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Paragliding

By Limisa S Ali
the Hungs we've ever did, II jumping off a cliff has to be the craziest thing" commented my best friend Alice, as she tied her shoelaces. I didn't bother to reply as I was tned in vain to calm the butterflies fluttering frantically In my stomach We were due at the paragliding center in forty minutes After smearing on some sunscreen, we left the quaint hotel room, and drove downtown to Oludeniz, the tourist holiday resort on the southern coast of Turkey, where we were spending the last of the summer days.
The previous evening, when Alice and I were exploring the town pulsating with lights, color, and music, we discovered that the seemingly peaceful town actually had a myriad of exhilarating activities just waiting to be tried out by the hoard of tourists flocking Ol. deniz. The thought of esc ?ping under the sea for the Jay with the company of experienced scuba divers, or challenging the ferocious rapids on white water rafts, attracted tourists to the sports centers. But it was the prospect of jumping off a 6550ft cliff and flying into the salty Mediterranean winds that appealed to us As soon as Alice and I mustered up enough nerve, we signed up at the "Sky Sports" and were scheduled to paraglide at noon the next day
When we boarded the jeep on the big day, we were dismayed to see that not only were we the youngest, but also, much to our vexation, also the only ones who had never been paragliding before. The jeep slowly bounced up the rocky tracks of the mountain, which loomed high above Oludeniz Alice worriedly watched the town shrink every minute as the jeep swerved dangerously at every curve of the road. Prickly twigs and bits of rock flew in and grazed the bare skin of my thighs as we bundled through forests of dark green pine trees.
We stopped at the top of the mountain, on a vast stretch of barren land where the dry. howling winds scattered red sand and made our s vm suits dirty. Alice and I stood uncertainly b / the jeep wailing for someone to approarh us Cemal Ovet and Mehmet Oncul. two young pilots soon came to our rescue I followed Cemal my assigned pilot, to the spot close to the edge of the cliff After helping me into the wind resistant sky suit. Cemal attached the large parachute and our body suits together. He then told me to run towards the edge of the cliff, and jump onto his harness once we were no longer on the ground. I thought Cemal was crazy if he thought that a person who was afraid of getting a tetanus shot would actually jump off a cliff. Yet, miraculously my legs started moving towards the rocky edge. and. before I knew it, we were soaring in the sky, the world 6550-ft blow us. The parachute started wrestling fiercely due to the harsh winds that thrashed violently near the jagged boulders of the mountain Fortunately, Cemal was able to steer us away from the wild waves of wind that nearly blew us off course and deep into the sea that glittered like a sinister jewel under the sun. Oludeniz. Antalya, and Fethiye, the largest cities of the Mediterranean coast now looked like a mere Lego towns nestling under the mountains from my bird's eye point of view After flying around for ten minutes. I wasn't feeling "calm and tranquil' as Sky Sports secretary promised when Alice and I signed up^ I felt as if the blazing midday sun was roasting me alive in my heavy sky suit. The harsh rays of light pierced my eyes and made my stomach churn until I tasted bile Just as I thought I was going to faint, I started to realize we were (finally!) descending rapidly towards the ground, the trees and houses speeding behind us as Camel instructed. I started to move my legs as we approached the paragliding runway on the beach.
"I will never take living on earth for granted again" I thought as I took of my body suit and watched Alice descend.