Brel-gliding
Note to Mel’s parents: don’t worry, we come out of this alive and well.
Ok, we’ve officially lost all sense of reason (if B ever had any….)
Today we went hang gliding. Ok, technically, B test-piloted it yesterday, and when he came back intact, Mel decided to give it a try today.
For those of you not fully recognizing the enormity of this event…have we mentioned that Mel has never gone for a ride on a roller coaster? Or that she refused to stand on her parents’ 23rd floor balcony?
Ok, back to hang gliding…here’s how it all went down (perhaps not the best choice of words)…
To get airborne, you basically need to take a running leap off a 1,700 foot cliff – that’s like a 170 storey building, for all you non-math-types. Once you start running, there’s really no changing your mind without disastrous consequences – we suspect that’s why a man was conspicuously standing behind Mel to help (read: push) her along, if need be. Seriously, we have pictures.
Soaring high above Rio and the Atlantic Ocean, the view was, needless to say, pretty incredible. Catching the currents, flying along with the birds (literally), the whole experience was kind of surreal – and lasted about 15 minutes. B had reassured Mel that the flight was ‘relaxing and really calm’ – obviously, he hadn’t predicted the change in weather overnight and accompanying turbulence…thanks B.
Thanks to our fearless pilots Ricardo and Renato at Just Fly, for keeping us alive.
All in all, one heck of an adventure. The only question that remains….what can we possibly do next that will top this?
Tags: Brazil, Travel
pichemelanie