When we were talking about our trip to Ölüdeniz, everyone decided they
were in for paragliding. At first, I decided I wouldn't do it. I mean,
as the saying goes, if all your friends jump off a cliff, are you going
to jump too?
Family and friends know I am terrified of heights. Also extreme, dangerous activities, but mostly heights. When we were in Switzerland, Paul wanted to go
canyoning. I vetoed and instead we went biking through the Alps (just regular old bikes, no fancy, speed increasing motors for us).
Then I thought about it some more. Read up on it online and researched the sport. I was wavering, thinking maybe, just maybe I could jump off the cliff.
Finally, Paul made a bet with me - he said he didn't think I would do it. The wager? House cleaning. You can see he was pretty positive that I would NOT jump off a cliff, or as he says it was reverse psychology at work.
And like my usual self, I had to prove him wrong.
We had a reservation to jump on our last afternoon in Ölüdeniz. After our morning trip to
Fethiye, we headed back for our paragliding appointment. On the drive up to the mountain, I was anxious. The ground looked so far! The fall off the edge of the road seemed precipitous, ignoring the fact it wasn't a cliff!
Then, after a few tears and watching some others go off first, the fear vanished. I was strapped in to my guide, who was strapped into our parachute. He told me to run and I did. Straight off the edge of a cliff.
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| What we hoped wasn't our last picture together |
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Yes, you literally run off the edge. Luckily, air picks you up
before you actually reach the edge, so there's no drop |
Once you are up in the air, it seems like nothing. So we're 2,000 meters off the ground? No biggie. My guide put some music on mostly to entertain himself, but it also helped me to continue to feel at ease. I could literally sit back and enjoy the views.
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| Burak and I enjoying the ride |
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Hey Paul! Right before they started
doing acrobatics. I wasn't quite
that brave, yet |
It is worth it alone for the views - the beaches are gorgeous from the ground, but from above you can really see the blue of the water, the contrast of the mountains and beaches. Depending on the wind and weather, you can be up in the air for hours if you find the right thermals (pockets of hot air).
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| Belcekiz Beach |
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| Blue Lagoon |
Then, just like that, we were losing altitude and flying over the city for our landing. The time literally flew by and I was wishing for just a little more time up in the air above paradise.
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| We're alive! |
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