Portugal roadtrip 2011

Back home now after again a very pleasant roadtrip to our neighbouring country Portugal.

Portugal roadtrip

Gonna go look for this for a week. Flying at the coast, and enjoying the wood-festivals in Portugal.

Cannot get to my emails easy, so if something urgent, please do not hesitate to call us on 0034 606 781 180.
Back around 30th april. Happy Eastern you all.

Don't worry ladies, soon new outfits.

Don't worry ladies, soon new outfits. Doyouwanna's new collection 2011 is out. T-shirts at 12 euros, sweatshirts with hood 20 euros.

Santa Pola parapente

Oh my god, that was nice. In between angry clouds, a soft window to fly. Using our alternative take off though, a little bit higher than the official one, just to get that 10m more height to scratch to the lighthouse.
In Alicante, you never know when you get up of you're gonna fly.

Flymaster

If you are looking for the latest hype amongst the GPS/vario gadgets get this one.

Flymaster B1 Nav

On sale with us now. If anything else is needed, please order in advance. So by the time you visit us, we'll have your glider, harnass, reserve, electronics, whatever you need.

A dip in the weather

Lots of easterly today. No chance to fly. Chill, which was nice, but not as nice as flying of course.

But no beginners any more, we all know why we choose this sport. For its beauty, and forgetting all the non-flying days once we are carving the sky again.

Monte Cabrer - Alcoy

Alcoy, big city, was rich before and you can tell by its huge facades in the main street, almost french looking aristocracy peeping behind their long tall curtains.

Through that town we get to the more manufacturing side of the valley, Cocentaina. A 4x4 road up to the Monte Cabrer. A site rarely visited any more. I think the last 5 times we flew that site there were maybe 4 local pilots in total.

All these sites get more and more abandoned. Why ? Everybody is looking for the comfort. The comfort of driving to a hill, parking their car 20 meters from take off.

Sad on one hand, but on the other hand it gives us free room to explore these sites on our own.

As we did today. While the whole local scene cancelled today for flying we had a blast at Monte Cabrer. Again, our pilots had to work to get down, lifty all over, and views fingerlicking sweet.

Female profiles

Not the best week for flying in Alicante. Again today, it was too cloudy inland and too windy at the coast. So no flying, enjoying the hot weather though.

When not flying I do things with the family. Like taking my family out fora stroll in the park.

More female profiles right here, an interview with founder of Blauvent, and loca pilot Carmen, interviewed by The Flying Effect.

Accident in Calpe, but base jumper not a paraglider

Again received a message from a worried paraglider pilot, about what happened at Calpe. We all know we have a fantastic site near Calpe, Morro de Toix. Well there has been an accident there, but NOT with a paraglider. NO, it was a base jumper. They jumped from Peñon d'Ifach the famous rock in Calpe. The base jumper got smacked into the rocks, and hung there for 5 hours, untill a helicopter rescue team saved her. Meanwhile more suspense as her boyfriend, fireman from Madrid, tried to help her but got stuck there himself. It was all over the news as a paraglider accident. And we had nothing to do with it. Sad for us, and not at all helpfull. So if any base jumper would be out there reading this, it would be nice if he apologized for not writing a newsletter ( yet !) to the papers to rectify the mistake. Even better if the couple would visit the vegetable market on sunday morning in Calpe, handing out leaflets, telling them all they are never gonna do it again.

Maybe the base jumpers had an off day and didn't think about us yet.

No worries, our time will come, we will act in response to this grievance, revenge ! Take care guys, today was too windy anyway.

Dirty dancing

Spring , summer I don't know. I know it is time for some dirty dancing, flowers and some bees remember, or maybe less bees and more flowers ? Well it feels that way.

We flew at Fortuna, one of my favourite sites. A lovely site with a view. Inversion thick, no climbs worth writing postcards for, but views not to be forgotten. Vikings without horns, having the time of their life. I think, I suspected some smiles there, and for nordic humans that's a sign !

Our wild herbs on the hills.

Record breaker did it again

Rafa Llopis, record breaker in Alicante did it again. Yesterday he flew over a 120 km, from A to B. He flew from Palomaret to Albacete, back to Almansa, left east and ended near Jucar. He flew probably 160 km or more. Today we flew at Palomaret. We waited till conditions were more fair to fly. Early in the afternoon, with this thick inversion, there was no doubt conditions were gonna be too much - too rocky. Strangely enough some of our more experienced pilots were not convinced, and landed more pale than they had taken off. Brilliant again, and thanks pilots from Aventyrscenter Sweden to count on our guiding for flying our region. Lots of respect.

Blue sky

Yes blue sky, warm, where would that be ? On our hills being april, being careful.

Superb day I'd say, fingerlicking thermals, long flights.

Cliffs of Santa Pola

Late afternoon all died off, no more instability inland, at the coast mostly sunny all day. Warm days, 25 degrees and more. A chill flight late afternoon at the cliffs, good friends, good flights, no hassles.

The après-fly at ciosco susy

Nice having you around again guys, hope to see you in the near future. Behave !

32 º celsius, summertime

Summertime in Alicante. 32º degrees, hot hot hot. Lovely to chill on the beach.

Too windy in Alicante, but up north our Valencian pilots reached 3800 m ASL, wauw yes indeed.

You sexy thing you

siesta

Siesta Patrick, its fun to stay at the YMCA, Volker y Bobby

Hongkong

We flew at Hondon and a special flight at Fortuna for Patrick, belgian pilot. What do we do ? Complain ? Because it was too hot ? Because the winds weren't exactly what they were supposed to do ? No we just visited a bodega and got free drinks in Hondon after the flying.

Alcoy paragliding

Ariaan from over de Moerdijk, Holland. He had to zoom in to take a shot of his girlfriend Hesther who was top of the stack all day. She really was sky-goddes today, no doubt. First up, first thermaling consistently without hitting low. A very greedy girl, watch out. Monte Cabrer did it again, it delivered us fantastic climbs up to 1600 m ASL, thermals up to 6 m/s, and hours and hours of .... . Well, tomorrow is another day, maybe even better. Sometimes it is good to have some degree of Alzheimer, you always think today's flight was the best ever.

Freak of nature

40 km per hour northeasterly winds at the coast. Still flying just inland with a southern breeze. Had my bike out to go for a ride inland, told my pilots it was probably not a flyable day, forecast was crap, and winds were starting to kick in way too strong at the coast. Damn, some of them left for the Island of Tabarca, and couldn't get back in time for the flying. Hope they enjoyed the boattrip though, and the island by itself is gorgeous and unspoiled. A must actually if you are here. So off with a small group to go fly. We flew, but of course it didn't feel 100% relaxed. I was constantly looking at windsocks, spotting smoke in the valley to make sure all was still fine for flying. But ! Another flying day in Alicante, when you were swearing it was not.

Monte Cabrer

Had to put the joker in. Howling at coast, easterlies. Where else to go than Monte Cabrer in march/april. Our supersite near Alcoy did it again.

Flying with the vultures, getting as close as 20 m from wingtip, an adventure in flight you'll never forget.

We flew from 1 till 4 pm, non stop in thermals above the valley of Cocentaina.

Benidorm Bastards

Remember me ? I was there 5 years ago. We flew together. On a hill near Agost ? Rings a bell ? Blue sky ? Still nothing ?

I wished I remembered everyone. Too bad I didn't take foto's of the pilots I've met, would have been easier to remember all those precious moments we shared together. You were here, I know. I put all I found on facebook, hope you are in it.

Today just a little bit of flying at Cabo de Santa Pola under a blue sky again. But not the blue sky I love to fly in. Instable, and lots of winds coming up from the sea. About an hour window, most of the pilots weren't bothered. Went for visiting castles, bicycle tour, a hike on a hill, some went to look for the Benidorm Bastards.

Weather not on today

Weather nasty today. Very cloudy, fog everywhere, bwaak, no good. Cabo was supposed to be on, but no, lousy. Doesn't matter, es lo que hay. Dani Hans Rodney Simon have a good flight back home. Hope you enjoyed your stay. Take care.

This is last weeks foto from Frans of the flying over Cabo de Santa Pola

Shitting in high cotton, exists

It exists, all of a sudden I was doubting, hail hail the internet : Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang SHIT IN HIGH COTTON verb [1930s and still in use] (U.S.) To live prosperously, to feel happy, to be important, euphemistic alternatives include FLY/LIVE/TRAVEL IN HIGH COTTON Not bad ain't it.

What can we say

What can we say. After 7 years of blogging, it is not always easy to find new words to express our feelings about the day.

Again lots of pilots were having a taste of Alicante.

Marvellous views over the valley of Agost, thermals punchy up to the inversion. As long as you wished. March can be so good, can be so mean. This year no complaints about march, not even on the 2nd of april.

Carrasqueta, Jijona flying.

A brandnew Skywalk Cayenne3 in the Sky, enhorabuena Rodney.

All our noses are burnt that's for sure. The sun was bright, temperatures were high. As winds were at first, but still some of us could take off with high windpeaks of 35 km perhour. The lulls in between made it possible, and in the air we knew it was only near take off that the air was compressed. A new site for most of us, some liked it, some didn't like it that much.

The air can be windy and rough at times. It is a huge ridge, 1050 m above sea level with fantastic views. Maybe the bumping against the ceiling wasn't so satisfying for some of us, inversion blocking everything to have a nice cloudbase. But no complaints, Jan did have more than two hours before he toplanded, dried out.