High as a kite
Leaping into the air, hundreds of metres above the jungle that surrounds Rio de Janeiro, all I can do is open my mouth in wonder. 'We're flying,' I say, somewhat stunned, to Pedro, who's guiding the hang-glider with the grace of a condor. 'Like a bird,' he replies with a grin.
Mountains surround Rio, providing a beautiful frame for the canvas of beaches dotted with girls wearing dental-floss bikinis. Past Ipanema, towards the affluent neighbourhood of Sao Conrado, the national park of Pedra Bonita serves as an ideal launch pad for hang-gliders.
Pedro Beltrao is only 26, but has been hang-gliding since he was 15 and has escorted more than 5,000 tandem clients. He picks me up from my hotel, after taking up a 70-year-old Australian woman who was beside herself with delight. 'You should have seen her face,' he says, calming my nerves at the thought that I'd soon be jumping off a cliff. 'I know it's safe, but just how safe is it?' I ask. At that a truck swings into oncoming traffic, Pedro takes a sharp right and the truck misses our fibreglass buggy by inches. 'Up there, we're a lot safer than down here,' says Pedro without missing a beat.
Parking the buggy after a steep ride to the top, we approach a wooden launch pad that drops off into empty space. My nerves are tingling. An assistant unpacks the glider, which seems too light and small to keep me alive. Pedro places my arm on his shoulder, and my other hand holds a strap on my harness. We have to run at speed together off the platform. 'Don't look down and don't try to grab anything,' he says. 'One guy, he stuck his finger in my eye.'
We take a few practice runs, then a few minutes later the glider is set to launch. Pedro fastens a camera to the side of the wing and straps us in. We start running, until there's no more timber left beneath our feet.
There's no noise save for the wind. The speed and grace are electrifying. Two condors are flying at eye level with us, as if daring me to touch them. 'We like the birds, they show us where the thermals are,' says Pedro, clearly enraptured by yet another day at the office. At that he gently shifts the control bar and we swoop up, gaining altitude, and yet another serious thrill.
It might be the wind, but tears are streaming from my eyes. Slowly we descend in giant circles, staring at the beaches, houses and sea. Coming in to land he unfastens my leg strap and we quickly accelerate. It feels as if we're going to crash, but at the last moment Pedro pushes the bar, the wings rise and we land as softly as if we'd jumped off a low stool. I scream with joy and relief, give him a bear hug and stare at the birds above, my head still very much in the clouds.
