If you have ever dreamed of flying free like a bird or of touching the clouds, paragliding or hang gliding is as close as you can get. No motor is involved. It is a peaceful and quiet journey through the sky, using the winds and the weather to give you lift to fly. Soaring above mountain ridges and riding the thermals with the birds can truly create a blissful euphoria. I learned to hang glide in North Carolina in 2010, then moved to Florida and continued the sport year-round. A similar sport, I first learned to paraglide off the coastal cliffs in New Zealand, then completed an APPI course in Bucaramanga, Colombia, and finally a USHPA rating in Dunlap, Tennessee. I am fortunate to have experienced hang gliding and paragliding all over the world: North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Colorado, Arizona, Florida, France, Switzerland, Colombia, and New Zealand.
