Parapente over the city

The weather has been superb for these 4 days in Medellin. I have never done paragliding but they offer it here. It's an activity splurge but this is a good one. I took a rickety but very fast bus up all the way to the top and hung out for a good hour at the launch site watching them float on the wind and the thermals.

It's like hanging from a kite and while it looks very smooth when you are watching them float by when you're actually flying there is a lot of wind and you can totally feel a ton of forces acting on the chute. It's probably as close to being a bird we humans could ever be. I was able to sink into the seat and relax a little. Of course the pilot which I was thankful for, needed to come down towards the end and he did so by executing a spiral which put enormous g-forces into my seat and the blood rushed from my head right into my toes. It's dizzying. Paragliders are something else!

Had a nice lunch at the lookout restaurant and got a ride back down to town from two young Puerto Ricans who were on vacation.

In the afternoon I went to parque Arvi by gondola. On the way back I got to sample a slice of Colombian life. Their lives are colorful, full of action, music, and they hustle bustle. I had a Caprimagna, a cheese filled deep fried dough ball with hot sauce. Yummy.Read more