Taking to the sky

Written by Dave:  During our travels, we are learning to seize on opportunities as they arise.  So when we learned about tandem paragliding, we decided it had to be tried.  I have always had an interest in trying paragliding, and it seemed logical that a tandem trip would be the best way to start.  It made our list of the top 5 things to do in Motovun, Croatia.

Summer, upon seeing that she was old enough and heavy enough, was immediately onboard.  In fact, she was the biggest proponent for getting scheduled.  It was a bit difficult getting scheduled, but we were finally able to connect with the company.

Summer decided to go first.

Summer was given her instructions on the ground, basically consisting of “do whatever I tell you.”  Simple enough.  The next instructions were to run into the wind, and keep running no matter what until they took to the air.

Although that sounded simple, it proved to be quite difficult.  A man came over to help them, as running with the large tandem parachute proved to be quite a task.  When they were in the air, the instructor told Summer that, if need be, the parachute could carry the weight of a small truck in the winds.  That is a lot of lift!

Nancy and Luie had a good time watching Summer flying around.

Luie was asking when he would be old enough to do it.  He is still too young and too light, but maybe in 6-7 years.

Summer thoroughly enjoyed the flight, but unfortunately she became air sick.  I didn’t even consider that as a possibility.  When she came down, she put on a brave face for the picture however.  She said she would love to go up again sometime, in spite of the motion sickness.

I was up next.  The wind was picking up a bit, and starting to change direction.  I was given the same instructions to run into the wind, and keep running until we were in the air.

It is interesting trying to run into the wind with a parachute attached that is pulling you backwards.  Very difficult indeed, especially when trying to coordinate the running with the instructor attached to you.

I would run, but not get anywhere.  I thought we took off, but then we were back on the ground running again.  All in all, I probably looked like a young bird trying to get off the ground for the first time.  Not very graceful.

Once in the air, it was beautiful and peaceful.  It was a great experience gliding around feeling for thermals to lift you higher and higher in the air.  At the same time, you could drop or lift quite quickly.  This eventually led to my own feeling of air sickness.

At about the 20 – 25 minute mark, I realized I needed to get on the ground soon, or I was going to loose my breakfast.  I was really surprised that I became sick, but it was maybe because I was a passenger and not the driver.

I was instructed to breath deeply, relax, swing my legs, and release my death grip on the harness.  I hadn’t even realized I was so tense, but using some relaxing techniques really saved us both from a potential mess.

It took a little time to get back on the ground, and Summer and Nancy said I looked quite pale.  But it was a great experience, and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it.

I collected my bearings so that we could stand for a group photo.

Here are two videos of both Summer and my flight.