Day 23 (continued)

The defining landmark in Pokhara is Phewa Lake. We planned on catching the sunrise over the Annapurnas from the lake. Woke up at 5:20. Rented a boat just as the rental office was opening. Got on the lake at 5:50 and caught a beautiful view over the Annapurnas. Managed to see the elusive Annapurna I (8091 m) somewhere hidden between closer peaks.

Day 24 – October 11

Last day in Pokhara. Finally, the day we extended our stay here for. 5 days ago, when we booked, this day was the first available one. We were going paragliding!

It was a beautiful clear day (which apparently is bad for this sport). Had breakfast at our favorite cafe. Love the chocolate brownie there. Then got picked up by a minivan and taken up Sarangkot Hill.

The paragliding instructors were like some sort of local celebrities. Two of them were expats, with their “I rule the world” attitude. The other 4, Nepali, weren’t like the usual ones. Long hair, sunglasses –  they reminded me of Tom Cruise in Top Gun. One of the instructors shuffled our tickets, then each of them drew. Ram had my ticket, while Baloo had Andreea’s.

The top of Sarangkot Hill was packed. Pokhara is a top paragliding location and Sarangkot Hill is the starting point for all flights. Each morning, at 9:30, tens of gliders get launched from here. The minivan left us at the end of the road, from where we hiked a couple of minutes. Had to wait for a few minutes more, to have some ground available and the glider set up. A security guy was busy organizing everybody and making sure us noobs wouldn’t get tangled in any wires.

Got a helmet and a few instructions – pretty much “when I say run, you run and don’t stop”. Run off the top of the hill, that is. Well, I had confidence in my instructor. Since he’s doing this frequently and he’s still alive, I assume he knows his stuff. So he raised the glider, we started running and lifted off. Felt a little weird at first, seeing the ground move away from me, as I was hanging in my harness. Shifted my weight back and took a more comfortable position – something like sitting in a couch.

Not scary. Quite the opposite. Peaceful. Serene. I wasn’t even taking photos, just breathing in the view and the air. I guess my quietness scared Ram, as he asked me a couple of times if I’m OK.

As it was a clear morning, there were not a lot of thermals available. We didn’t catch any and had a short flight. Landed on the lake shore. Had a very smooth landing – I was imagining something more brutal (having to roll over to break the fall). Grabbed a soda while waiting for the minivan to take us back to the city.