Before we even arrived there, I wanted to go hang gliding (or asa-delta in Portuguese) over Rio. I had a good friend do it when she went and am pretty much obsessed with things like this, especially over a city as picturesque as Rio. So we booked a time slot and went off to the beach. We met our instructor on the sand and jumped in his car to head up the mountain side where the launch pad was. It was a good 20 minutes up the steepest, rockiest road. He joked that this was the actual scary part, not the jumping off the ledge part. And I agree. I was terrified our car was not going to make it up! But it did and we were greeted with rows of gliders and a full staff. The plan was for Preston to jump first so I could watch. And then they would drive him back up to the top to watch my jump.
SO we get there and like two minutes later an instructor comes up to Preston and basically says "ok let's strap you in, you look athletic just run fast until you can't anymore because you're in the air. We'll be good." No instruction, no real direction. It was hilarious to watch his face. He got strapped in and walked up to the launch pad, which was basically a big ramp that you run off of. As he stepped up to the platform he looked over at me, my phone out ready to video and said "Umm ok I guess I'm going now, I love you." :) He was a bit nervous. Which surprised me because he had done the highest legal bungee jump in the world at just over 700 feet in Switzerland. But the instructor counted down and they ran full force until they were running in air! I watched him sail down, so excited for my turn! We were told rides were 7-12 minutes long depending on air. Preston's was about 12 and then the drive back up to watch my flight took 20 minutes again. So I had like 45 minutes to just watch people do runs. Some instructors gave DETAILED safety instructions. After hearing them I laughed that Preston really didn't get any.
He came back up with a huge smile telling me how much I was going to love it. And since I had seen and heard a bunch of people with their instructors, I wasn't nervous at all. I was so ready. I told my instructor that I was really adventurous, at the recommendation of my friend, as to make sure I had a fun ride!
I was lucky enough to snag the owner of the company, and it was his last run of the day. Our combined weight was perfect and the wind was in our favor. We took our stance at the edge of the platform. And he counted down.... 1...2...3... and run! Run until you are kicking in air. You dip down for a moment and then pick up wind and sail upwards. It felt incredible. He looked over and said, "Look! See the birds how they are flying in a circle all grouped together? That means we have a hot air pocket. It will take us up high, are you sure you're adventurous?" Oh yes I am! We sailed towards it and I felt it take us up. In order to keep climbing, we had to stay within the hot air pocket's radius, sailing in tight circles. I guess most people only last 5 minutes before they start to feel nauseous. And so he kept asking me if I was going to throw up. But I was golden. We climbed so much higher than the jumping off point that the wind got FREEZING. We floated through little clouds of precipitation which kept chilling me into shivers. But I was having the time of my life. The gorgeous jungle was below us, the beach beyond us, and the huge Cristus was on the next mountain. I was sure I had found heaven. I told my teacher how amazing it was and he said, " Now you know why, the birds, they smile all the time." At the time it was such a magical statement. Flying up there. Guys doing solo runs were flying below us, yelling in frustration that we had climbed so high! They couldn't reach us. But eventually my shivers were too big and I was shaking the whole glider. So we started down towards the beach. He would nose dive and let us free fall, and then pick us back up. We had time for him to let go and teach me to drive and steer. I kept trying to tell myself to memorize the feeling but now, just a few months later, it feels surreal. Eventually we made it back down, through the buildings and onto the beach. I saw Preston on the beach running and back and forth and I yelled "Hiiiii BABE!" I don't know why I didn't use his actual name haha but he turned and saw me and I saw relief wash over his face. We landed and looked at our flight clock, we had been airborne for 30 full minutes and some odd seconds. I found out Preston made it back down to the beach expecting me to be there already. And when we weren't there he was worried I was in trouble. He had been running up and down the beach asking people if they had seen us. Which was so sweet. And then when he felt better and knew we were fine fear changed to jealousy haha. Our flight was the best run in weeks.
I was in the best mood the rest of the day. I really felt like I was flying. I mean, I know I WAS flying but it felt like I was Wonder Woman just flying on my own. We celebrated with fresh coconuts on the beach. It was one of my favorite moments I've ever had sitting on the beach, drinking coconut water, looking up to where we had jumped off.
If anyone is going to Brazil I HIGHLY recommend using the same company. They were super professional and the operation felt really legit. A few things we've done like this in Mexico we later looked back saying we probably shouldn't have because the operation felt sketchy. This one was awesome. And relative to the sky diving, zip lining and bungee jumping we've each done it was priced amazingly well.
Xoxo
