Sies

The sky is dark today. 

It could mean a slower heating day and better flying. Yesterday started cloudy but sunned up so abruptly that clouds overdeveloped and rained until the sky once again clouded over and mellowed out. 

Oatmeal or porridge with apple and guava chunks made for a tasty breakfast today. Ali our cook is flying tandem with Rob. She has flown once before with Rob tandem in Santa Barbara and flew to 9000', a personal best for Rob at the local site and a heck of an intro for her. 

The Cipriano vehicle or "chipree" as we call it is right behind us in the way up as usual.  The guides usually ride in Flacko's vehicle. 

Flacko's jeep. 

Flacko goes by several names such as John or John jeep, Freddy or Freddy Flacko. It took me a while to put it all together that it as all the same guy. He is an accomplished pilot as well and flies tandems as a local guide too. He takes great pride in his work as retrieve and coordinates with Cipriano to pick everyone up as soon as possible. It is really impressive. 

The man who is Flacko. 

Everyone sends him a text with their full name and gps coordinates. He looks on his map and fetches the hard to reach guys while Cipriano scoops up groups of pilots from Flacko at the main road rendezvous spots when he is full so he can go back on chase for more. 

John Spitzer finishing the hike up to launch. 

The sky stayed overcast and dark as we sat surrounded by cloud on launch with the wind blowing from over the back of the hill at up to 8 mph.  It made for a much cooler hike today but there would be limited soaring. 

The easy way to deliver gliders. 

I saw this cool bug on launch. 

After an hour of patient cool waiting, brad and Koyoko launched into a hole in the cloud followed by others soon after. A few made it back to our town, the rest and I landed directly below.  We packed up on grass and were picked up a few minutes after we hiked to the road. We headed straight to my the chicken place!

We nearly cleaned out the rotisserie chicken place.  It was amazing as usual. 

We ate like savages and the got back on the Cipri back to the hotel. Brian bought a horn at a store that sounds like a ocean ship at sea.  Can't wait to hear it at cloud base!  

Now I'm hanging up my laundry that I washed while in the shower. I have a fan in my doom and everything will be dry before I go to sleep. 

I miss my family and our two cute dogs too! I love you Mia and Darla, Joe and Andrea, my sweet Carmen and the pooches Sam and Rosie! Thank you for letting me be here living my dream. 

"Con abrazos y besos" 

Ciao,

Marty