Dominican - Feb. 8, '07
At this point the groove the comp was starting to set in, and our morning bus rides to launch (where I had my customary nap) were becoming comfortably routine. Sitting on launch in the hot sun, waiting for the right time to launch felt like home too.
Unless I’m feeling especially antsy to launch, I really don’t mind sitting up on a mountain waiting for the wind to change. If the weather is nice, and you have good company, what’s wrong with sitting hundreds, if not thousands of feet up, with a view people pay millions for? It just makes paragliding that more special – knowing that soon you’ll be flying over the landmarks you were admiring only a few minutes ago from atop that very hill.
One of the organizers and Jocky kept telling me how they’d get me up to cloudbase, and although I would have loved to believe them, deep down, I didn’t. Maybe my gut was simply correct in knowing this wouldn’t happen, or maybe because of my disbelief, it didn’t happen. When I was flying, I really did try, but during the comp cloudbase always seemed like a lofty goal.
Once again Jocky offered his assistance, and coached me on radio on my flight. This flight was the best of my solos, and I made it out to the valley, but still short of where I wanted to be. Looking back, my turns really were too aggressive, and my faith in my glider and myself just wasn’t there. The best coaching in the world can only take a student so far.
I landed safely in a field where I was greeted by little swarm of kids, who were very appreciative of the Canadian mementos I had on me and gave away. It’s hard not to look at kids like that and wonder what their futures hold.
If my memory serves me right, this was the first and last flight of the day. I don’t remember exactly what I did for the rest of the day, but I think it involved sitting at the bar for a couple hours, waiting for the bus. I never really did get drunk at the roadside bars, which was probably a very good thing as it could have been especially easy thing to do in 40 degree heat, and beer that comes in one liter bottles.
Unless I’m feeling especially antsy to launch, I really don’t mind sitting up on a mountain waiting for the wind to change. If the weather is nice, and you have good company, what’s wrong with sitting hundreds, if not thousands of feet up, with a view people pay millions for? It just makes paragliding that more special – knowing that soon you’ll be flying over the landmarks you were admiring only a few minutes ago from atop that very hill.
One of the organizers and Jocky kept telling me how they’d get me up to cloudbase, and although I would have loved to believe them, deep down, I didn’t. Maybe my gut was simply correct in knowing this wouldn’t happen, or maybe because of my disbelief, it didn’t happen. When I was flying, I really did try, but during the comp cloudbase always seemed like a lofty goal.
Once again Jocky offered his assistance, and coached me on radio on my flight. This flight was the best of my solos, and I made it out to the valley, but still short of where I wanted to be. Looking back, my turns really were too aggressive, and my faith in my glider and myself just wasn’t there. The best coaching in the world can only take a student so far.
I landed safely in a field where I was greeted by little swarm of kids, who were very appreciative of the Canadian mementos I had on me and gave away. It’s hard not to look at kids like that and wonder what their futures hold.
If my memory serves me right, this was the first and last flight of the day. I don’t remember exactly what I did for the rest of the day, but I think it involved sitting at the bar for a couple hours, waiting for the bus. I never really did get drunk at the roadside bars, which was probably a very good thing as it could have been especially easy thing to do in 40 degree heat, and beer that comes in one liter bottles.
Labels: Dominican Republic 2007
posted by Veronica at 10:50 PM
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