This is maybe more a message for the local pilots, or for all visiting pilots through the last 10 years, wanting to know what is happening with the famous site of Cabo de Santa Pola.

Above the result of our sue-ing the town of Santa Pola and the urbanisation Olivo de Oro. As you can read we won the case, with the final result that in a couple of months the bottom foto will be "history".

The road has to be reopened, it was illegaly blocked with the gate and the mailboxes. Although it was a public road, for years we were not allowed to have access to our take off. We had to bear, tolerate insults, hard words for the last 6 years. Lost business, lost loads of tandem opportunities, and this thanks to the disrespect of some politicians in townhall. But this comes to an end now. Soon, we'll raise our glass to the end of this injustice, done to us, local paragliders and you visiting pilots.

Impossible to have some safe flying in today. We could see the instability growing, time after time. Each time when mobile phones were on hold, some towering cumulus were appearing again. A lovely show but feet on the ground was safest.
Tomorrow looks promising, sunny southeastern winds. Hopefully after this bad spell today, we get a high cloudbase so we can go places.

Awful sky this morning, grey, black, Mammatus clouds, distant rainfall. Yuk !

And even then some guys were flying. I didn't, it felt against my nature. Suspicious sky. And you could tell, it was actually interesting. Students, low airtimers were in the air, others more experienced and local pilots were staying on the ground.

It was a bit stressy, when we saw a german beginner flying his old wind, without speedbar connected and hardly getting any groundspeed at times.

He probably thought, lovely, that's how it is played, getting higher and higher ! Holy shit. Scary ain't it.

Anyway we all have been there, and made the same mistakes. Just hopefully nothing happens at this site, because one silly accident, stupid behaviour, could damage our years of lobbying to keep Cabo de Santa Pola open.

Later in the day as I said before, blue sky again and winds veering more and more southwards. So off inland, where we were all alone, enjoying late afternoon thermals. Richard who just got off the plane was carving the sky one hour after touchdown at Alicante airport. Allen arrived tonight.

Should I go or should I stay. Always the question at San Antonio. Landing field is not the biggest, and some obstacles do not make it stressfree.

Toon and Henrik decided to give it a miss. So decision made, for safety reasons. And for me, never ever a problem.

Meanwhile the whole of the Biscoy club was flying over Alcoy, see fotos.

If you read the sky, we do have some cirrus clouds coming in. Usually we get more clouds coming in depending if winds come from the sea of from inland, Castilla La Mancha dry air.

We should get onshore winds, which could mean low cloudbase and only flying at coastal sites.

Bottom foto, two Antonio's, one spanish one belgian.

I don't know if the satelites are all fucked up, or the printouts weren't very clear, or the analysts had a blue day, but one things' for sure, the last two days the forecast was completely off. Madre mia.

We were to expect 60 km per hour gusts. Scary no ?

But nothing of that ,we had the smoothest flights at the coast. It was lovely, bright blue sky, nice and warm, flying of course in short and T shirts.

Olav, Henrik, Toon, good old Leslie from Tenerife, Chris, and Mads from Sweden as guests. Jerry from england doesn't mind sharing our guiding any more and prefers to do his own thing. No problem, I hope he had a great time flying in our region.

Above, Pablo as tandem pilot with his coach in the back, and Antolino my preferred assistent when doing tandems. Pablo has made the Spanish national team kitesurfing and is competing soon in Lanzarote. Good luck Pablo !

Cabo de Santa Pola. For loads of pilotes one of the most interesting soaring sites in Europe along the Mediterranean Sea. Been in danger for years. Now we won after a long struggle with the local community and the nearby urbanisation.

After all these years since two days a bulletin board is put up. With info how to fly it, basic rules etc... . Lets hope it is not gonna be destroyed.

We shouldn't be stressed about it, as most important is the flying of course. But if a site is fragile we want everything to be approached with care.

I hope foreign pilots who visit us, do respect this. We cannot risk losing the site, it is our back garden, where we play so much.

Just like today, when winds dropped and we could fly till sunset. Lovely.

Net, Antoon arrived and is well, and had his first flight in. And more will follow as weather is looking good till november .... .

Now if only Barca would win .... .

A group of local pilots visited the goat mountain today. Have no idea if they flew nicely or not. I used the day to organise things, like the upcoming event 13 / 14 june. That's when we invite all disabled to share our love of flying paragliders and this for free.

Lots of things have to be organised, not only the several tandem pilots have to be contacted and briefed, also the help of other pilots for take offs, landings and retrievals. Cooks for the paella on the beach, and who is gonna sell the drinks. Who is gonna make sure all is run well for parking place etc... .
Nothing like such an event can be organised by yourself. You need help from your friends. And there is one big friend out there that moved mountains already to make sure the event is gonna be run, organised in the most profesional way. She's called Carmen, she is a local pilot, lives near take off Cabo de Santa Pola, and she's a star.
Thanks already for all the things that have been done, amazing.
That's her website :
http://www.carmesine.com:80/


Lets see if we all get some coastal flying in tomorrow, after a day off, can't wait.

Flying on your birthday never is bad is it. Thanks for the greetings, all of you. Not really an age to celebrate a lot, but surely over halfway ain't I.

Enough said, another good day inland. Although we felt the strong eastern gusts coming in already, which were predicted for tomorrow and next days. Lets hope some coastal soaring tomorrow or up to Monte Cabrer.

Flying till late today.

From early onwards in the afternoon till you got knackered and had enough of those never ending thermals. Literally.

It doesn't get much better.

Too unstable today. We all stayed on the beach. Tried to blend in with the Chippendale dancers but didn't work. Left for some soft-ice.

I did see a couple of top to bottoms from the cliffs though, but that's pretty desperate ain't it. Inland, it looked as if any minute hell could break loose. Inversion, and once in a while when the sune burned through we could see towering cumulus.

Sahara wind, understanding why Berbers in south-morocco always wear scarfs to protect them from the sand in the air. Throat felt sandy, the smell of ras el hanout.

Weird, very hot air, very dry, you didn't even have time to feel thirsty, thirsty all the time.

It was weird to fly as well, bit 'snotty' at times in the mountains. Later on near the coast, almost no visibility. You couldn't see what was above the sand/mist/dust.
We were carefull though, all had speedbars ready in seconds, ready to lean sideways for deep spiral dives, eyes closed.

Fun !

Bit of a weird buzz though. Camels swaying. Dehydration ? Rosewater and garlic they say.

Lande-bierre. Always the old mans' bar in Agost after flying.

It felt and looked like summer, hardly could see the other side of the valley and 30 degrees celsius. Thermals were there, but you had to struggle to stay in them. Once at cloudbase, bits of rock'n roll, but no way near metal rock.
I liked it, I like it when you have to fight for it, turn flat, weightshifting, dragging your glider in the smooth turn.

A day to forget. Not at all good to fly. Although we had our feet off the ground several times.

But always 'snotty'. Winds good, winds bad, strong, weak etc... etc...

So maybe time to moan a bit, it doesn't always have to be fantastic and great, and the best !

10 years now living in Spain, a country which I love.

But look at the pictures above. This was just all around me on the 'beach' where I landed. I cannot, I cannot adapt to this behaviour in this country. All the rest, like the plumber promising to come 'mañana', and not showing up for another 10 days, ok, that's the way it is around here. Teachers throwing away their cigarette butts just before entering their school, spitting on the pavements. Waiters not greeting, your baker for 10 years still not asking how things are, all this can be dealt with.

But !

As soon as the sun shines and the spanish go out picknicking, the beaches are filled with filth,garbage, shit, daipers. It is unbelievable. And not only the beaches, if you see spanish having their picknick in the mountains, you can be sure next day the foodrests, plastic cans, beer cans, paper, plastic bags, all will be left on the hills. Tell me if it ain't true and we go to the picknick areas in Palomaret. It is so sick, I cannot adapt to this way of treating your own country, your own territory, your bit of nature.

Spanish friends, I hope you are not offended, but you know as much as I know that this is the plain truth. Foreigners do have more respect, and are lots more educated in not littering.

I just got back from Decathlon (huge sportsmall) with my son. I saw a 40 year old man checking what he had bought near his car. Just as if it is the most normal thing he was throwing his plastic bag, tags and more paper on the parking lot, next to his car. Everybody could see it, no shame. I told him, hey buddy you lost something. He looked at me as if I was coming from another planet, he picked up one piece of paper and drove off. Maybe this has nothing to do with it, but he bought sportstuff. And then I think by myself, if you do some sport you have a sane mind no ? God, I can be so naive.

I got my old Magic out, for some coastal soaring. Cloudbase inland low today, so preferred to throw gliders around near Cabo de Santa Pola. We all loved it. A bit of cool air on our bare legs, because it was a hot day again.

Today's isobarmap and satelite foto,

our region is called 'sureste', southeast, that's where clouds were formed,

exactly to be seen as a low on the KNMI isobarmap

foto Armin

Colours. No, no fotoshop. Real colours, bright light blue sea under a bright light blue sky.

Light blue Gin ZOOM, Pat underneath. Ronny flying a Niviuk HOOK.

As if nobody wanted to fly. We had the whole Cabo for ourselves. Conditions were fab. Just the right winds at take off and climb whereever you wanted.

Just in time for our siesta-lunch-break-chill-relax the winds veered to the south.

So no hurry, we were gonna meet the thermals later on in the day.

And we did, flew, filled our boots, happy as a 'three ball Tom cat'.

Comp today, cancelled at Reconco, but held at Palomaret. Bullet free take offs needed as winds were gusty, thermals were strong.
Task was a ridge run to Maigmo then over the back downwind to Ibi. Have no idea who succeeded, hope the west or even eastwind wasn't blocking pilots to get cross the valley of Castalla.

Down below just about the whole team of competitors in the Valencian region. Lots of people on the hill today.

Another hot day, with airtime as much as you wanted.

Pete, Roger and Paul, take it easy, see you again later.

12 am, in the air. But soon to find out that 200 m above take off there was windsheer, which made it all much more rock'n roll. Southwest on height, no good on our southeastern site.

Meaning as well, that the competition held two valleys behind, probably was gonna be lousy. As Reconco is even more southeast and flies best when it is east.

We could easily climb to cloudbase, which wasn't that high, and choose to stay in the rock'n roll part or spiral down and have more leisure flying lower.

Cafe con leche, what else, and a siesta nap under the pinetrees,waiting for conditions to get better. Snoozing, listening to the strong thermals that made that typical sound in our pinetrees, snoozing till it all died off.

3.30 pm, enough. Some friends were arriving. Omar asking me if I wanted to test fly the brandnew Gin Sprint, of course Omar, pleasure. So I unwrapped the brandnew toy, and had a play. Not very revolutionary, but ok for someone just out of school and wanting a glider that offers security and forgiveness.

Tandem passengers arrived. Now that' when the fun starts. Making passengers happy, letting them have a peep over the crest, overlooking the nature reserve of Le Cati. And this all till 7.30 pm, till last customer was satisfied.

Last customer was a 10 year old kid, who loved the adventure.

It all got so much better, and nicer the later it got.

French chickens, I do not call them that way, they call them themselves that way ! Left this afternoon, and kissed the Swiss pilot goodbye, having a date next autumn. Pete, Paul and Roger still here, looking more and more relaxed and not so stressed as when arrived. They probably know now that mañana, chill, siesta, is not such a bad idea after all, knowing it all kicks in better later in the day.

Feels good.

Carrascoy Murcia, together with Ismael, Pepe, Pani, Chechu, Jesus, and lots of foreign pilots. Vario's screaming, cloudbase 1200 m abvoe take off, 2400 above sea level.

Pete, and some locals went XC, but hit the seabreeze, hit that wall of wind and didn't get too far.

Later on we flew at Alhama de Murcia, a lovely soaring site. Just relaxed eve flying seeing the sun setting. Marvellous, cracking, all full as a gun.

One of those days that decisions had to be made early. Do you guys want to go to Murcia, with a 50 procent chance of flying superb, and another 50 procent of no flying and having a day out ? Lets go then. And it all went according to plan, before noon in the air, with hours of spring thermals. Cafe con leche. And again in the air till dark, in a smooth sea breeze air. Cracking.

We thought we weren't gonna fly. Well the french chickens, they call them themselves that way not me, proved different. They were already feet of the ground by first eastern breeze at the cliffs.
Followed by Roger, Pete and Paul of course.
Above foto of the french chikens' logo on their helmet. Momentarily the group exists of 5 frogs, Remi, Jean Philippe, Herve, Bruno and Pascal, and one immigrant, a roastbeaf called John sutton living in St Hilaire, France of all places ....

Paragliding can also be approached very relaxed, chilled, check this youtube out from Jeremy, frequent visitor and friend of ours :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7O4P7LabYc

I was born in may and I am 49 years old,

I am 1 meter 75 tall and weigh 90 kgs,

my hair is grey and receding,

my eyes are green and my nose is big,
but I do have sensual lips,

and all I know I have learned from others,

here we go

We left this morning, inland to find that promised but difficult to find fly-window. Stretching our wings we did near Villena, La Solana. Got that one out of the hat.

In between storms and rain, there was a safe window to be found this morning till early afternoon. In front of us rain, in the back over development as soon as the sun was burning through. We were just in between on La Solana enjoying.

The end of the day, a fantastic scenery in the back. Huge cloud development, what a show.

Lets talk about 13/14 june upcoming. That's when we organise the event for all disabled happy to fly with us for free. Well I tell you, Carmen has been working so hard to let it all happen, we have alreade more than 40 passengers for that weekend. So we better get in shape and be ready to fly a lot. Luckily we will have and already have lots of help of local pilots.

Pascal with his brandnew Skywalk Tequila2, thanks buying in Spain my friend.

Jean-philippe, and Herve, two reckless boys.

Low tide at the cabo.

This is Roger, brave forty-er, AC-DC fan, no fear.

Yesterday we said mañana, and we had a hell of a day.

First Cabo, gettin confident under our wings for hours.

Before getting into the thermals inland. Nice thermals with here and there a punchy bit.

Later on at 7 pm, boating around, whistling songs, as if flying is the most natural thing to do.

Mañaña ? Looks not too good ....