~ by Perry Gladstone
Swooping over landscapes, skirting treetops. As a young teenager, I negotiated with gravity and reveled in the freedom these visions afforded me. Recently, I learned to fly again; only this time, I was awake. The walls between dream state and reality were not simply blurred; they were no longer there.
Paragliding
Paragliding has opened up a whole new realm of excitement for me.
The thrill of flying, surfing the wind, negotiating the terrain, and the incredible views are equal only to the sense of freedom that comes with letting go of terrestrial existence…if only for a short time.
To fly free like this is to remember how we are able to play, interact with and be part of the elements. I love to rise and fall with the wind, ebb and flow in its currents, to see the rich canopy blossom below and the landscape stretch far and wide, and watch the undulation of the sea form and dissipate. And at the end, in the final moments, to catch patches of light radiating off sunbaked rooftops like hopping stones across the river. Thrill. Adventure. Joy. Any fright I may have had, is quickly replaced by awe, wonder and total immersion. To experience all this here in paradise only seems apt.
The first flight is remarkably easy. Securely strapped to a master pilot, you’ll fly tandem over the breath-taking coastline and land on the soft sandy beach of Dominicalito. Do it once, and you’ll surely want to do it again. I still dream about flying. Driving along the Pacific coast highway, I imagine myself high above, a view for miles, soaring free.
- Perry Gladstone is a professional advisor, coach and a student of Master Paraglide Instructor Alex Badilla and the Tandem Paraglide of Costa Rica.
