Rains and possible floods were the forecasts for Puerto Rico today. Our flight activities for the northern area of the island were canceled in advance. Instead we decided to go to Lajas Valley.
Lajas Valley…
The Lajas Valley is our refuge when we want to fly and the weather conditions are not suitable for the island. There we always have a flight window that ranges from 6:30 to 8:30 AM. And today was no exception…
Already at about 6:00 AM, and even in the dark, we arrived to prepare equipment. The pilots Darwin Hernández, Edgardo Rivera with his wife Wilnelia, and Luis Ruiz were present together with the Ultralight pilots, Gilberto Saavedra and his wife, Arnaldo and Ricky. The friend Kathy Spaid also arrived, she would go flying with Luis to enjoy the majestic flight of the Valley covered with mist 💪.
For a somewhat improvised day. We were on time, with a large group of pilots and the Valley showed its beauty. In the background we could see the stormy area that would affect the island for the next two days…
Luis went out to fly with Kathy without major inconveniences. They were followed by Darwin, while Edgardo faced some problems to take off and his paraglider became wet. This made following attempts very difficult to execute 😑.
Darwin’s route was in the direction of the Cabo Rojo Lighthouse, while Luis and Kathy were flying in the direction of Guanica. Specifically in the direction of the sunflower field located at the entrance of the town. Each one of the flights surpassed the hour and 15 minutes of duration 💪.
Here are some of the short videos Kathy prepared as part of her flight.
There were some areas of the flight where the cold was so intense that it made both of them shiver on more than one occasion 🥶…
Cabo Rojo Lighthouse…
Upon landing…, the adventures of the day did not end there… Remember that Edgardo had not flown, and Darwin has limited time for his flights and will soon have to return to the USA. So after saying goodbye to the rest of pilots, the next stop was the Cabo Rojo Lighthouse. Specifically on the beach known as “Playa Sucia”. Luis, Edgardo and Darwin arrived there.
This time, and with the arrival of the storm to most of the island, the winds were soft and from the south. Also, to fly from there the distance to leave is very limited. Edgardo and Darwin were going to try it anyway. In the meantime, Luis kept an eye on security at the time of their attempts.
Here we present the videos of this visit. Luis ended his activity for the day. But… not for Darwin and Edgardo 🙄…
Añasco Fishermen Village…
Luis was back home, but Edgardo and Darwin decided to go to the Anasco Valley to try a flight. The storm had already arrived and covered practically the entire island. So, their chance are very limited. Darwin, before leaving the place, wanted to try a short fly, turn around and land. For this he would have to take off in a crosswind, not to say a tailwind wind direction. After several attempts, Darwin give up about his idea. Without first being able to record this video… 🤣.
Photos…