Up in the air in Pokhara

I had wanted to try Paragliding for quite some time and after Jess came back from Europe saying she had done it and it was fantastic it made me more determined to give it a try. So as we rode into Pokhara at the foot of the Himalayans I thought what better place to give it a try.

There were so many company's doing it I just booked it through our guest house after we got settled in. There were three flight times Early Morning, Noon or Afternoon, The pros for each were different being the later in the afternoon the better the lift off the land as it had warmed throughout the day but the disadvantage was that as the land warmed so the clouds moved in to obscure the view, As I really wanted to see the mountains I opted for the 9.30 am flight the next day. Chenty wanted to come but with her sore back after the fall in Varanasi thought it best to stay on the ground and book a massage or so she told me!!

Well it was very comfortable but I dont know about sitting
on a guys lap for that long??

After a thirty minute jeep ride up to the tower at about 2000 ft we were at the launch site It was a warm morning so we waited 20 mins for the lift to improve. While waiting I was introduced to my pilot Jami from England who immediately asked my weight When I told him 240 lbs or 108 kilo he said we would be pushing it, the limit is around 100kilo so I quickley noted that all that meant was that we would go DOWN a little faster so no problem here.

The View was the BEST

After getting clipped into the harness and setting up the shoot we were set to go just one dummy run to get me into the routine we were off , four  five steps and we were in the air FANTASTIC.

I had booked the long flight for one hour and someone had said it might get boring up there for that long but as soon as we had lift off I thought it was great and could stay up here for longer.

About 2000ft up

The views were just as I had hoped, a long clear sight of some of the highest mountains in the world. Soon I got the hang of it and we were in the thermals going up well above our take off pad.

I loved it, so free and so quiet, looking for the birds to find the thermals.

There is a new gig going on with this sport called Parahawking  they use trained Egyptian vultures to find the thermals then follow them to get the lift, doing this they can stay up for hours.  The birds have been rescued from something and now depend on the trainer to feed them so while in the air they will fly in and sit on your arm for a treat. So cool I thought.

If you look closely at this one you will see the
 Egyptian Vulture sitting on the Girls Hand

After over an hour in the air we made a perfect landing down by the lake I really enjoyed every minute of it and now I get to go have a back massage after Chenty has had hers!!

 What a life.

Happy landings