You’re never too old to try something new!

Having a little more fun in early 2020!

After Mark and I returned from London in late 2019 where we had accepted an award for the World’s Most Romantic Hotel, we spent the holidays in the U.S. with our family and returned to Costa Rica early January 2020.

We were looking forward to this high season as the hotel was (finally) fully booked and we had many friends and family coming to visit in January and February.

When we had visitors, it always gave Mark and me the chance to do a new activity or try something new! A few years before, on my 50^th birthday, we tried surfing for the 1^st time.

In January, we saw a humpback whale and her calf during whale season, and in February, we visited the biggest waterfall in our area, Nauyaca, with Mark’s brother and his wife.

My friend Karolina was heading to India for an intensive yoga training, and we got together to practice yoga one last time until she would return in April.

In early March, we scheduled a photo shoot of the hotel, and we had a group that booked the entire hotel to celebrate a 40^th birthday.

We were finally having a little more fun in this hotel adventure!

I was finally shedding the stress of the last few hotel-owning years! We had overcome the perfect storm; figured out how to run a luxury hotel, restaurant and spa; learned the laws and regulations of a foreign country; completed a major reconstruction project; and learned to speak Spanish pretty well. We were cruising!

As my 52^nd birthday approached, Mark asked me if there was anything special that I wanted to do.

From our panoramic view at the hotel, we had seen paragliders at times soaring in the sky above. At that moment, I decided that I wanted to paraglide!

I asked Mark if he would do it with me. His answer-hell no! I asked our neighbor friends if they wanted to join me. Also, a hard no. But they all said they’d come to watch me!

I’m not sure Mark actually thought I was serious, but a few days before my birthday, I got the number for the local paragliding company and gave them a call. I scheduled my paraglide session for Sunday, March 8^th, 2020. We also planned to meet our friend Ragnar afterwards for lunch, as his wife, Karolina, was now in India.

The morning of my 52^nd birthday, Mark, our friends and I, set off to the next town to meet the paraglide guide. After signing the ‘required’ documents (not sure required by whom?!), we drove up a road to the launch area – a plateau at the top of a mountain at about 2000 feet elevation. There was another paraglider that day, and we both were outfitted with our harness and helmet. It was decided that he would go first, while we all watched.

Helmeted and Harnessed!

We were explained the process: We would be harnessed together with the guide positioned in back and me in the front. When the guide sensed that the wind was just right, we would run together toward – and off - the edge of the mountain side and the wind should then catch under the parachute, and we’d be off! Sounded easy enough…

First up, the other guy. When the wind was right, the guy and his guide ran toward and off the mountain side. He was a big guy, and to our surprise, they sank - fast. Their feet dragged through the brush and treetops below the edge of the plateau. For a moment, it looked like they were going to crash down the side of the mountain! Finally, the wind filled the parachute, and they soared!

Now it was my turn. Mark and our friends asked if I had changed my mind. Nope. I was ready – and excited! Unfortunately, the wind had died down and my guide wasn’t sure we would be able to take off today. Oh, no! I wanted to do this on my birthday! I didn’t want to wait.

I think this made Mark and my friends a little nervous. We all saw how the last guy had a moment of falling before the wind really caught. What if I’d do the same and there’d be no wind? For some reason, I wasn’t afraid. I always thought it would be cool to be a bird and really see things from above. Living in our area surrounded by jungle, there were so many things that were hard to see from the ground. No. I was doing this.

After a few tries with no wind catching the chute, we finally got a good enough burst of wind, and I was instructed to ‘run’! Running forward with the guide attached behind and dragging a parachute was no easy task. It looked and felt like we were “running” in super slo-mo. But I was determined. This was my chance! I ran as fast as I could, jumped off the side of the mountain, and swoosh, was lifted into the air!

It was incredible!

We were flying! I could see the ocean, and the hillside and we flew past the starting point a few times to wave at Mark and our friends and take some pictures (and so they could see that I was ok!). Then we were off flying – gliding – above the earth. I saw houses, the highway, things I could never have seen from the ground. When I looked straight down, I was amazed at how high we were! The ground was soooo far! With just a helmet, a harness, a chute and this guy behind me steering.

For a brief moment, I wondered if he knew how to land. Where were we going to land? And how? We didn’t cover that. I put all that out of my mind and just took it all in. With my guide asking in my ear if I was ‘all good’, we glided on. I think in total we glided about 30 minutes.

I truly felt like I was having an out of body experience.

When it was time to land, he pointed to a field – a cow pasture – where we would be landing. He asked me if I tended to get motion sickness as the descent and the ground rushing toward us on the landing might be dizzying. Oh uh. Could’ve asked me that on the front end! Shit, yes, I get motion sick. I’ve puked on airplanes my whole life until I had kids. I can’t do boats unless it’s on a very, calm lake. Well, I thought, I’m not gonna let that happen today!

The guide told me that I should run as my feet hit the ground and to keep running until the chute collapsed. Ok, let’s do it! As the ground rushed toward me, I felt a little queasiness rise up. I can’t puke, I thought. The guide was behind me! If I did, it’d go right in his face!

As my feet hit the ground, I could not run. I just plopped on my butt. In a cow field. Surrounded by piles of manure. Practically sitting on my guide’s lap. Covered by the parachute. Once seated, the rush of the trip, the rush of the landing, all settled, and I turned my head to the side and puked!

The guide unstrapped us and asked how I was. Can we do it again, I asked! I absolutely LOVED it. I loved the sense of freedom, the views, the flying.

I did it!

We gathered our stuff, walked to where the van was going to pick us up and drove to meet Mark and our friends at a little restaurant at the bottom of the hill where we started. Mark and our neighbors greeted me and asked how it was. I whispered to Mark that I puked at the end but otherwise it was awesome!

We said goodbye to the guide and headed down the highway to the Ballena Bistro to meet Ragnar for lunch for my birthday.

As we sat down for lunch, I noticed this little sign near the table.

How apropos. I successfully paraglided on my 52^nd birthday!

You only live once. Do it while you can.

Who knows what’s to come?

And now looking back at March 2020, we all know what was to come.

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