Leapfrog

On Monday instead of heading to the school like I would have, Caitlin and I were informed that we would be going paragliding, which we previously thought would be on Tuesday afternoon. Right after breakfast we got in the car sent for us and started to drive up.

We eventually came to a little town where we were transferred to a sturdier vehicle and again we headed off, up the mountain we would later be flying down. The windy mountain roads sharp turns and lack of a guard rail in many places occasionally made Caitlin and i turn to each other, wide eyed in both fear and incredulity.

Soon (ish) the ride was over and we had reached the top of the mountain where we could already see other people running off the edge and being lifted up by the giant colorful sails soaring above them.

In no time at all it was our turn. I went first, getting strapped into the backpack-seat combination device and then being told to “Run! Run!” Run I did, and in seconds we were airborne.

It was absolutely spectacular. We rose up, feeling the strong pull of the wind and the sail, and I watched as the ground got further and further away, and the air got chillier and chillier. As we twisted around the top of one of the small mountains in the area and eagled soared up to meet us, its wings catching the same air current we were using. I was happy to share.

I didn’t simply feel “like” I was flying, I was flying in a way that seemed totally real. The cool air brushed through my fingers, through my hair. We swung back and forth at the will of the wind, swaying and sometimes aggressively tilting. It’s sort of like being on a boat in the ocean, and yet completely different.

Then my pilot said something unexpected. “Acrobatics now, yes?” I said yes, of course, I wasn’t going to have gone paragliding in the foothills of the Himalayas and not opt for the acrobatics! So we began, at first with some sharp turns and twists that eventually led to a full on corkscrew. It was dizzying, and I could feel the force of it pushing back the skin on my face.

These movements added life to the already beautiful landscape, specifically reminding me of Van Gogh, a man whose work also feels alive.

And then, 20 minutes from the first leap, I was back on the ground, with shaking legs that had somehow already forgotten what solid felt like. We also visited a Tibetan Monastic School/ Temple, and a Hindu Temple, but neither really held up to the experience of the first flight.