Hang Gliding Over Rio De Janeiro

There is something disconcerting about having a form thrust under your nose to sign that contains phrases such as “…risk of death…”, or “…you waive all right to take legal action in the event of serious injury”. When you’re putting your name to this kind of paperwork you can’t help but think “Why on Earth am I doing this?”

I’ll tell you why.

I arrived in Rio the week before as the Carnival was starting to get into full swing. It was a balmy February and the Cariocas were filling the streets with music, samba and good vibes. It may have been the party atmosphere and the embracing welcome the city seemed to be giving me and my fellow backpackers, but something made me want to stay. I also had a lot I wanted to do in the city. In a week of all-day fiestas and street parties, I had completely disregarded all of the sights and attractions that Rio has to offer.

There was a flyer posted to the notice board in our hostel that had caught my eye. The company name printed across the top of it was ASA Delta and a closer inspection revealed that Delta were offering tandem hang gliding flights. Did I dare do it? I had fallen in love with the scenery of Copacabana and Ipanema –  the long stretches of golden sand, lush green mountains rising from Guanabara bay and the sight of the iconic Cristo Redentor casting a watchful eye over the city from its hilltop perch. What better way to see all of this from high above, soaring over it all.

I made a casual enquiry to the hostel reception but in the back of my mind, I made a few excuses, putting it off until I had built up the courage to pull the trigger and book the trip. The receptionist made the 2-minute phone call, put down the receiver and informed me that I would be picked up the next day, weather permitting. That was it, it was booked and I wasn’t going to back out now.

I was collected from my accommodation the next morning to make the 25-minute drive over to the hang gliding club in São Conrado. It was here that I signed away my rights and put my life in the hands of my instructor, Konrad, a national hang gliding champion and record holder with over 28 years of experience. If I was going to survive leaping off the 512m high Pedra Bonita ramp with anyone, it was Konrad. We loaded back into the van to drive up through the dense jungle of Tijuca Forest national park and up to Pedra Bonita.

The great weather had seemed to bring out all of the extreme sports enthusiasts in Rio. Instructors with their passengers were lining up to leap from the summit and I watched with interest as I got kitted up and Konrad checked the glider. I was bundled into a harness that was slightly unforgiving in all the wrong places and a padded vest that made me look like I was heading out to diffuse bombs rather than have a fun day out in Rio. Often waiting can be the worst part of an experience like this, your mind playing out all the things that could go wrong or all the ways in which you could plummet to your death. Konrad explains to me how everything works – He will say ‘Ready’ and if I am still wanting to go through with this craziness, I’ll say ‘ready’ back. We then have to run, and I mean really run. “If you don’t run fast enough we will not get enough speed to fly” Konrad informs me. He punctuated this with the kind of hand movement you do to show a plane plummeting to the ground. My nerves were back.