Parapente en Lima

I went to Lima Peru to learn how to fly a paraglider under Lucho Munarriz, award winning acro-pilot and tandem instructor. Staying at the beautiful cliffside community of Miraflores, I spent the better part of 10 days flying up and down the coast of Lima and other sites nearby, drinking Pisco Sours, attempting to surf in the pacific, and hanging out with cool folks from the hostel.

My first lesson took me to the Lurin sand dunes about 30 minutes south of Lima, also known as the bunny hills of paragliding. After pointing out a few power lines and an army explosives test facility to avoid, my instructor strapped me into the harness, and I executed a windless running takeoff. The first feeling of flight on the glider was both exhilarating and very addictive.

After several practices on the bunny hill, it was time to move on to the real stuff. The next day, I was introduced to dynamic soaring along the cliffs of Miraflores. With the assurance of my instructor flying tandem, I practiced landing approaches, traffic etiquette (there were about 13 gliders in the air at one point), and finding terrain that generated lift. That night, I got to meet the fun loving (some slightly crazy) and passionate Peruvian paragliding community at a dinner party.

After more practice the next day, the instructor deemed me ready for my first solo flight. As the winds were strong but coming in from a southerly direction, we moved to a different location where the wind was more perpendicular to the cliffs. Unfortunately, this alternative location was a park, and taking off involved using the glider to pick me up about a yard off the ground to clear a fence and some thorny bushes.

The next few days were spent practicing solo under radio supervision until my instructor felt comfortable with letting me fly alone. At some point I was an hour in the air, landing for the bathroom and lunch. On a good day in Miraflores, you could climb to see the roof of the Mariott, one of the tallest buildings in the area, and climb even higher using the lift of the wind incident on the tower. You'll be high enough to see eagles and vultures soaring under you, the air no longer solely their domain.

To end the course, I was taught how to use the reserve parachute. Although I would have been more comfortable with that in the beginning, not knowing how to use the chute until the end definitely made me pay more attention during the course.

Having spent more than a week in Lima, it was time to move on to Cuzco, where I'll start a 5 day trek through the Andes ending at the Machu Pichu ruins. Stay tuned!