Paragliding: Oludeniz, Turkey

I have too many hobbies.  I know this.  But each one of them is so much fun, I can't help it.  Paragliding might just be the best one of all.  My poor paragliding wing has sat mostly unused for the year I've been living in the UK.  Not because there aren't flying sites here, but because I really hate driving to a launch just to sit and wait.  Parawaiting is a national sport in the UK, as the the wind and weather just don't work out too often here.

Cue a trip down to Oludeniz, Turkey.  It might just be the best place for paragliding I've ever seen.  The weather is hot and dry and sunny, the seas are warm and clear and blue, and the winds are consistently calm.  Best of all, within a 45 minute drive of the beach is a 6500 ft mountain ridge called Babadag, which has multiple launch sites for all wind directions, and a clear view of the landing area (the beach).  I flew almost everyday, several times a day, and even got to fly next to my friend Hande during her tandem with Mahoney.  As he seems to be the only tandem pilot in Oludeniz to do Helicopters, Hande got quite a ride!   Check out the video embedded below or here!

The trip up the mountain now costs about $10 per trip for the shuttle, and another $10 (per flight) for a launch fee.  Given that I only flew once or twice a day over a week, overall it was pretty affordable compared to most paragliding tours.   Plus I got to hang out on the beach, enjoy the perfect weather, do some scuba diving, and dine on the oceanfront while watching paragliders constantly landing.  Can't be beat!

Paragliding, Oludeniz, Turkey July 2011 from Dawn Westrum on Vimeo.