Flight travel to Brazil

Winter has never been the big time for us paragliders. And there is always this disgusting transition period between autumn and winter. It is already cold and wet, but the snow is still waiting. This time I used this time and escaped for a few weeks into the Brazilian summer.

The trip started in the capital of the state of Santa Catarina, in Florianópolis, because there lives an old friend of mine. The city extends for the most part to the island "Ilha da Santa Catarina", which is often referred to simply as Florianópolis. Floripa has an active flying scene and some exciting starting places.

Once I arrived, I thought I had visited the wrong place. At first, there was too much wind to fly every day. So we first explored the next starting place only on foot and pursued other activities. But after a week it was time – I was able to make my first flight in Brazil, directly on and also over the sea and immediately got to know some of the local pilots. And that was my great fortune. The Brazilians with their open and nice nature showed me new starting places and informed me if the conditions were good on site.

So I got to know a total of four starting places on the island and also one on the mainland. In general, it can be said that flying there is quite demanding. The flight areas on the sea are usually exposed to very strong winds, stronger winds than we know here in the Alps. And usually it is top-landed, so landed again at the (small, surrounded by trees) starting place.

After a nice time with my friend Gaston and the fliers from Floripa, I moved on to the beautiful Rio de Janeiro. Almost every fly dreams of flying once and the Cristo Redentor, the landmark of the city. But on the first day on the spot came the disillusionment. When registering at the landing site of the flight area, you now get a note on which you are assured that you will not fly to the Jesus statue. All right, after the small resetter we drove to the starting place. At first glance, this one is very intimidating. You are standing on a wooden frame, above you the dragon pilots start, usually with tandem, and in front of you you do not see how steep the abyss is. And the wind does not come beautifully from the front, but more from the side. Nevertheless, it was incredibly nice to fly for the first time over Sao Conrado and the Zona Sul towards the sea. At that moment it was also forgotten that one cannot fly to Jesus.

I am really grateful for the many people I met on my vacation and the experiences I had. I got to know many beautiful flight areas and a great culture, which brought me and my flight experience back.