Parasailing!!!

On Monday, I jumped off a cliff. Several hundred feet in the air. Yep. With a parachute. And a trained parasailor strapped to my back. (Sailor = one who sails. Parasailor = one who parasails. Yes I made that up, but I think it works). I met up with Miriam, a friend from Trinity University (where I went to school) who’s studying abroad here in Lima this semester. We both wanted to go parasailing, so she brought along a few friends from her program (all of whom opted to watch instead of fly…) and we went out to the cliffs at Miraflores where all of the Parasailing companies are. Miraflores is the ritzy, touristy district of Lima, and parasailing is one of THE touristy things to do.

To go parasailing, all you need is wind, something to jump off of, a harness and a parachute. You go to your windy cliff, strap on your parachute, run hard to get the parachute in the air above you (kind of like flying a really, really big kite), and then just run off the cliff. After that, all you do is sit back, relax, and let the professional parasailor do the flying, while you take lots of pictures. Once we were up in the air, flying along the Peruvian coast and over the streets and buildings of Lima, all my fear actually disappeared. The beginning part – jumping off the cliff – is pretty scary, but the actual flying is extremely calm and peaceful. “Breathtaking” is putting it mildly. Luckily, the weather was just about as good as it gets in Lima. Check out the link to the pictures.

After we went parasailing, we ate ice-cream in one of the Miraflores shopping malls on the cliff that overlooks the beach. Then I got on the bus for my 2 hour ride back to my house in Comas during the Monday rush-hour. Miraflores is like a totally different world from Comas. A group of gringos speaking English is commonplace in Miraflores (which is exactly what we were). I did more talking in English yesterday hanging out with Miriam and her friends than I had done since orientation. Overall, it was really fun to take a day to be a touristy “American” (yes, I know South Americans are “American” too, but unlike Spanish, a word meaning “United States-ean doesn’t exist in English). I got a chance to share some of my thoughts and experiences with people who shared some of my perspectives. But at the same time, I also got a little taste of what the “reverse culture shock” is going to be like when I go back to the states after my year in Peru is finished. It feels weird to think that I probably spent more money yesterday in 5 hours (just by eating and parasailing) than I probably did in the previous two or three weeks combined. And the parasailing was NOT expensive by US standards – only $35.

But I have no regrets. How often do human beings get to fly...?


If you're ever looking for me
Don't forget to look above
Because I still believe in flying
And I still believe in Love

- David Lamotte