Facing my Fears to Fly with the Birds

I had to face Danger! and fear head on… It has been on my bucket list for many years. Paragliding… flying free, flying with the birds.

We rose early and made our way south by bus to the town of Boca de Tomatlan where we jumped on a panga bound for Yelapa. (A little fishing village accessible only by boat. More about that in my post  ) and made our way to the beach and the Fly Yelapa “office”

A waiver was presented to me “Paragliding could result in paralysis or death”. I signed the anyway.

I was rather apprehensive as I stepped into the gear connected to a very large parachute. I almost said “forget it” but somewhere deep within, my adventurous spirit rose to the surface and I yelled “Lets do this”. Sama, that cutie behind me, was the young pilot taking me on the adventure.

With a beautiful beach in front of me and the river behind, I was ready.

To start, we are tethered to a boat which will pull us as we rise into the air, just like the parasailing that is so popular on the beaches everywhere. Once we reach the optimum elevation, the line is released and we fly, floating on the wind. This is when the paragliding adventure begins.

The little red parachute keeps the line afloat as it is winched back to the boat.

Over the bay, across the river and up and over the jungle hillside. we floated and turned, catching an updraft, we rose higher. Sama pointed out a waterfall. While out over the rugged coast, we could see several Manta Ray swimming near the surface. Birds were flying beneath us and beside us. The height did not scare me… I was exhilarated.. What a thrill..

Slowly we drifted closer and closer to the earth.

“Keep you knees soft for the landing.” (I remembered the instructions.)

 

and we were down… totally down, sitting on the sand…  Safe and smiling…