Hang Gliding in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

After watching the movie Rio, we knew we had to do Hang Gliding, or our own Rio de Janeiro experience would never be complete! ;)

Was it scary?

My pilot Max gave me very easy instructions.. but it was my execution I was worried about. 

He told me to trust him. And I did trust him so much. 

He told me that for take off.. just look at the island in front, do not look at the floor, run, run faster, accelerate, and never stop. If because of fear, you will suddenly stop, we will both fall off the cliff!

I was not scared of flying. I was very excited to fly!

I was scared of not being able to run as fast as I had to. And I was scared of getting lost at what to do with my legs during landing. 

Hang gliding is like an airplane.. the take off and landing are very important. 

So during the whole preparation.. the only thing RUNNING in my mind was to.. RUN.. just RUN.. RUN.. RUN as fast as you can..

I never even entertained the word STOP. 

The ramp was short.. and everything happened so fast, that before I could even check on my legs, they were already in the air! We were already flying!! :)

I always wished I could fly, and this was the closest I could get to it! And I loved it!!

And then I asked Max.. Are we ok? Was my running ok?

He said.. Yes, you did very well!

A sigh of relief..

And the landing? Yes, I also did well ;P

So, here's a short video of our amazing experience.. at Sao Conrado, 20 minutes away from Ipanema. We took off from Pedra Bonita mountain, and landed on Pepino Beach.

Enjoy!! :)

And by the way, if you are planning to do this, dedicate a few days for it, because the activity is dependent on wind and weather conditions. The flights can get cancelled or postponed anytime.

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References:

Rio Adventures - www.rioadventures.com

Nov 2014 - Hang Gliding for 8 to 20 Minutes, inclusive of pictures and 1 video - BRL 475

Lencois Maranhenses, Brazil