Another boring day...(April 19th)

What did we do today?

Hmmmm.......

Let me think....

Nothing much, really?

Got up, got some groceries, went on a hike....

Gosh, was that IT?

Oh yeah....WE WENT HANGLIDING IN INTERLAKEN!!!!!!

Still can´t believe that we actually did it, but we DID!!!!

For the low low price of a kidney, 3 fingers, and a 1998 Buick LeSabre, we were picked up from our hostel and driven to the "landing site" where we watched paragliders and hangliders landing effortlessly in a grass field.

For those of you who don´t know, hangliding is basically strapping a kite to your back and jumping off a cliff and hoping that you don´t die.

Or at least that´s what we thought it was when we were foolishly signing up to do it.

Actually, hangliding is much safer then it appears. You are driven up the mountain with your pilot, the guy who will be controlling the hanglider while you are strapped in next to him enjoying the ride, where you prepare for takeoff.

During this time of year, the company only has two pilots so we couldn´t all go at the same time. I was chosen to go first ahead of Scott and Katy most likely because I was the one standing closest to the guy who was randomly choosing who would go first. Scott really wanted to go first because he wanted to "get it over with", so I kinda felt bad about going before him, even though I was eager to get up there. KINDA bad, but not really.

We had 2 really cool pilots, Bernie and Ed. They both fit the part of I would think hanglider instuctors would...really laid back almost surfer like guys. I think we all kinda of envied them because they were just living their life the way that they wanted to live it. They made jokes (Like when I asked how long Ed had been doing this whole hangliding thing, he casually replied, "Third day") and seemed genuinely commited to giving us the best time possible.

When you get to the take off point, you help the pilot set up the hanglider and he puts you in a harness that will eventually be attached to the glider itself. After the glider is all set up, the pilot will strap himself and you onto the glider. Once that is done, he caries the hanglider to the launch pad, with you walking right next to him underneath it. He asks you, "Are you ready?" You supposedly acquiece and then you run down a steep hill until the air catches the glider and you sail off away from the mountain where it´s just you, the pilot, the glider and a whole lot of air.

I can´t (and won´t) speak for Scott, but I honestly wasn´t nervous at all the entire time. Even when we were about to run down the hill during take off, no nervousness...just excitement!

It´s hard to describe how it feels being up there. You´re flying, but you don´t really know how...it all seems just so effortless. You are required to hold onto the pilot the entire time so you don´t swing in your harness. He cracks jokes and lets go of the steering controls, which doesn´t really seem to effect anything. The only way i can really describe it is that it feels a lot like being on a ski lift.

In order to stay up in the air as long as possible, you just sort of fly around in circles with the air streams coming up the mountain. The glider only loses about a meter of altitude every couple of seconds, so the ride was about 20 minutes long.

The last little portion of the flight is spent being dipped and dived by the pilot. I rather enjoyed the feeling of coming to an almost dead stop followed by diving into a free fall through the sky. Scott, nor his pants, enjoyed it as much as I did though.

Really nothing else compares to that feeling and I highly suggest trying hangliding if you ever get the chance.

What an amazing day!!!