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I will begin by apologizing for taking a bit too long for this post. Part of the reason for the delay is that I am now back in Atlanta and back in the swing of things with work, life, insurance, bills, phone calls, responsibilities, commitments, obligations and everything else that seems necessary as “real” life takes hold. Deep down though I think the real reason for the delay is that I knew the final posting would be just that…the final posting. I held off so it wouldn’t end. But as there is always a beginning there must always be an end. It is very bitter sweet for me and a bit sad thinking that with this posting this story, this journey, this experience is now over.
Schedules, itinerary and time constraints were not a part of this trip and destinations were not the goal of the travel. Destinations were merely thoughts. The goal of this trip was to live in my environment and not just visit it. I have achieved that goal and I have changed a bit because of that.
I will end by thanking all of you for tagging along with me on my incredible 87 days spent traveling through 6 countries, countless towns, big cities, pueblos, small villages, deserts, jungles and everything in between in South America.
By plane, train, taxi, boat, bus and hiking you and I made our way from Peru to Brazil. Sometimes it was in complete comfort and luxury and other times it was a white knuckle ride with the outcome questionable. Either way we made it safe and sound and came out the other end of the rabbit hole and I enjoyed having all of you along for the ride.
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As mentioned earlier the following will be the last posting for my South American trip which came to an end on January 3rd, 2012 when I boarded Delta Flight 60 bound for Atlanta, Georgia.
If you had a fraction of the enjoyment reading my stories and looking at the pictures as I had experiencing it then I know you smiled a few times and laughed out loud at least once.
Enjoy the last few pictures, stay tuned for a few more videos and thanks for tuning in!
As promised it’s time for some hang gliding. The morning of Dec 31st, 2011 was picture perfect! Not a cloud in the sky and the wind just right. This will be a great way t end 2011 and ring in 2012. Hopefully from Copacabana beach and not a hospital bed.
A cab picked Barry and I up at our adopted hotel at 9 am and took us up the road to another beach where I then met my guide/pilot Ronni.
After checking in, signing a waiver or two and checking all flight conditions we were ready to roll.
Ronni, myself and his assistant then got into his car (with a dismantled glider on the roof) and proceeded up the mountain to the push off site. I will be posting some great video of this historic event so stay tuned for that!
I even got an official Clube Sao Conrado Membership card without even leaving the ground yet!
Time to go and earn my wings…and my membership!
This is in the car on the way to the National Park from where we will jump. You can see the hang gliders circling near the top of the mountain as well as the jump platform protruding from the top right rise. The ocean is off to the left and Copacabana Beach behind us.
We enter the park and drive up a steep, winding road towards the top. The view from between the trees on the ascent was fantastic…..but nothing compared to the view on the way down!
When we reach the near top we park and Ronni and his assistant carry the gear and glider up the steps to the take off point.
When we reach the top Ronni gets me suited up as his assistant assembles the glider. When Ronni gets suited up I notice his vest seems fuller than mine in the front. I ask Ronni if that’s a parachute. “Yes” he says.
When I kind of jokingly say” Hey, I don’t have a parachute” Ronni’s simple reply is “Right”.
Ronni’s not big on words, or explanations or on spare parachutes for the rookies.
Hang gliding in Rio is quite popular and as you can see here they have these things lined up one after the other ready to take the plunge. Kind of like winged lemmings.
This is our glider and we’re two back so I’ve got about 3 minutes before we’re off. At this point Ronni and I take hold of our glider and get into position. I hand my camera to Ronni’s assistant (holding the glider in place here) and make sure it’s on video mode. Just prior to us running off the cliff I’m looking back at the assistant making sure the video is working. In one of the video clips you can see this as well as Ronni telling me to pay attention to what’s in front of me instead of behind me. Yes Sir.
There is no preparation or quick lessons for me. The only practice was that Ronni and I ran next to each other for 20 feet with my left hand on his back. This is the same thing we’ll do when we exit the earth. The parctice is to make sure you can run together and you don’t stop short. Some people have a tendency to stop too soon or they want to jump off of the platform. Both off these actions will make for a bit of a rough take off. The idea is to run until the land just disappears from beneath you. Your last step should be in air.
The take off was smooth with absolutely no notice that I was flying. It was extremely quiet and peaceful. Ronnie and I had good conversation on the flight with him telling me stories of people puking in flight (”Gross” summed it up nicely), bumpy take offs and near misses from distracted guides. Fortunately we had none of that happen on our 22 minute descent.
There is no preparation or quick lessons for me. The only practice was that Ronni and I ran next to each other for 20 feet with my left hand on his back. This is the same thing we’ll do when we exit the earth. The parctice is to make sure you can run together and you don’t stop short. Some people have a tendency
What a great experience!!! Totally effortless and fun as hell!
The picture on top is taken just before Ronni and I took off and the one below is of the landing area. We actually landed on the beach which is to the left of the sidewalk. We leapt from the large rock in the background but way to the right. (out of the picture frame actually). The rock is the largest single rock (one piece) in the world to touch water. In the video from my flight you’ll see the rock jutting into the ocean. you can see a little red hang glider to the left of the rock. I have some great video of my flight as well as some pre -flight and post flight commentary. I’ll post the videos today. The in flight video was shot with a glider cam mounted on the edge of the wing. That video is on a mini DVD which I’ll have to figure out how to get it posted. We caught a couple thermals while we were up which allowed us some extra air time. Total time in the air was 22 minutes! Awesome! Wait for that video (and I’m not offended if you fast forward it either.) In the mean time check out the other videos!
Along the beach there were some really great sand sculptures done by locals. They would then put a can or jar by the sculpture for donation coins ( a sort of fee if you will) for pictures. Behind the dragons you’ll see a large Christ the Redeemer sculpture.
