Roldanillo (cont)

Hostal 'La Vid' in La Union  - we stayed for 4 nights

Yesterday evening (Friday) our guides (Verena & Tini Siegl and Pedro) prepared dinner for us: really excellent 'Spaghetti Bolognese'; compliments!

Roldanillo (lookig East)

More flying off 'Los Tanques'-launch. Lots of pilots and switchy wind conditions made launching today a bit cumbersome. Contrary to the other days here we had a north wind, so flying close to the ridges would put you in the lee: a pilot of another group apparently just did this and in the end he had to throw his reserve...
I was progressing rather slowly and behind Rodanillo it took me quite long to reach cloudbase; then I tried to follow the others of our group, which already had crossed the river Cauca, passed Zarzal and continued south towards Tulua. I also made it across the river, but couldn't find a decent thermal which would allow me to fly beyond Zarzal...
Retrive worked perfectly: just as I had packed up, our bus arrived. I was dropped off in Zarzal, as they continued south to pick up more pilots. Back to the hotel via hitch hiking and Taxi.
Let's hope that tomorrow, when we continue to Ansermanuevo (to the north), I'll be able to make a (more) decent flight ;-)

Roldanillo

After a loooong drive (1.5hrs) we arrived at 'los Tanques' launch here in Roldanillo.
For a moment we could catch a rare (!) glimps of 'Nevado del Ruiz' an active vulcano to the east (5389m). Shortly afterwards the mountain was again covered by clouds over the Cauca Valley. 

The 'problem' here in Roldanillo:  towards noon the (west) wind from the pacific normally sets in and getting away from on the different (east facing) launches here becomes impossible. It's a bit similar to the 'Bayrischer Wind' in the Pinzgau, where the wind comes over the lowest parts of the mountains to replenish the (hot) rising air that makes us climb in the thermals.

los Tanques

From the car park it's 'only' a short (but steep) hike up to launch. Luckily John (our driver) offered to carry up my gear, as today I most probably wouldn't have made it my by myself.
Many thanks John!!!
The sky remained covered by cirrus clouds, so (for me at least) thermals were hard to find and the climbs weak; but still a 1.2hr flight.

Similar situation also the next day: but cloud base was much lower, so we had to wait quite a bit before we even could launch. 

waiting for cloudbase to rise, so we could launch

The flight itself - well nothing to be proud of: it seems as I had been flying in a kind of 'thermal-avoid-modus' ;-) 
But everybody felt that today's conditions had been much harder than yesterday's.
I had landed not far from the road and when I got there, almost the first car stopped asking me if I wanted to go to Roldanillo. I said that I needed to go in the opposite direction (to La Union). So they turned around and offered me a lift; on the way they also stopped to pick up another member of our group (Dirk), who was walking along the road and then we got dropped off in the center of La Union. Many thanks!!!

But tomorrow, wx should be better...

moving on...

Yesterday was our last day in Piedechinche. As we're moving to Roldanillo for the next few nights, the 'goal' was to fly north as far as possible.

Butterfly

In the beginning I was not very keen on going XC, as (for the 'usual' problems) I have to land close to a possible pick-up location. And in some paces in the Valle the Cauca, these can be hard to find ;-((
In the end day turned out much better than anticipated (and than the privious days), so I also tried to move (slowly) north; right in the beginning I feared for a moment that I would have to land without having found a single thermal. But after 'digging' myself out 3 times I made it to Buga (about 35kms from launch).

looking North (at beginning of flight)

landing just south of Buga (LZ at 12 o'clock)

After everyone had been picked up, we drove to Roldanillo, where we had dinner together, then we continued to our hotel in 'La Union', about 1okms north of Roldanillo.

Piedechinche

2 good days here at Piedechinche! But in order to get up and far you have to turn in thermals with 0.5m/s! And it is not mountain flying but rather flatland flying...

Overview: LZ 'Daedalos'

LZ

our finca

LZ in town (Santa Elena)

First days: Cali, Piedechinche

First of all: at our present finca, the internet connection is EXTREMELY slow, so blogging and especially posting pictures will be kept to a minimum  - sorry about that!

Saturday morning I went on a little cuty tour of Cali: in short words: I can see no real reason, why anyone should visit Cali! There is almost nothing to see, no old city center, only very few 'special' buidings...

Cali: la Ermita

In the afternoon our group met at the airport and we were driven to our finca, where we'll stay about 4 nights. My first impression: it looks like a 'good' group; there is even a pilot I know from 'my former life' ;-) 
Dinner together at a local restaurant...

Yesterday (Sunday): after a briefing in the morning everybody was 'equipped' with local SIM-cards. but it took quite a while until all of us had a 'working' phone...

Tine (Siegl) helping us through the spanish set up menus

While strolling through the street to buy some water, I encountered Nancy and Carlos, whom I've met on a trip to Marocco a few years ago; they are doing also a 2 weeks trip of Colombia, so most probably we'll 'bump' into each other again.

Then it was up to the mountain: being Sunday, lots of pilots and also tandem pilots flocked to launch. Unfortunately it was rather cloudy and not many managed to get above launch or even away; I was not among them...

main launch

PWC: Piedechinche

In the morning I got a message from my friend Zak in Roldanilo, that the PWC 'was heading my way' today; ie that goal for todays task in the PWC Superfinal had been set in Piedechinche. As this was only about 1 hour from COL, I decided to go there and see them arrive. I made it with less than 10 minutesto spare , before the first pilot arrived - I had completely underestimated how fast they are flying in such competitions...

Nicole made it as well, and was rather surprised to find me at the LZ. But this year's competition here in Colombia unfortuantely is not one of her best...
Tomorrow there  will be the final task (wx permitting), but even a very good flight won't bring her back to the podium.

Results can be found here.

Travel

Luckily my flight from ZRH left durng a 'window' with relatively good weather between the two storms that hit Switzerland (and completely shut down operations in AMS). The rest has been uneventful and smooth.

the route from MAD to BOG (about 8200km)

Portugese Atlantic coast (looking towards Lisbaon)

On arrival in BOG it was raining heavily, but CLO was dry. Door-to-door the trip has taken a little over 23hrs...

slowly getting ready...

...almost ready to go: first 2 weeks on an organized trip with 'Fly with Andy', then another week 'solo'...

Bericht von der Reise 2017: hier

I just hope that the present storm situation here in Switzerland will not upset my flight schedule: ZRH - MAD (Madrid) - BOG (Bogota) - COL (Cali); the actual trip then starts on Saturday.

PWC Superfinal 2017 - Results

Results can be found here...

 

©PWCA.org

 

 

PWC Superfinal 2017 - Roldanillo (Colombia)

Tomorrow the PWC Superfinal 2017 will start in Roldanillo with the openig ceremony; first competition day is 10.January. Prize giving on 20.Januray...
I'll keep my fingers crossed, that Nicole will have a successful competition!

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