach. So our guests are in the perfect location for getting up close and personal with the imaginative characters in the parade. It’s a wonderful opportunity to capture some unforgettable images on the camera’s memory stick.

For those wanting a full on carnival experience, Sands Beach Resort also has its own float in the parade and we’d love it if guests would join us. All we ask of anyone wishing to join the party is that you embrace the carnival spirit by wearing fancy dress. There’s an animal theme for the float this year so that provides lots of scope for some fun costumes.

The Gran Coso parade takes place on Saturday 26th March, leaving Sands Beach Resort at 6.30pm. From there it sings and dances its way through Costa Teguise to the Poblado Marinero where the fun continues with the hilarious Drag Queen Gala followed by a lively carnival ball to the sultry Latino sounds of the Maquinaria Band at 11.30pm.

At Sands Beach we’ve also got a full carnival programme of partying and surprises in the hotel planned for the big carnival weekend. As always carnival promises to fun, fun, fun and we’re really looking forward to you joining us.