New guests from Norway, welcome to the sun chaps

New guests from Norway, lets have a good time chaps. Weather is fine, flyable every day. Espen with girlfriend and Steijn arrived. They immediately got a taste how the flying can be in Alicante. Off to the site, and some hours after just landed at Alicante airport.

Who said Alicante was the easiest place in Europe to top up your airtime ? It wasn't me ....

Found it !

2 weeks later... from joost van dam on Vimeo.

Found it !
This must be the most boring video ever of flying a paraglider. The music is not only awful, but the hairy legs jeeze, and please change the camera angle, good god.

Lately every pilot has a Go-Pro camera, and videos are published by the thousands. It looks like the best promotion for people NOT to go for paragliding. It all remembers me when people got their foto-albums out. I started drinking so I could cope from boredom.

GONG ! Action please.

happy men

Happy men, both Tal and Ian had another good day. Choosing for inland flying, instead of coastal soaring. And glad we saw some local pilots as well, almost a relief to see Antonio, Manolo, and a couple of others.

No big blog stuff about huge acro-maneuvers, or epic XC flights. No it is not the time for that. The weather is good, excellent for all who want to fly, and that's it. Daily in the air, topping up airtime, flying, flying tandems.

everybody is a winner babe, you sexy thing

What looked to be a bad day, turned out to be .... . Allright, allright we heard it all before. But what the hell can I say. What looked to be a bad day, turned out to be a good day. We flew again, and for a couple of hours.

No, nothing near the new record XC flight of 400 km that was done the other day in Spain, but equivalent to the best fun spanish soccer fans had, watching the finals winning from the rough and dirty playing dutch team. Everybody's is a winner babe.

So come on all together : everyone's a winner babe, since you came along you sexy thing, you sexy thing you ... everyone's a winner babe, I believe in miracles, oh god I want hot chocolate ,
gimme !

Flying every bl.... day

It is summer and we all know it. It is hot, but the air is refreshing. It is lovely to fly till the sun goes. Nothing special, just flying again and again and again ... . Tal on foto.

Jijona paragliding

We chose for Carrasqueta today. Near Jijona, a 1100 m high ridge.

Flying with disabled friends

Every now and then we organise tandem flights for disabled.

Last time, a couple of weeks ago, a guy asked if he could meanwhile take his prosthesis off, get ready, and fly with me next. Of course I said ok, after I finish this flight I'll be with you to fly.

When I landed, I saw his prosthesis laying near take off, and him ready to go. I felt so ignorant and small, so unattentive and speechless.

But that's not the point. That was only me.

I had to tell him that we couldn't strap him in on our harnasses as a passenger, so we asked him to wait next day to go fly with paramotor trike.

Next day again he was first in line to have a go on flying.

The eagerness of this gentleman, the greed to live, the solidarity amongst themselves was again so huge. Waiting to join in to fly, 35 degrees, hardly shade. I loved it.

I have doubted to put this on my blog, but after a couple of weeks still thinking about it, I had to share my thoughts, about my experience again with these lovely people. Whenever I feel like being grumpy, or complaining, I think about it.

Man, there are so many beautiful, great and strong people out there. These guys and girls were strong and eager.

Sometimes we should think, what the fuck are we complaining about.

Schools were out with students

Tandem paragliding Alicante

Yes, almost there, a little bit more, up we go.

As foto tells, hell of a time pleasing customers to fly tandem. It is our season and it is going well. Weather is with us, and it is fun to fly late afternoons all 'tranquille' at the cliffs of Santa Pola. Hooray.

Damned you should be here.

tandem flights

My new flyer for tandem flying. Well touch, became dutch ...

Choice today, sierra del Carche for the XC hounds, Palomaret - Villena for the thermal freaks, and Cabo for the soaring lovers. Big choice today, as the weather was fantastic to fly.

Raul, Alicante paragliding, and Carlitos, with his school from Valencia, flew with their students inland at Palomaret,

while Kasana was doing his thing at Cabo.

And others just joined in.

It is 11 pm, just got back from the beaches, and it is still packed down there. Bars full, on the boardwalk lots of inline skaters, runners, cyclists. I love it.

sweet as

A hot day cooling off under the waterfalls of Font d Algar. And late in the afternoon filling up your boots at the cliffs.

Telling how flying feels, is like explaining how chocolate tastes.

Morroco paragliding

Todays' flying was lots better. Smoother it all was, more flying than just dealing with it. We all wished the conditions stayed a bit longer though. But the clouds curtaining the sun, spoiled the party too early in the evening. We stopped flying at 7 pm.

Other news is that we are on facebook, just look for doyouwanna and make yourself a fan !

Other news is that we are looking into organising roadtrip to Morocco for instance. We are thinking of meeting at Marrakesh, flying the sites in the atlas with local pilots. All mixed with some culture, exotic as it is. Price, around 450 a person. That would easily pay the bill for accommodation and food, transport and guiding. Thinking about it.

rough

Rougher than we wanted. Palomaret we went. Kike was flying, and his glider was veering up and down, right and left.
Waited a bit, as gusty thermals were kicking in too heavily.
Once in the air, we should have known, too rough to be good.
Sometimes a nice thermal, but then a rollercoaster ride, no good for flying. It was more dealing with it, than actually enjoying the flying.
Not such a good day, this kind of air usually means a change in weather pattern tomorrow.

floating in boaty air

Some shots of Saul and James, flying over the mediterranean cliffs near Santa Pola. An easterly wind, kicking in strong at midday, dying off later in the afternoon, giving everybody a chance to enjoy.

Also tandempassengers having a life experience. Even René who was scared at first having vertigo, but soon he felt more relaxed once he enjoyed the easy floating, the stressless environment, the colours I guess as well. It doesn't always have to be strong and tricky. Some times it can be nice to just soar.

But ... I surely hope we have done Cabo for a while now, I feel more like flying the thermals inland, hitting cloudbase, a bit more adrenaline please.... .

For you honey

Woke up this morning and realized it was married for 18 years today. This one's for you honey.

Santa Pola

Business as usual. Afternoons always gets us a nice seabreeze. Smearing our noses in with factor40, and off we go, till dark. Is it smearing ? Sounds grose. Grose ?

True colours, all the way.

Pressure drops

Pressure dropping a bit, formation of clouds inland. Made us fly till late, and once close to the clouds, some nice cloudsuck made it all worthwhile.

Nice and fresh in the air as well.

Foto StevieG launching his Paratech.

Ballon jump

2010 July 13 Roll-over from Filip on Vimeo.

Our belgian pilot Filip Perremans, regular visitor of Alicante, his first balloon jump in Belgium. Respect Filip, I wouldn't dare.

Hairdryer, hot air fan

The coastal flying in the evening is the most refreshing 'sport' to be done in this heat.

The refreshing seabreeze late afternoon is very welcome after having temperatures up in their thirties. Running cycling in this heat is out of the question, swimming diving snorkeling actually is a superb alternative.

Writing in my blog is not to convince you to come down, it reflects our daily life as a paraglider down here in Alicante. I just hope that all of you get as much flying in as we do, daily, yearly. Have fun.

Skygod

Skygod, Saul from England.