Travelling light, Manu Bonte chases his childhood dreams in the ancient and sacred lands of the Inca in Peru. Words and photos: Manu Bonte
During all those years sitting at the back of the classroom, my wandering mind was fuelled by mostly two things: my teacher’s strange pronunciation of faraway places like Titicaca and Machupichu, and by Tintin comic books – especially the one where he ventures off in search of the Temple of the Sun. Finally, the day had come for me to seek out those crystal clear waters and long lost Incan treasures for myself.
Lima11 pm
Outside the airport the air is stifling even without the bustle of the locals streaming in to snatch up the arriving touristas. I’d been warned about the dodgy taxis and various cons, so Pablo Salinas was ready and waiting to escort me in his trusty 1965 Chevy Impala station wagon.
He lightened my heavy load by $10 – the price of some peace.The Hotel Espana is a delight – pure Baroque style in the city centre, charming and inexpensive. Pablo picked me up at the hotel the next morning – the fare now noticeably lower than the day before. Had I become less of a tourist overnight?
“Where to?” he asked. “El Parque del Amor” (Love Park). No joke, this is simply the name of a popular take-off site right in the centre of Peru’s sprawling capital.
Approaching launch I caught sight of a Proton GT doing SATs plus a MacTwist at 200m over the beach. Rainer “El Bicho” Binek is the pilot, one of the rare aerobats among the fewer than 50 Peruvian pilots. How he acquired such an impressive level of skill here is a complete mystery.
I’m travelling light with a 3.2kg Nervures Kenya XP glider and a 320g harness and content myself with some urban soaring above the cliff’s deep ravines and along the mirror-like facades of buildings.
Points South
To acclimatise, I head south, aiming for the 2600m White Arequipa. Near Cerro Azul the road follows the perfect coastal cliff for what seems like infinity. Although only a mere 100km away, it is in total contrast to the previous day.
Soaring over the sea cooled by the ‘Garua’ – a thick blanket of mist formed when air cooled by the cold Humboldt waters meets the coast – is a far cry from flying in the centre of a metropolis.
During the rest of Manu’s adventure through Peru he travels onwards through Huacachina, classic vision of a desert oasis where he unfolds his paraglider and indulges in some perfect sunset soaring before wrapping himself in the canopy and turning in for his first night in the desert. From there the adventure continues with flights and images from , the giant 1,400m sand dune Cerro Blanco, Arequipa, NazcaCurire, Titicaca, Cuzco and even Copacabana…Bolivia!
The full story along with Manu’s amazing pictures is featured in Cross Country issue 94 along with features on Jordan, Aragon in Spain, glider design, plus all the regular features such as There I Was, Icaristics and the ever popular Readers Clouds
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