Diecisiete

We are leaving the Poblado district of Medellin and it is full of upscale and interesting restaurants shops and coffee houses.  We loved the pig in front of the butcher shop. 

The first leg of our multi day trip will take us south over the western mountains bordering Medellin. We will try to fly to our next site called La Pintada where we will land and stay the night at a hotel. 

Lots of artwork in the hotel to enjoy.

Breakfast was simple and the coffee was great.  We spent most of the morning loading waypoints on our flight instruments to help navigate the route. Matt "Farmer" Beechinor deserves a huge thanks for picking the route and choosing waypoints, while recovering from being sick for several days. 

Lots of tall buildings everywhere.

Flacko was on time and loading up was a snap.  The city was already heating up as the intense rays of the sun beat down on the concrete and tile jungle.  We endured lots of fumes from the traffic on the way up the mountain, knowing the air would be far more pristine and cool up at the clouds. 

On launch I had a Coke and remembered my namesake Marty Newberry. He was my dad's best friend growing up.  I took his name and remember fondly how generous and thoughtful he was to my sister and me. He was a Coca-Cola delivery driver and it's a wonder I wasn't too when I got older. He taught me to count to ten in Spanish. I miss him and will never forget him.

The launch was amazing.

We were in the air together right away but getting up to the clouds was challenging. After a while Destin, Dawn Farmer and Shane climbed out, and I was on thier tails. Brian and Jim followed a ways behind but well on thier way. 

Once at cloudbase we traversed the huge city below. It was serious, spectacular, and surreal.

Flying the clouds was truly amazing. I shot as much video as I could but vowed to focus on staying high, on course and safe.

We launched at around 7,600 feet. Cloudbase was as high as 10,000' but we flew into higher terrain making our height seem inadequate. At one point the clouds touched the ridge yet we were able to surf the edge of the cloud a thousand feet higher than base. A feat we've all heard of but seldom experienced. 

It became my favorite flight to date at this point.

In the end Farmer and I made it to goal first, but he got a stellar climb above tomorrow's takeoff point and pressed on to take advantage of the opportunity. I happily boated around for an hour with Brian and Destin who arrived last. Dawn, Jim and Josh landed short, but everyone was safe and happy to reunite, shower, eat, and finally sleep at an air conditioned hotel!

Surrounded by friendly kids, it is a nice welcome committee indeed.

I don't usually drink beer, but this time it was just the ticket. Brian, Destin and I toasted to a spectacular and rewarding day.

Today will be no less challenging, but I feel happy and relaxed. 

Gotta run!

Saludos de La Pintada, Colombia!

Martín