ONE

The day started well and ended well.

I had 3 people to guide and we all followed the comp pilots towards La Union and then back past launch to Roldanillo where we all landed together.

The comp went further but everyone was tired and hungry in our group so we chose to take it easy on the first day Retrieve was upon us just as I finished packing

Soon we were all sitting around tables eating a huge meal near the soccer field back in La Union. 

Cheers!

OTB

The day dawned sunny and warm, with what looked like great flying potential. 

We ate ham omelets with cheese, and strong Colombian coffee. We jumped in the Toyota and made our way to launch. There was wind up top and we felt it on launch. This is not typical of a good day. 

We got our gear ready and waited patiently for an hour or more until finally the sun came out and the thermal heat blocked the wind just long enough to get is all off in two groups. A few other pilots launched too, a few did not. We ran to the flats to escape the turbulence of the mountain. Half the group landed near Roldanillo and got rides back. 

Brad and I found a good climb to 8,000' and crossed the valley fast (13 mph tailwind) to the east side with Will and Brian close behind. We arrived at the city of Zarzal and circled with vultures in the strong wind, careful not to drift away from a soccer field we chose to land in.  Will landed first, then Brad, Brian and me. 

A reception of kids were waiting for each of us as we landed. They were curious of my blue eyes and asked that I remove my sunglasses to see them for themselves. 

We said our good-byes, walked a block to the bus stop, hopped on the first one to Roldanillo  where we had a nice lunch.

Half a chicken with rice and beans, small salad and potatoes.  Yum! After eating we caught a bus back to La Union and then a tuk-tuk to the hotel.  A dip in the pool was the ticket before dinner.  I love this place. Our guests arrive tomorrow night. We are ready to go. Cheers!

Flight one!

I was up early after setting my alarm for 6 instead of 7am. Clouds filled the sky but as everyone woke up, we remained hopeful. 

After a nice breakfast, we literally piled 8 pilots and gear into a land cruiser and  were up at launch inside of a hour. 

Up top the clouds were already around us. 

The altitude is over 5k and I felt it as I climbed the stairs.  It was getting lighter and some sun poked through. Cycles on launch were good and stronger than normal. Two tandems launched first and we followed soon after them as they climbed out above launch. 

Everyone got up and most of us made it back to La Union at the soccer field.  Brad and I flew with a bunch of birds over town and it was really beautiful over the city. 

After landing we confirmed everyone was accounted for and walked to a nice lunch spot together while we waited for a few others to be retrieved.  

A great warm-up for the tour. All smiles at lunch.  The south wind was unusual for here, but we still had good flights. 

Maybe we will have an even better day tomorrow. Cheers.

The Eagles have landed

Our hotel is really nice. Its set back from the town yet still an easy walk. Today was just beautiful, sunny, warm and the moisture in the air was a nice touch coming from dry conditions at home. 

The sky was perfect with puffy cumulus marking the lift and birds and pilots were visible all day, gliding around silently connecting the clouds and circling high above the hot windless ground in invisible elevators of air. 

In the town center we ran some errands to prep for the pilots arriving Saturday. A fruit smoothie break was a divine way to give us a break from the heat of the city.

Mango/pineapple/banana is my new favorite. Rob and Marite are a great team and it was fun to hang with them all day.

Flying is the venue for tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to my first flight here. Brad said his flight was about 4 hrs long today, cruising all over the place and landing back near the hotel at the end. That sounds good to me. 

Cheers!

On my way!

My ride showed up on time at 1:55am and Dropped me at LAX 1 hour later.

There was a huge line but somehow my 2 giant bags helped me to get near the front of the line thanks to one very nice agent. Even with a last minute weight equalizing move, I was among the first to TSA screening. Surprisingly my carry on was too heavy, and not my tandem and solo wing bags. The nice guy at the counter allowed me to put 5lbs extra in each of my wing bags to lighten my carry on. Cool!. Now I sit at my gate, it's 4:30 am. Still an hour+ before my flight. I love no stress departures like this.

And so far no extra fees for all this stuff. Gotta love international flights!

The flight is nice so far and the USB jack allows my phone to top off on juice. 

 Reds 2 was the perfect movie choice, allowing me to slip off into sleep and rest without worry of missing the plot. French toast with raisins, raspberry yogurt  and a roll would have been plenty for breakfast, but now I am enjoying a warm chicken torta with pineapple-guava nectar to sip with it over lunch. Nice!

A 3 hour layover in Panama will allow me to move around a bit and stretch while switching planes for Cali to arrive at 7:50pm.  There I meet with the rest of the Eagle team and catch a 2 hr van to Roldanillo.  Who knows, I could be in bed by 11:00 if our excitement doesn't keep us up longer. 

Ciao 

Pine Mountain!

Driving through coastal fog today was a cool way to start the drive up to Pine Mt and try to get high and go big. 

The SoCal league was there to give it a go as well. The first pilots got up and specked out at around 11am. I got out there and was at 11k in no time.  As we crossed the badlands several got low but it seemed most everyone made it to the Lockwood Valley.

From there I suspect a few landed and some made the truck stop LZ turn point. It was pumping at Frazier Mt. And cumulus began to pop all around. I flew back with Ron who had a harrowing yet ultimately safe landing involving strong gusty winds, dust devils and power lines so he could land next to Bob. Tom was there in no time to pick them up, having landed earlier, hitched back to his car at the sand pile LZ and raced out to scoop is all up. After Ron's ordeal, I opted to speck out and try to fly back to Ojai and succeeded.

It was going off everywhere now so climbing to 14k was easy on the way back. 

Looking back it was hard not to continue on to the desert and chase Stephan who was way out there trying to make it to the Owens valley. 

I had to go fetch my kids from Grandma's house anyway so this was actually the perfect outcome for me. 

The glide was 7:1 and it only got easier.  

My landing was windy and turbulent right as I touched down but it was a soft landing and grassy for packing.  The guys on retrieve are kindly picking up my truck on top and driving it back to me here at the school where we met this am. 

Ta dahhh!

Landed near 3 pm and could have thrown in with Chris with FlyAboveAll, who was loading his suburban for the glass off. Instead he called winds via radio for my landing (thanks a ton!) and I opted to let my truck come to me to save time. Thanks Tom, Ron, and Bob for the flying fun and for driving back my truck. 

Looks like the glass off could be huge 

Time to relax in the shade.  

Cheers,

Marty 

Day 12 cancelled. Awards tonight

Yesterday seemed busy, especially for not having a task. Eventually we went back to the monument and had a photo shoot of sorts, each of us taking pictures of each other and Niels shooting video of us swooping and wing overing near the huge monolith. 

Eric Reed

Josh Cohn below swooping for Niels

Nicky the meet director was there too to enjoy the evening air. Really great guy and did a super job as meet director. 

Josh

It's really big!

Arnie putting away the wing for the last flight in Bulgaria. 

Eventually we drove back to Sopot and headed to the "restaurant by the pool" a first for me. 

It was really a beautiful spot on a very warm and pleasant night. 

You would never know how nice this place looks from the road.  Glad we went here. 

We had thought about coming here earlier in the day yesterday, but the flying was worth it.  This would have been nice though. 

Nothing like a Jack and Coke to make me feel right at home.  Others had mojitos. We all took it easy, but we all pretty much knew it would take the equivalent of a weather miracle to fly the next day. Nonetheless we would be ready just in case. 

Dinner was excellent and we lounged in the pool chairs after dinner and watched a blood red harvest moon rise on the horizon. Very relaxing. 

This morning was windy early at the house and the lenticular clouds up high confirmed the forecast was spot on. 

I grabbed our team lunches from the team leader meeting and opted for bananas again. 

We had a leisurely breakfast that was some sort of sweet custard with rigatoni pasta throughout. Interesting. I cleaned my plate and had a hard boiled egg too. 

This will be our last meal courtesy of Anna.  She was really great. Every time we thank her she smiles and says "No problem" and it seems that is very much the case for her. She maintains the yard, feeds the cats, pigeons, and turtles. Keeps up the house, does laundry, and the list goes on and on.  

When she does have a moment, I have seen her take a break on Facebook. Gotta stay connected!

Eric charting with Niels, post interview. 

We hope to shoot some interviews with Niels this afternoon and then try to go shopping before the awards ceremony. There might just be a video to remember this place by!  Thanks Niels. 

That's it for now. Maybe I'll have time to blog from Munich on my layover, or perhaps when I get home?  

It's been a grand experience for me. I am grateful for this opportunity and hope to have many more blog worthy experiences in the future. 

See everyone stateside!

Marty

I miss my family and am ready for the flight home. Thanks for all the support from home. 😘