Nepal: Soar Like an Eagle

Woke up this morning to a beautiful clear sky.  Great view of the snow-capped mountains from my bed.  A great day to soar like an eagle. 

So I did.

Paragliding is a very popular activity in Pokhara.  Cliffs to jump/takeoff from, mountains to create thermals, etc.  Attracts paragliders from all over the world, and people who want to paraglide with them.  So when in Pokhara.....

Begin with a ride up the mountainside in an open truck, twisting mountain "roads" (you should excuse the expression), to the parking spot.  Then, a 5-minute walk up a narrow path along the edge of the cliff, no guardrail, to prepare you for what's ahead.  Atop the cliff, overlooking the lake (far) below, mountains as a backdrop, eagles and hawks soaring above.  Harnessed up, since I'm flying tandem with a knowledgeable pilot (Patrick, from France.)  I ride in front ("the view is better for you"), he on my back, glider ready to inflate above.

Basic instructions: take several running steps to the cliff's edge, keep running until you're running on air. You'll feel the lift immediately, don't stop running, then when you're aloft, sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight. (Sounds like the usual flight attendant speech.)

For unknown reasons, I'm the first to go in the group.  Probably fortunate--means I didn't get to see what happens during takeoff.  At Patrick's command, start running.  Take a couple of steps toward the cliff edge, he says "stop."  Regroup.  Then, another attempt.  Take a couple of steps.  Then "stop."  Regroup.  Then, take a couple of steps, now running on air, and now.....we're flying.

It's really an indescribable feeling.  You're floating with the air, upcurrents, downcurrents, just like birds do.  Patrick is "steering" us to the best of his ability, but it all depends on the thermals and the wind currents.  The view is magnificent, the quiet is calming, but mostly, it's just the feeling of going with the flow.  Of the wind.  Literally.

One surprise was the constant motion--not for the weak of stomach, or even the strong.  (One of our guys asked to go down sooner.)  But in the wind, you're always swaying/rising/falling, so you're in constant motion.

At one point, as we were heading down into a jungle of trees, Patrick said "I'm not talking right now.  I'm trying to keep us in the air and have to find the thermals."  Fine with me--don't need my pilot to be a source of conversation.  Just fly the glider, Patrick.

Turns out the thermals were in an "unusual" pattern today, therefore difficult to find and fly.  Patrick said afterward "did you see the monkeys in the jungle? You had a real closeup view."  No Patrick, I was more focused on the treetops as we seemed to be approaching the side of the cliff.

A few more attempts to find some thermals and get higher, then he said we needed to land--a shorter trip than usual, for which he apologized.  Landing was easy, very smooth.

They talk about the  "unbearable lightness of being."  I thought of the "unbearable being of lightness."

One (overused) word: awesome.