Advertisement
Published: January 23rd 2010
Edit Blog Post
Chile: 31st December, 2009 - 17th January, 2010
“Finally, over there at the base of that hill is a rough neighborhood, so if you land back there, those guys will get to you before we can...just give them what they want.” And thus concluded my site briefing for Day 1 of the 2010 Santiago Paragliding Competition, which left me wide-eyed and in a heightened state of awareness.
This information was quite at odds with our experience to date. So far, we had been staying in thoroughly modern Santiago, with its shining high rises and fashionable residents living among the picturesque remains of a colonial past punctuated by the all-too-recent memories of cruel authoritarian rule underscoring the fragile democratic institutions which have taken root over the past 20 years. Santiago, to me, felt like a smaller version of Rome. And we liked Rome. Even better, we arrived in Santiago on New Year's Eve, and we celebrated that evening at the W Hotel with a view of the fireworks. Very civilized.
When we come to a new country, we find stray dogs to be a good indication of general prosperity since strays seem fewer and better off in more
prosperous countries. However, this paradigm was shattered when we discovered that, in Santiago at least, the tap water is safe to drink. For me, this is a unique experience “south of the border”. Chile has raised the bar for all her neighbors.
Our subsequent trip to a small town called Zapallar, on the coast, only underscored that notion. There, stately homes and mansions jostle for ocean views and landscaping artists plan their next magazine cover all while Chile's elite enjoy the best locally produced wines sans paparazzi. The adjacent towns tend to be more oriented toward visitors with crowds of day-trippers and touristic menus, but Zapallar is simply a retreat for the upper classes offering a serene and exclusive environment. How we got past the velvet rope is anyone's guess.
Not to say that Chile is one large imitation of Greenwich, Connecticut. Get outside of Santiago, and it's not so shiny. Chile seems much more like its neighbors outside the city limits of Santiago and Zapallar.
Which brings me back to the site briefing. Indeed, like any country, there are places you'd want to avoid, whether you arrive by car, train or paraglider. Bad neighborhoods, crazy land
owners, booby trapped orchards, restricted airspace....they're all facts of life. And the folks who organized the competition did a great job making sure we knew where it's safe to fly (which is why I like competitions). Also, the tasks were well designed: the initial turnpoints were relatively easy to reach, and each subsequent turnpoint was slightly more difficult to achieve. When I landed, a retrieve driver was usually there to meet me before I had finished packing up. Most of all, the club members were very friendly, embracing visiting pilots with genuine Latin hospitality, always willing to provide advice and local knowledge. The relatively small size of the comp (45 pilots) only improved the experience.
Sometimes half the adventure is getting home from the landing zone, though, and on Day 1, I foolishly went leaping over a mountain without enough altitude only to find myself in the sinking air behind. I should have hitched a ride on a nice, juicy thermal for my trip across the valley. Needless to say, I was on the ground in minutes, and the only open space to land was a local soccer club, with acres of beautiful, green, manicured fields. It took about
10 seconds for the security guard to waddle at top speed onto the field and give me a tongue lashing regarding my uninvited presence (in a local drawl that I could barely understand, which only frustrated him - and me - further). As ambassadors of our sport, we say “sorry, I had to make an emergency landing here” and “I'll leave right now” a lot, and in that order. But, that didn't work, and the guard took my ID and called the police. To their credit, the local police were very nice young guys who scratched their heads trying to figure out what the fuss was all about. I understand where the guard's coming from, though: he's got rules and procedures, and he'll get in trouble if he doesn't stick to the book, which he did. And everyone was home in time for beer.
However, the flying conditions were not as benevolent as the local pilots or law enforcement. In general, mountain conditions are stronger, and desert conditions pump up the volume even further. The net result was that, until Day 2 of the comp, I had never had a full collapse of my wing in flight. A collapse
occurs (sorry for the technical jargon) when the wind decides to punch your wing square in the gut, at least, that's what it looked like to me since the wing doubled over and lost its breath. And in that moment, you realize that you are transformed from a shining paraglider pilot living out Man's eternal dream to fly to a beach ball in a tsunami. But, paragliders, especially safe, low performance wings like mine, are designed to pop back open quickly, which mine did in 1 (very long) second. One cannot escape the feeling, though, that Mother Nature doesn't want you in that spot, and it's time to move on to more friendly air, so I did.
Competitions are also fun because you get to meet lots of other pilots and really focus on flying. You also learn about their life between flights. After we parted ways, I realized that to be a really good pilot, flying must be the #1 or #2 priority in your life, a choice that I admit that I am unwilling to make. There are too many other interesting experiences out there for me to take a vow of soarance. But, that was one
of the points of this sabbatical: to put myself in that environment so I could see just what kind of pilot I am and have the potential to be. Now it's very clear, and I'm ok with that.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.319s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 6; qc: 44; dbt: 0.051s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Rami Seth
non-member comment
Hi from England
Dear Doug and Rayma Thank you for sharing your experiences. We too liked Chile very much and it brought back memories of Atacama desert, Terra del Fuego and Easter Island. You are much more adventurous than we ever were with your daring feats. Glad to know that you are well and enjoying your extended honey-moon. We had a cruise from Barcelona to Mumbai befor Christmas and in mi-Feb we cruise from Singapore to Mumbai. I am a guest lecturer on board and Jenny is invited by the shipping company too. Lots of love to you both and keep in touch. Rami