I DID IT AGAIN!!! Flying high above the Gorge du Verdon.

Oh yes, I did it again, but I think this was the last time I will do something silly like this.

Not that I didn't like it, but enough is enough and I believe after flying over the Grandcanyon no other flight can ever match this.

Some guests asked me if I was nervous for the jump and I said: no, I am more nervous that I will not be on time at the take off. How well my intuition was working once again. I left friday morning at 10.00 (it should be a drive of 45 minutes, so I would be on time and even have time for a coffee I thought) and yes, I managed to take the wrong turn and got lost. At the end I ended up swirling my tweety on the parking, slamming the door, cross the street and straight I jumped into the van that was already moving...........

We drove all the way up to Aiguines (which I passed half an hour before), they parked the van and we got all (4 other young kids and me) our harnasses on our back and we started walking/climbing for about 15 minutes to the take off platform.

Well, platform, I think it was not more than 10-15 paces of long footsteps where the mountain stopped. Philippe was my pilot. He picked me because of my weight, he said the weather condition were that good that he might make his fourth attempt to reach 1.500 meters high. Was I happy with that????

We took off as first tandem, which afterwards was lucky, because the other jumps landed in the trees, or did not reach a high altitude. Was I happy with that????

One of the other instructors helped with the take-off, he was pulling me back to the ground because otherwise after two steps I was allready of the ground and then we could not make enough speed to get up in the air. So, pulling me down at my harnass and then suddenly a push and up we went. Oh my God, was I happy with this????

We came into a hugh turbulence, Philippe happy as a bird, wheeeeheeee a new record, he was shouting. Me: whohow, why do I think I want to do this. I closed my eyes, the wind was pulling us up with shocks, this was nothing at all like my flight I did in Nepal, where it was just a jump and gliding................ My stomach went up and down, Philip told me to open my eyes, otherwise I would get sick, so I opened them just a little bit, looking at a far distance.

Why am I doing this?????

Rita, look down, look how high we are........ Oh yes, Philippe I believe you, but I will see later on the pictures how high I was.

Finally when we reached the maximum of 1.500 meters we came in a smooth air and finally the gliding started. I slowly let my shoulders down, I unfolded my hands from the strings and put my hands on my legs and slowly I started to relax and looking around.

You can't really describe the feeling again of flying this high, that we could see the total length of the Grand Canyon. At one point Philippe said to me: look, there is a small airplane flying under us, I looked at the plane, I looked at the canvas seat I was sitting on and I said to myself: how stupid, silly, foolish one must be to be in the sky higher than an aeroplane just attached to some strings sitting on a canvas seat. Next I said to myself: stop thinking or else you will panic, just switch your brain off and enjoy the feeling being an angle, so I did.

Philip kept talking (I wonder why :)) and he told me that in the winter he always goes to Pokhara, Nepal, flying with Blue Sky. That is the same company I did my two flights earlier and the pilot I had the last jump was Philippes best friend.

(you can see more pictures if you click on foto's).

The flight took 25 minutes and we had a perfect landing. So slowly, so smooth, only two steps on the ground and we were standing still. This time I was not, as last time, shaking for about half an hour, but very calm and still a bit high of the sensational feeling of being an angel.

We walked back to the parking, Philippe checked his camera and then he found out that the camera was not set on filming, but instead he made pictures every 5 seconds, which resulted in about 165 pictures. He gave me the minidisc, said that if I will be in Pokhara next February I have to come and see him at Blue Sky and he will take me for yet another flight, but I think I will pass. Three times I did it, and I think that is enough. Ca suffit, the French would say. That will do. I sure don't regret that I have done it, but I am not sure if I could handle another time such a turbulent take off, such a high altitude, and after this flight over the Grandcanyon all the next flights would be kind of boring, not so sensational.

Back at the campsite I did something wrong with the disc so I still have the pictures, but unfortunately only in black and white. But still you can see the altitude we were at. I do confess I took some pictures out, where my face was really horribly scared, but I did leave some in it where you can see my mouth is saying: Oh f................

Enjoy the pictures, (click on foto's to see more), try to imagine how it feels to be this high, how it feels being an angel.

Luckily I was yesterday still full of adrenaline, because there was a wedding on the campsite, the music stopped at 5 o'clock this morning, so not much sleep. I will catch up later in the afternoon, because now it is too hot (already 35C at 12.00), many guests left, so slowly time to start packing up the top level. Still feeling like an angel, still my 'wings' are on....... in high spirits I will finish this season.

Salut for now

Rita