20^th May

After our trouble with the DPO got resolved the sun broke through and the next day dawned crystal clear. After breakfast we ordered a taxi and organized our equipment. Our last hurdle before we can drive up the hill is then presenting itself. As a retaliatory measure for standing up to the DPO he tries to force us to pay for an extra Jeep to take 5 guards up to the launch site. Our friend Farhad tells the lower ranked police to be reasonable and send us on our way with just one guard. The last problem before we are allowed to go is the guard himself who wants to sit in the front seat so he has a free range to shoot. We stand firm and after half an hour of arguing, phone calls and the arrival of the guards superior, we pack the guard in the back of the Jeep and we are go.

It is a forty minute drive to the launch site, climbing a thousand meters above the valley floor on a single lane track, bulldozed across big scree slopes that drop away steep inches away from the Jeep tires.

In the valley, spring is well advanced but up at the launch the trees are only just coming into leaf. From a blue sky in the morning it has developed into a cumulus garden around 11.30 and we lose no time getting ready to launch. We have two locals with us which we launch first as they are not used to fly in strong thermal conditions. We will need to get some radios sorted so we can talk them through some thermal action. For the moment they do just top to bottoms.  The thermals are strong and edgy and after a few passes I find a good one that takes me all the way to cloud base at 4300ASL. I want to take photos but every time I let go of my brakes I seem to fly into turbulence, which with this glider is not recommended.

 We boat around for a while above take off and then fly across to the east side of the main valley. Even though it is two years ago that we flew here, it all feels very familiar and I remember many of the key points where we used to find good lift or where we got a spanking.  We fly for a few hours till the sky start to darken to the South. I foresee some wind speed increase in the valley and turn around to decent to the town. As it works out, the wind has picked up already and I don’t quiet make it to the chosen landing field. I put down on the strip of dirt that is going to be the new bypass and Alex puts down right behind me. As I have flown over town there is a crowd of spectators the second I touch the ground. Some of them know about paragliding and pick up the glider before I have time to unclip or get out of my harness. Not to worry though, these people don’t have a dishonest bone in their body they are just curious and wanting to help. One calls our taxi driver and another the police to tell them that we have landed safely. Our guard shows up and people insist on carrying my gear back to the hotel which is just a few hundred meters away. Grey has landed on the Polo grounds and Dimitry and Glenn on the runway of the airport which is fine as there is only one plane per day that uses the airport.

Although this was only a short flight we all have found some things we want to adjust on our equipment to be ready for the big stuff. Finding space for the oxygen bottle and all the camping gear in the new light weight harnesses is a bit of a puzzle and some of us find out that flying with big gloves in small break handles is not easy.  We are all buzzing and looking forward to tomorrow.

PS. Photos later.