VIPs Go Hang Gliding
Thursday, we continued the fun in Rio by taking in the city from the air. We went to Ipanema to catch a few rays at the beach. What else are we suppose to do? *Thumbs Up* Rio is known as the best Hang Gliding spot in the world. For the night cap, we Vip'd it up at Melt in Leblon. The carry on was pizza into the best sunrise ever on the Leblon Beach.
At the hostel, Carrisa arranged for us to be picked up around 5pm. A stocky man in a small hatch back took us over to Sao Conrado to "Go Fly." The whole adventure was silly. A man introduced the process. We had to sign a waivier because; the ramp is in a nation park - Pedra Bonita. You have to love signing your life away without even leaving a passport number. I didn't even pay except for the Hang Gliding associations fee to use the ramp. A man quickly introduced himself as Saqua which is short for Saquarema. This is small town north of Rio where he speant of summer of his life living in a van and surfing. He is now a professional Hang Glider. We drove up the mountain with his assistant to Fly - 512 Kilometers up. In the US, what took 20 minutes, would have been a half day learning session.
At the top, we went through a quick learning session. He taught me how to run with him and where to place my hands. The whole process took three minutes. We then got into line to jump. The girl, two people infront of me, must have been 12 years old. She was much lighter then her tandom partner. After they jumped, they flew directly back into the mountain. What a way to calm the kid who is scared of heights. The next pair went off without a hitch. Before I knew it, we were on the platform staring at the city from so high up. Saqua told me just to concentrate on running. 1-2-3 We were off. You don't even realize it, but you are in the air. The straps attached to your legs pull up and you are parallel to the ground over 500 Kilometers up. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. I was not afraid at all. We were gliding in large swooping circles over the park while slowly dropping in altitude. The view was immaculate. I could see past Ipanema toward Copacobana all the way into Botafogo and Sugarloaf. So Crazy. The sun was setting to my right over Joa and Barra Da Tijuca. The Ocean was so beautiful. As we neared the beach, I asked Saqua about the landing. He said it would be easy. He just had to stand up and walk. It didn't happen that way. My left leg got stuck in the strap, and we caught a whirlwind. The craft came into the sand way to fast, and we flew only a few feet above the sand. We crashed down and quickly and ran into a stopping position. Saqua was so apologetic and gave me a hug. I thought it was awesome! Suprisingly, I never felt scared at all. As we walked off the beach, I was feeling like a million dollars.
I was the first to jump so, I waited for Mark, Herb, and Matt to fly down from the mountain. Mark quickly followed, but Herb and Matt took some time. Appearently, the winds at the top weren't favorable to flying. They had to wait about 20 minutes to jump. Once everyone was on the beach, we were so pumped. Flying is such a different feeling when there is not a plane beanth you. I would love to try it again - maybe sky diving or para gliding. A cab was arranged for us to travel back to Botafogo. By this time, the sun was almost set. As we drove around Joa, a cresant moon was to the left of the mountain were we jumped. The sky was fading black to blue to purple to red to orange to yellow to sky blue. The sight was uncomparable. Herb got a shot. I hope it turns out.
We cleaned ourselves up and shook off the chills in Botafogo. We then took a cab back to Leblon to see what Melt had to offer. We stopped by Scala, but the line was filled with 15 year olds. No Thank You. We continued on to Melt. The line out front was not too bad. We all stood in line, and Herczeg and I made friends with two girls. One was from Istanbul and one was from Stuttgart. Melt is also owned by a bar down the street. They brew their own beer called Devassa. We passed the time in line by refilling our hands with bottles of Devassa. At the top of the line, I talked to the entrance lady. They would take your name and gender. Then they gave you a credit type card. You used this to pay for drinks then settle at nights end. A computer program kept track of the number of people - males and females. They kept the establishment under capacity with more girls then guys. Sweet.
The first floor was setup as a lounge with tables and couches. The band upstairs was playing "Honky Tonk Women." Strange. We mingled at the bar, and met two kids named Mason and Freddy. Freddy spoke fluent Portuguese. This came in handy as the night progressed.
The upstairs room was setup as a small dance floor. When the band finished, a dj began to spin house. We went upstairs to see the scene. Everyone was dancing, and the music was good. Freddy had an excellent idea. We commandeered the corner of the stage to create a VIP area. Since everything is so cheap, we started to order bottles of Absolute Citron and Red Bull. We had a never ending supply throughout the rest of the night. Everyone was talking to girls and pouring drinks while dancing on stage. It was sick. The dj moved from house to hip hop and back to house. We closed the place down past 530am.
Everyone was looking for an afterparty, but nothing was to be found except food. Up the street, a small Italian restaurant was buzzing like it was 9pm. We sat and order some fantastic pizza. I have eaten so much pizza here. Soon, the sun started to peak over the horizon. Freddy and Mason went back to their hotel, but we ran to the beach. It was time to see the sunrise over the Atlantic from Leblon. We ran out on to the beach, shirts off, just in time. The red firey ball of the sun was just about to blow out from the north east portion of the ocean. A few people were joggin along the beach. The sky was dotted with a few clouds. It was streak with yellows, oranges, and reds. As the sun first shown over the water, I began to clap. Herb, Matt, and Mark were cheering. It was just amazing, Amazing. We relished in the new day for sometime.
We took a bus back to Botafogo. We wanted to head to Ipanema as soon as possible to sleep. What a crazy 12 hours? This is Rio. It hasn't stopped, and it will continue. There is no reason to waste your time. This might be the best city on the face of the earth.
Comments
Hang Gliding over Rio=one of the most amazing experiences of my life....the feel good time of the year, and a must repeat. Landing on the beach at sunset only to see Simeon standing 30 feet away giving the "2 thumbs up" (the eternal Rio expression of joy). Did we just jump of a mountaina?....yes indeed we did, now lets go party until 6 am and watch the sunrise over Ipanema beach....and that pretty much sums up the best trip of my life.
I simply could not wipe the smile off my face while reading this post and herczeg's comment....the great feeling of travelling...wish i could have made it, but so it goes...
Jeff, you need not feel any remorse....as South America has our names all over it again later this year. Then, a year from now, you will be able to join us as we again experience carnaval in Brazil.
Whats wrong with fifteen year olds?
