Foto's for the girlfriends

Yes, they all arrived well, your boys are having a good time, and I keep an
eye on them, so go ahead girls ... have fun.

The bucket list

A wish list of things you want to do before you die, the bucket list.

Everyone should make a list of 10 things they want to do before they die. I really mean this. Because we postpone things too easy. And actually whatever happens, family wise, financially wise, force yourself to get one thing done every year. I don't preach this would make us a happier world, but it would give us (even) more satisfaction in our lives we lead, so putting faces on our smiles.

And more faces on our smiles would mean, less morons, less people who need help.

One of the beautiful sides of my job is flying tandems. I love to fly tandems, sharing with others, what life I chose. And if the passengers do love it, it means they experienced that feeling of gently boating the sky, away from all stress, living humans' oldest dream to fly.

Do I sound too hippy ? I don't care, peace to you all.

Thanks flying with us, you made my day.

Weather in certain parts of Europe in a mess

Strange weather behaviour as in Belgium, the hottest temperatures were measured today. Tomorrow looks all back to normal again, with hopefully not too strong westerly winds for us. Thinking Peña Rubia actually, one of my favourites.

Tandem paragliding

A sneak preview of what we are preparing for you this summer coming up. Parahawking as you probably know by now.

Doyouwanna Parahawking will be offering tandem flights with our birds soon. You can already book your parahawk flight, or get more info. Don't hesitate.

Easterlies

Easterly winds, flying over the cliffs. Not me as I was in bed for 48 hours, not feeling too good. But Hen the Third enjoyed the flying as I can tell.

Angry sky - rainy in the evening

It is still a bit cold at night, although my guests say that our blood has thinned after been living here, becoming soft after all those years.

During the day it gets very hot, about 30 degrees today, so the difference is so huge, with the northern winds coming in, it is automatically overcast by late afternoon. Thunderstorms in the mountains and drops of rain at the beaches now at 8 pm.

Lots of times pilots are amazed about the fossils of sea-shells we find on top of our mountains. This is an example of a big fossil, almost as big as a hand. Don't know maybe you're interested. No flying news today unfortunately, but still enjoying life though.

Swing paragliders

Rainy in the morning, greyness, colours we don't like,. But after lunch it all cleared up and blue sky again.

Smooth winds only to profit flying top to bottoms. So my guest Hen the third wasn't intersted.

He flies a sigma6 and soon a Sigma8, and bought a Swing

Connect Reverse harnass. Looks big, but is very comfortable, very protective and high in quality. And as a reversable harnass we can tell it suits a Large glider comfortably.

Eastern winds

Eastern winds. Soaring at Cabo de Santa Pola.
Only for the early birds, as it became too strong later on. And very unstable inland.
I had a good day, flying tandems. Always nice to please people.

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.