Toerke

Day four I’m going to have a look. I’ve been getting reports on inversion, 360, 180, S-turns and thermals. Wild stories about concentration and adventure. So I’m going to have a look. The jeep bends itself around the corners to the mountain top near Sarangkot. And there he is, my pilot to be, my superhero, Captain Courageous, on top of the mountain surrounded by 8000ers way above the Phewa Tal. He runs forward dragging along a web of lines, a sail of hope. Within seconds Kees is one with the sky and the birds of prey. What started off as a trial, a little taste, has become a quest for more, THE certificate, license to flying fun. I stay on the mountain and behold the wonder of aerodynamics, the conquest of gravity. Kees is floating, Kees is gliding, doing roundabouts, S-curves and lands almost flawlessly – one foot in the wet paddy.

I keep both feet on the ground, but am in cloud nine as I meander down Sarangkot mountain. The stone staircase leads me to villages, baffled buffaloes, postcard panoramas and laughing children with a taste for chocolate. Unfortunately, the blazing sun makes such presents virtually impossible. I take a break on the terrace and slowly descend to Lakeside.

While Kees is learning the thermal tricks of the trade and the glider, I go into meditation for three days. Kundalini, vipassana, no mind, out goes the gibberish, all chakras back in line, the broth of bliss simmering over the gentle flames of my soul. We’re having fun floating through the days. Soon we’ll be heading out to Chitwan National Park again for an elephant shower – hot or cold, cool man!