The Principality is an ideal scenario for free flight, the abundance of medium and high mountain summits are an ideal shuttle from which to initiate vertiginous air routes, with descents of authentic scenic merit and immeasurable panoramic views whose single vision releases more adrenaline than any other adventure activity. In fact, paragliding is a sport that was born of mountaineers who wanted to quickly descend the peaks they had climbed.
The passion of flying it has a dreamlike sense; Dreaming that we can imitate birds has always been present in all cultures. Paragliding is a contemporary tool available to all those people who lack vertigo and who want to make their dream come true, check how much it seems to "fly" to "dream that we fly": stillness, silence, security too, for in reality, If you fly with your head and the basic rules are obeyed, we can feel as invulnerable as in our most trusting dreams.
It is necessary to get on a paraglider in ideal weather conditions. It can be done on sunny days without clouds, where flights are quiet. Although some ancestry is also sought, for which there must be clouds, which is what marks the thermals. Between flying with a completely clear day or with storm clouds, which are dangerous, there is a very broad mean in which that rising air is generated that interests us.
Another capital rule is fly always accompanied and be informed first hand with the pilots native to the aerological conditions of the area. On the one hand, without any prior knowledge, we can get on a two-seater manned by monitors. On the other, we can aspire to manage the flexible wing ourselves, for which it is essential to develop a course that in Asturias teach several schools. After classes we will be better able to know what we have in hand and know our own limits, and interpret the movement of wind currents to hold more time in flight. Only well prepared can we experience one of the greatest sensations of freedom known.
It's about taking off, flying and landing on your own. The takeoff is done on foot from the edge of a slope facing the wind. The pilot sits in a harness, attached to the sail by two carabiners. Use a helmet, often has an emergency parachute, and usually a varioaltometer, GPS and radio equipment.
As has been reiterated, the local pilots' contest to start this kind of aerial windsurfing is an essential condition. They are the ones who will advise us of the specific enclaves that exist in Asturias and that in recent years have been consolidating in municipalities such as Gijón, Sariego, Proaza, Llanes, Cangas de Onís, Avilés, Navia or Aller.
En Cangas de Onis:
The lookout of Següencu, very close to the town of Cangas de Onís and with 700 meters of altitude above sea level, is a meeting place for paragliders from the region of the East and all of Asturias every week.
Text: © Ramón Molleda for asturias.com
