Cabo Santa Pola Paragliding

Early day flying for us. Soon those hard eastern winds kicked in.

Our lovely cliff over the mediterranean, urbanisations on one side, and virgin cliffs on the other side.

Piece of heaven our homesite.

Carrascoy

This time the girls had their flight. Boys were too late, as window to fly was smaller than we all thought.

Again very strong winds at Alicante, and in Murcia zero-wind.

Very difficult to win the chase.

Peter relaxed at take off Carrascoy.

Carrascoy Murcia Paragliding

Always a pleasure to see my fellow pilots from Murcia. Amongst the friendliest in Spain.
Mind you with their sites so fragile, with so many restrictions. They never surrender and give up the hard work, making their few sites visually briefed.
So misuse from not local, visiting, foreign pilots is rare.
Please never go on your own to their precious sites, contact the locals or us. More info soon, because again Carrascoy will be closed over winter, everyone should know. Dates soon.

Sella paragliding

Our german friends at Sella. Just a hiking day, through the astonishing nature near the mountain village Sella.
One of our most impressive sites to fly on, no bottomlanding, just toplandings by the way.

Tia Maria, la paella estaba muy rica !

Windy days

While I am getting fan-mail of friends, with foto's from all over, them flying, we are grounded.
We cannot do anything but being patient for next days, when winds should die off.
Meanwhile we go hike, chill, eat and wait.

Snakes

Little proof it is still damn warm in alicante, snakes still on the tarmac,
and how camouflaged they are,
We say them today driving up the hill Palomaret near Agost.

Splendid flying

Have to celebrate something. After almost 4 months of recovery of a broken collarbone, I can do my tandems myself.

Did some fantastic flying with a Polish and a Southafrican tourist. Superb.

It was after all a superb day for all. Thermals, fingerlicking good.

Lovely temperatures, sweet conditions, and friendly company.

Got to go celebrate, talk to you mañana.

Didn'¡t happen

Toix, Calpe. Southwest just what was forecasted. But too strong. Damn, this site has to be 100% on, if not it is just worth the visit.

Foto of previous flights over the Med, near Altea Hills.

Cartoon blue sky

We all were at the wrong site. All of us. We all knew the winds were gonna blow southwest, so we paid the price.

We should have gone to Calpe. But knowing Calpe is 'only' soaring, and the fact that the last days we hadn't flewn, we were all so eager to get some thermals in.

But wrong site. Palomaret is at its worst when it is southwest. I can tell as I have flewn this site, several times, and being bounced around like a rock in a biscuit tin.

I didn't like it at all. As I was wearing my T-shirt I DO CARE, I hoped no-one was gonna soar the hill too close. So I flew out, way out in the valley. Where a cloud of little birds corkscrewed in the air. That's where I oughted to be. Got there, and lift was great. Until I got height enough to boat to the immense fields near the village of Agost, to land properly, not in the rotor at the official landings fields.

A cartoon blue sky it was though.

Seaside soaring

November, lots of westernwinds. Give us more attention to go to our seaside-sites.

Paragliding Spain

A couple of days not flying and getting nerveus. Thought about joining the rugby team in Benidorm. Forget it !

Cabo Santa Pola

Last day of not flying. Tomorrow lesser winds.

Another day of strong winds

No flying, extreme aggressive sky. With strong gusts.

This is a foto of Iquique flying in Chili.

Charity event in Guardamar

Bad weather, bad bad bad. It kicked in strongly and it doesn't look like it is moving fast.

If you are around next week there is a charity event, in Guardamar. Always nice to join, live music, food drinks and fun. They will bid again on our tandemflights. Last time a tandem flight was sold at 600 euros, amazing. All for charity.

Parafly Club Schwaben

A little review of our german friends who have visited us several times by now, again last october.

Their very active club is called Parafly Club Schwaben

On the foto down below, Sierra Helada and Benidorm on its left.

Alicante paragliding

Autumn kicked in strongly. Bad for flying, rainy in the morning and strong winds during the day. Good to go look at the Volvo Race, sailboats millions of dollars worth playing near our coastline. Shake your jewels.

Meteo Santa Pola

According to an ancient omenm if the meditteranean surface appears dark, then great turbulence will hit the country. So we were warned. Clouds in land, looking angry, and a dark sea surface.

But Frank with his Skywalk Chili2 did well, and squeezed a best flight out of the conditions.

His Skywalk Chili2 by the way is one of the best gliders I can advice for pilots who have more or less 50 hours of airtime a year. Just by the way ... .

Locals fly less

Yeah ? or Yeah !

Over twelve years doing this, I think I have collected enough stuff to write a decent book.

About who came down, what persons you met, how it developed during the years. How fly-guide was gently introduced in the way to go abroad and fly safe.

About the many, unfortunately, accidents that happened.

About the super flights we had. About the emotional moments we shared together flying.

About the pesonal achievements clients made, and touched me, the not forgotten moments.

About the hard work integrating in the local paragliding community.

About the friendship with the locals, but still knowing in the end you will be the foreigner who arrived on their doorstep.

About the culture difference between working with a federation at home and down here in sunny lovely slow pace Spain.

And surely also a chapter with the above title : Locals fly less.

On certain days on our hills, we know better. We know the site, we know what meteo situation there is. As being with it day by day, we almost surf on that meteo change.

So us locals, we standby and we chat.

We look around, spot the sea gettting nervous, see the clouds in the back.

Have seen wrong decisions before and don't have to fly every minute.

If wanted we can easily top up 500 (five hundred) hours of airtime a year This should be a reference not to be flushed down the toilet.

We can relax and judge from a distance. This should result in good advice, honest tips.

Sometimes it works in vain.

Resulting in visiting pilots, having to fly that day, that minute, taking off in tricky conditions. Not having a clue, not having the technique yet. Being ignorant.

It hurts the eye, seeing stubborn pilots who get hurt, who embarrass themselves taking off being dragged on the spanish grass, shaved knees.

When this weekend, someone asked how strong the wind was, himself standing at take off, we told him too strong for flying, for us locals. Oh, don't worry about me, I fly comps ... ?¿&%$?¿

Minutes later he was catapulted, several times ... , trying to take off. Later on when I left, heard he was dragged on the spanish grass, not so beautiful.

Locals fly less ....

Thermals

Group of dutch leaving today. They hopefully leave with a good taste of Alicante. Some soaring at the coast which they loved, and some thermals in the mountains before heading back home to their dutch mountains.

The operate in the middle of Holland, between The Hague, Rotterdam and Amsterdam under Skygliders .

Some got up to 1500 m ASL and left for Bayneres, of course Pepe amongst them, as always. Still XC possibities though, but you have to be in the air before 2 pm, that's when it all starts.

Adrenaline Paragliders

New on the market Adrenaline Paragliders. Alicante-Murcia one of the main regions of free flight in Spain, offers a brandnew brand of paragliders. Adrenaline.

Some foto's of one the new gliders. CEO Manager Marcelo Mrtinez Calero on foto.

If any more info is wanted, please contact us.

Or directly : Adrenaline Paragliders

Two out of three days Cabo this weekend

Friday, saturday and sunday we had an "orange" alert weatherwise. It was gonna rain cats and dogs and it was gonna howl.

Friday my dutch friends had time in the air and this whole morning it was flyable as well. Not the best weather but still 20 degrees celcius and feet in the air 2 out of 3 days.

Topparagliding Poland

Wojtek, chief instructor from Poland, visiting us again.

As you can see on the foto, he is one of the nicest blokes you can meet. One of the better professionals running a paragliding school in Poland. I wouldn't go without him if I was Polish. Respect.

Andy Shaw

Andy Shaw instructor, Green Dragons England.

At Palomaret Alicante.

Osama ? Mr Bin ?

Too late boys, he got caught already.

Tandem season

I am probably gonna get some protest from girlie friends, but hey I AM looking for male models.

Check it out, a bit naughty but not at all dirty .... .

Tandems at 65 euros a flight, any time.

In between fronts

Two foto's, one of flying in Palomaret, but only the diehards. Way too violent at times at take off, and the sky getting agrier and angrier.

Down below at the coast lots smoother, till too smooth.

But we got our wings out, and we probably won't the upcoming days, looking bad. Rainy even in dry Alicante.

Foto's Alicante

How a week can look like in october Alicante, check out Claudia's foto's.

There are some winners there.

Ulli, Ulli, Ulli, Andrea, Cloud, have some great flights in autumn, it can be wonderful, un abrazo.

Wings out

Wings out today. Howling winds till late. Western winds, and we all know what that means, little chance of flying.
But we did some flying. Thanks making that effort, and coming out with me.
I was on the outlook all day, and all I could deliver was a little bit of that and a little bit of this.

Feet up

After weeks of flying, feet up. Alert all over Spain, strong winds, and some drizzly rain even in Alicante.
Time to enjoy some of the better footage of a stay in Alicante,
Cloudbase paragliding from England visiting us, sure hope we'll see you guys again.

If you hesitate how the flying, how the stay can be check out there footage,
Cloudbase paragliding in Alicante

Rest in peace

Rest in peace Antoine Montant,
some amazing footage
of this young guy who lived his life.

Watusi dance ?

Maybe not a Watusi dance but at least a Stroll or a Shim Sham dance today.

Thunder and lightning day turned out to be a Cabo day after all. Only early flying till 3 pm, then it got light .... .

Oh well two days in a row flying, with a horrible weather forecast.

Wild horses

No horses on the sea, although we were all warned to have a windy day.

At 9 am, yes at 9 am, we were at take off, launching thinking, hey before 11 we have to fill our boots then we're grounded.
But, Alicante showed its good side and it flew till dark.

New german pilots visiting. And good old Ken Wilkinson with walking stick, still flying though.

Early morning shots.

Advance Impress3

Ozone Delta above an Advance Impress3, in between Claudia.

http://www.cloudbaseparagliding.com/

and

http://www.greendragons.co.uk/index.shtml

Both present this week in Alicante. Together with german, dutch and polish friends.

We all had a great week of good laughs, lots of food and drinks, and important some very good flying. Good friends, good flying, no hassles.

Thanks being here, hope to see you all again.

Incredible

Incredible, Andy Shaw's pilots from Green Dragons flying this time. And with a 45 km wind at the coast.
Found a spot where no easterlies blew. Safe flying in the lee. Untill clouds got too dark. Well done. Alicante at its' best ? I would think so.

could'ave, would'ave, should'ave, .... ,

, ... , common excuses for paragliders.

Too early on the site, too late in the air, if only others, should'ave done this, could'ave known that, etc... etc...

But no stress, we have flown, and how. Later afternoon indeed, but fantastic at our home site. I think as far I could see, we all had a great day.

Volker, should'ave been here !