HGFA Skysailor Magazine

SKY SAILOR 23 May | June 2018 An Experience Of A Lifetime We all met at the morning briefing to go through the introductions and induction. By midday, we were in the back of a hotel bus filled with pilots and paragliding gear on our way to the hill. We snaked through a little bumpy track which all of a sudden opened up to this amazing view of turquoise water via a cliff-side flying paradise, complete with wings already in the air. Paragliding Heaven – or what I would perceive it to look like. After a site briefing, I put on my harness, wing to the ready, inflated and launched. I was airborne and as far as the eye could see, flyable cliff and tropical waters lay before me in every direction. Imagine the most beautiful panorama you can think of, then multiply it by 10. Yes, it was that amazing! While piloting my wing in an abundance of lift from Timbis to Payung and back, passing the launch site, I observed the action. With military precision, the Cloudbase team assisted in top landing after top landing, wing-overs or any other request to perfect existing skills. Every person we met was welcoming and eager to help us or to learn from each other. We flew, laughed, had serious discussions, drank beer, ate local food, slept, rose, flew some more, laughed some more, and repeated, again and again. The Cloudbase instructors went out of their way to make Steph and myself feel part of the family. Mark took Steph on a tandem and although she doesn’t have wings, or the desire to become a pilot, she loved the experience. Why Are We Leaving? When it was time for us to say goodbye, the team was moving on to Candidasa for the second week of the two-week tour. We were both left with a strange sinking feeling in the pits of our stomachs. Neither Steph nor myself said much… We sat in the Mark taking Steph to the skies