The sunshine persists this October so instead of sitting out the week of rain that I was anticipating and getting some much needed work done - "it "always" rains for 1 week in October! " - Judith & I planned a French 'mini-break' after the stress of 3 working days last week ;-) Saturday in the Cerdanya valley & Sunday at the Cathar castle of Peyrepertuse.

The 'duvet' effect over the Cadi

Saturday was seriously inverted in Cerdanya with an incredible duvet of cloud falling over the Cadi.

After launching into a sink cycle I plummeted down the slope until hitting some pint-size bubbles of rising air with sharp edges to them that pinged me back up again. I'm still working out how to get the best from my new wing so it wasn't the most comfortable flight ever but bit by bit I am learning more! After being bounced around the sky for a while I've come to the conclusion that I am just too light. So, 5kg of lead are now stashed in the cockpit and we will see what happens next ...

Sunday dawned sunny & warm again! We sat in the garden watching the sun hit the top of Canigou as we drank our morning tea moaning that we hadn't had any rain or bad weather pretty much all summer and how nice it would be to have a week of dull and dismal conditions - how bizarre we are!
The journey from Prades to Cathar country took an hour or so through vine-infested valleys with no landing fields anywhere. As we passed Queribus Castle the valley behind looked a little more friendly to dropping paragliders and we were greeted with the sight of Peyrepertuse on the rocky spine-back ridge. From afar the castle is almost impossible to see, its so well camouflaged amongst the rocks walls. As you get closer the towers and battlements appear on the skyline - the castle is totally stunning from the ground and even more so from above!

Those Cathars certainly had a good eye for a defensive position. Thermalling above this place is one of the most amazing experiences ever.
Flying in golden light over so much history is almost unreal ... 2 of my top 3 flights just a few weeks apart. This sport is incredible, we keep learning flight-by-flight & experiencing new levels of amazement!
And aside from all the scenic stuff, just for those interested in my weight issues ;-) the lead made a huge difference, but I still need another 3kg I reckon to really get to grips with turning/thermalling efficiently.
So the choices are eat a lot of pies or go back carrying too much ballast ... and since i can't afford the shopping trip that would result from 8kg extra flab its going to have to be more lead - ho hummmmm :(
But each day is like having a new wing as I get the weight balance sorted out ...  :-)

Having the chance to fly 'just for me' again is wonderful - I've done so much working-in-competitions this year and not enough flying in them. So these lucky great weather days are a major luxury :-)
I'm almost 'happy-happy!'