Well, it’s time for my semi-annual guest-post. But what a day to blog about.

The adventure actually started yesterday when Lidia and I made our way down to the town of Dominical. One of the activities we had noticed immediately after booking this particular AirBnB was “Zion Paragliding” nearby – we made bookings for flights on consecutive days (someone would need to stay back with the littles). Unfortunately, the sky was overcast, and when we arrived at the designated meeting point I received a text – “Sorry but the weather isn’t good today – can you rebook?” Sigh. Sure.

But being April 1st, and returning more than an hour early, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to prank Steph and Evie with a story about a failed jump, bodies in the canopy, and all flights being cancelled while the authorities investigate.

This morning I was delighted to wake up to clear, sunny skies and a light breeze. We set off again with fingers crossed for the 10am rendezvous with our pilots, knowing Steph and Evie’s afternoon booking hinged entirely upon the success or failure of our own mission.

Three guys met us at Mama Toucan’s Organic Grocery right on time – a Frenchman, a Spaniard and an Argentinian – all multilingual and with 30+ years of experience between them despite their combined ages seeming to be about 40. We piled into their Land Cruiser with chute packs on the roof and set off on a 20 minute drive up a very, very, very steep hill to the jump point.

The view from the top of the mountain was incredible – we could see all the way to Quepos, an hour’s drive away, where we went fishing (not catching) a few days earlier. We scribbled on a couple of waivers, knowing if anything went seriously wrong there wouldn’t be much left of us to worry about a lawsuit. And, without much need for a briefing, we were strapped in and running off the edge of a cliff within ten minutes.

With the wing open above, it wasn’t nearly as much of a plummeting drop as I had imagined. Rather, we just stepped off the side and floated away. I was immediately struck by just how calm and comfortable it was. The harness is designed like a seat, with an air cushion on the bottom (more on that later), and my pilot, Chase, said to just sit back into the harness and get comfortable. So I did. If Aladdin had a flying settee instead of a carpet, it would feel exactly like that.

Lidia had jumped before me and was already floating along with her pilot, Fernando, spiraling up into thermals and gliding over the jungle. We were able to look down and find our house, knowing Steph and the kids were down there waving up at us. Sadly, we couldn’t hear them screaming “LIDIAAAAAA!!!”

After about 20 minutes of soaring, we made our way down towards the primary landing zone at Dominical Beach. I watched Lidia gently touch down, then lined up for our own approach. The pilot told me to just lift my feet and let the airbag do the rest – we glided down over the beach, flared, and set down gently on the sand.

Needless to say, we were both beaming when we got home, telling Steph and Evie – who up to this point had been a bit lukewarm on the whole idea (not helped by the prior day’s hilarious prank) – that this is an opportunity not to miss. We showed them a few videos and our lack of injuries, and they were sold.

Steph and Evie set off for the afternoon booking which seemed just as incredible – perhaps more so as they were able to climb all the way into the clouds and maneuver together for some formation flying. The look on Evie’s face in the videos captured by her pilot’s GoPro made the entire trip a success as far as I’m concerned. Worth. Every. Penny.

There may have been a minor incident involving a dead dog, broken glass, and threats of bodily harm to conclude their experience, but that’s a story for another day. Pura vida.

~Amir