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Our
adventures in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continue....
   
Another month starts here, this is the big one for me with my 70th coming up towards the end. Definitely slowing down though, or doing too much, because it is actually the 9th today already and I am just starting this months diary. Prompted by a couple of e-mail complaints about not being with it.
Joan and I had another gardening day until it got too hot when we were forced, if that's the right word, to jump in the pool to cool down.
As I said last month, we have our new neighbours to be on the island, so Joan and I had invited them round for a BBQ and to give us all a chance to get to know one another. Don't know how Yvonne knew about my birthday but she brought a card to be hidden away and even better a lovely bottle of a very special Bushmills, which Joan has also hidden away. I will look forward to that and will savour it slowly. Guess when Les is over here I might have to let him at least look at it with envy....
We all four had a very enjoyable evening and feel sure that we will get on well together over the garden wall so to speak.
Just a regular week so far, which includes of course the boys night out at the Ravine Bar. This week, Charles our new neighbour, joined us but of course he is going back to Ireland tomorrow evening until their permanent move some time in October. Another big surprise was for us to find Michael O'Sullivan at the bar. He is visiting for a week and some may remember that he used to run the place, when it was known as "O'Sullivans Bar". We have had some good traditional Irish evenings there in those days.
Joan has been down to the harbour today to book a boat trip for about twenty of us. Every year since my 65th, we have sort of traditionally had a boat trip and it is in fact always very enjoyable. This year we are having to pick out a different boat, as the one we have always used is still out of the water for some repairs and maintenance. This time we are on the African Queen, which comes highly reccomended, so expect a report on that at the end of the month.
Whilst Joan was down there in the harbour area she also booked at Highline Air Tours for me to go Tandem Paragliding off the mountain near St Hilarion on 30th June. Me and my big mouth that always said I fancy trying that. If there are any insurance agents out there taking a policy on my life please let me know....
Joking apart, I guess it will be fun and they take photos during the flight so guess there might be one or two on here.
This evening we went down the lane to our local Asmali restaurant for the traditional Turkish food cooked on a wood BBQ. Brilliant restaurant, especially in the summer months, when you can sit outside on their terrace area.
It is getting closer and closer to the sad day when George and Susan leave the island. Joan and I remember that day around 5 years ago when they arrived at the harbour in Girne and they were not allowed to get their car out, because the paperwork was not right. Short term panic all round, but resolved with a few phone calls and contacts of John & Sandy, in customs. Nothing has changed in all these years, it is still very much a who you know situation.
George and Susan are not letting their links with the TRNC go completely as they have rented out their villa for at least one year so always have the option to return. It is family concerns in the UK that are drawing them back, but they will be missed.
Because we always seem to be going out in the crowd and we four have not had the opportunity to enjoy an evening together for some time, so we simply got some steak out of the freezer, added some mushrooms, potatoes in the oven, salad and a few bottles of wine and enjoyed an evening sitting out under the gazebo. Unfortunately over the last couple of days the wind has started to get very strong and gusty in the evenings, so we had to revert to indoors earlier than we would have liked.
It is now incredibly windy and has been for two or three days, but today is constant with very strong gusts. This is something that we always seem to get around the time of the new moon, but all of us were saying that we have never known it this strong in May/June before. Of course the standard response is - "the weather is changing all around the world", but I guess that there is some truth in that.
Pat & Bryan had organised a get together at their place for this afternoon, with the plan being for a swim around 4 p.m. followed by a buffet meal. As Bryan's pool had three foot waves blowing across it there were no takers for the swim. This was unfortunate for Bryan as it meant that the lads had a bit longer to consume his beer.
We all set off for home around 9 o'clock well fed and watered.
Well it is all doom and gloom in the newspaper this week.
Petrol prices have risen for the second time in six weeks and there is a warning of a further rise on the way. Electricity costs are rising again as Kibtek is supposedly losing 4 million YTL every month and the price of gas has risen by 26% since last February. Who said this was cheap place to live. The ongoing problem of course is that these rises mean increases in other costs which get passed on in food prices etc.
News is that you can now take a hire car from this side over the border - BUT only if the hire car firm will allow you to do so. If you want to do so then you need special permission from the hire company and additional insurance. The worry from the rental companies is the level of insurance cover and the problem of getting a damaged or broken down vehicle back over the border. One other worry is the unscrupulous, who would drive to Paphos, leave the car in the airport car park and leave the country.
Two Bellapais hotels are to close due to the slump in tourism here. This news comes just as CTA say they are to increase the fuel surcharge and reduce the baggage allowance to try to save money. They say that they are now paying out more on fuel than on employment costs, guess they are going to have to start recruiting more idle staff.
There is still an ongoing battle at Amaranta Valley over unpaid contractors bills. Apparently the committee responsible for paying the bills has given £15,000 for the workers wages but is not agreeing to the rest until it gets the proper paperwork to prove the debt. Do you not think that the largely Brit committee members have asked for the almost impossible, itemised invoices for expenditure supported by delivery receipts etc. Now that has got to be something new over here.
At least the Central Bank staff have gone back to work, so now cheques are getting cleared and money is moving around.
The infamous Gine bypass. The opening has been delayed again. It seems as if the company that is building the road has been asked to go back and concentrate on the Northern Coast road between Kaplica and Talisu. They are however still doing some work with graders etc on the section of the new bypass which is to come out near Escape Beach.
There is still confusion over the future direction of peace talks. The South still want single state, single sovereignty, single citizenship and single international identity. The North of course still favour a bizonal, bi-communal federation. I think if you realise that the two people will have problems living together, then the birth of a virgin state has got to be the only answer, anything else smells of enosis all over again.
Finally having read the papers over a cup of coffee and decided what I should be telling you about, it was time for a swim in the wind. Our friend Richard came round this afternoon to join us, we haven't seen him in some time now as he is very busy with his business, The Little Villa Company. We all enjoyed a catch up time and a swim followed by a BBQ.
Whew that's at least got me up to date again for the moment! If you are wondering why no pics so far this month, I am saving the space for the birthday bash etc.
Full week this week, starting as usual with Boys Night Out. Almost the last one for George, for the next year or so. His banter over a beer or two will be missed, but reckon we will still get the free chips at the Ravine Bar and we can send him a text message every week reminding him about the price of beer.
Today was the annual band concert in aid of the Army Benevolent Fund. This was held as usual at Shakespeare House in Nicosia. This year the concert was a memorial concert dedicated to Brigadier Don London, the Founder and President of the Cyprus branch of the ABF. The RAF Regiment Band was there for our entertainment today with the usual high quality performance you expect from military bands today. Part of the band also formed an 18 piece ensemble called The Shades of Blue Orchestra and they started to second half of the afternoon. They were quite brilliant playing Glenn Miller and Count Basie style music. You can see how much the afternoon was enjoyed, sitting in the sunshine, eating a delicious picnic meal provided by the ladies, drinking the beer and wine provided of course by the guys and then sitting eyes closed listening to good music. Brilliant.
Towards the end of the concert the band came out with the traditional stuff such as Land of Hope and Glory which always gets us all on our feet singing and waving Union Jacks. Another great afternoon, just the washing up when you get home again.
It's come back round again. It doesn't seem a whole year since I last wrote about the BRS Summer Dinner Dance. Am I right, the older you get the faster time flies by?
The evening was held at The Denizkizi Hotel again and once again they did a super job of looking after 200 guests and all the food and drink. On our table we had some of the regular layabouts and we had a table near the front because Sandy and John were running the Tombola to raise money. The event raised 2,000 YTL for the local blood bank, who are in need of new equipment at the present time. Joan, bless her, won three prizes on the Tombola, dinner for two at The Ottoman House, two bottles of Angora wine which we need to collect from the Pegasus restaurant and another bottle of white wine which was consumed on the night, guess who wasn't driving. Don't ask how much she gave out to win these, because I don't think I want to know.
The music was good to dance to, so even I was persuaded to get on to the floor. George & Susan were enjoying what is almost their last social event before they get on the plane next week. For once, persuded by Joan, somebody took a pic of me and the boss, that gives a rare opportunity for me to appear on our website, you will have probably noticed that I manage to avoid appearing in person as much as possible.
George and Susan move in with us today until they leave the island on Thursday evening and as a farewell gesture George treated 14 of us to Sunday lunch at The Oleander restaurant in Alsancak. This place gets more and more busy, so maybe I should not mention just how good it is in case we turn up and there is no table space for us. Here you can have either the traditional English roast lamb or beef but the alternative is a choice of two Indian style dishes. Have to say that the garlic mushroom starter is just wonderful, so think we might be going back again, just to try the onion barjee starter.
Really enjoyed the news that Ireland has rejected the Euro Treaty, wouldn't it be just wonderful if Mr Brown had the courage to offer the English a chance to vote in a referendum too. The more we hear the more we hope like hell, that Turkey never gets sucked in to the EU, during my lifetime. For anybody who would like to tell the man where to go try to sign this petition and see if it helps, www.petitions.pm.gov.uk/Fianance
It was not me that spelt it like that, promise......
On the local front the news about Aga Developments seems to still dominate with the argument about payments been at the forefront. Seems the arguments on site got a bit heated.
Parents at Sunny Lane School are facing a 13% increase in fees this coming year. The governing body is attempting to claw back losses which is not surprising when you see the increased costs we all face here.
Another 5 hurt in a car crash this week. The police say that speed was to blame and as the car rolled over 5 times, they might just have jumped to the right conclusion.
Not surprisingly, vehicle insurance is to go up very soon. There are more and more vehicles on the road and some are very expensive and with driving standards as they are and increased costs of everything, nobody is really surprised.
Irrigation reservoirs are drying up and the water authority say that reserves are at a 5 year low. Municiplaities are being urged to introduce stiffer fines for water wasters. At the moment, in Girne, you will only be fined 3YTL as a penalty, whilst here in Lapta you can be fined 500YTL. Just a slight difference, maybe the government needs to pass legislation on this, when they wake up from coffee breaks that is! Apparently the Interior Ministry was asked to pass this legislation 12 months ago, not very long ago really. But I will tell you one thing, when you see the locals washing their cars and hosing down the outside terraces, it's very annoying.
Not only on this side of the border are we suffering from rogue builders who are happy to try to rip off the foreign buyers. I have received this e-mail from Roger who spotted the report in a Southern newspaper. So if you have been waiting anything less than 29 years you have nothing to complain about........
COPYRIGHT CYPRUS MAIL. 2008.
A 83-YEAR-OLD British widow who has been waiting 29 years for the title deeds to her home was shocked recently to receive an Immovable Property Tax (IPT) bill from her developer for €25,000 when it should have been around €430.
The IPT bill amounts to nearly 50 per cent of the original purchase price of the house near Lania, which was bought around 1980 for some €60,000.
In the last 29 years the developer has never approached the woman for money to pay the annual tax levy, waiting until now to collect a huge amount from the pensioner.
“I feel I am being bullied because I am a widow,” said the elderly woman who did not want to be identified because the residents on the estate are afraid of the developer. “This has been a complete shock to me.”
The woman said her husband, before he died two years ago, had even lent money to the developer in the past. “And this is how he treats me now,” she added.
When the British woman and other buyers on the same estate contacted the Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG) about their problems with title deeds and demands from their developer, even CPAG were shocked, said the organisation’s Denis O’Hare.
“Imagine having to wait 29 years for your title deeds and then getting a demand for €25,000 in IPT charges!” he said.
“Another lady in her eighties also has a similar probate problem, so the inability to leave their property to their children is a major concern until this matter is sorted out.”
O’Hare said some of the residents don’t know how they will find the money demanded. He said other clients have paid “these illegal demands” but despite this have still not obtained their title deeds.
One of the buyers’ sales contracts, signed in 1991, states that title deeds would be available within two years - that was 17 years ago.
Until title deeds are issued, the developer can pass on to buyers any IPT he may pay to the government. They in turn can claim this back from the Inland Revenue but only up to a maximum of six years.
“If this lady who is being charged €25,000 had been charged the legitimate amount annually, and had she obtained her title deeds within the six years it is hard to see that she would have paid more than €430 – all of which she could have claimed back from the Inland Revenue,” said O’Hare.
However, he said many developers abuse the system in the government’s name, illegally charging at an annual rate of 50 per cent of the purchase price multiplied by the current maximum IPT rate of 0.4 per cent.
IPT is based on the 1980 price of the land, not the vale of the individual homes on a development.
“This particular developer is blatantly attempting to charge twice the normal scam rate, and even though he has never requested annual payments has added compound interest of 9.0 per cent under threat of non-issuance of title deeds. This is sheer extortion!” O’Hare said.
CPAG held a meeting with some of the buyers recently in Limassol and they decided to go to Limassol police to report the developer for fraud in obtaining money under false pretences.
“The first time I met them they were petrified but someone has to stand up sometime,” said O’Hare.
The group was accompanied by O’Hare and Linda Leblanc, who is also involved with CPAG. Leblanc said they were then sent to the local police station at Lania to make their statements.
She said the police were helpful but a few days later she received a call saying it was not a matter for the police but for the civil courts.
“This is clearly a criminal matter,” said O’Hare. “And in any case some of these elderly people may not have the five to ten years it takes to go through the failing civil courts of Cyprus!”
The group then decided to find out from the Land Registry what the 1980 value of the site was in order to work out what IPT the developer could actually be paying.
They also suspected the developer still had mortgages on the site, so even if all the buyers paid the IPT demands it was unlikely he could transfer the title deeds to them as long as he was in debt to the bank.
“Unfortunately, even after paying €80 to the Land Registry for searches, the group now appear to be getting stone-walling from the Land Registry officials as well,” O’Hare said.
CPAG have now written to the Chief of Police in Limassol and the Justice Minister asking why the victims were not allowed to report frauds “which are clearly criminal offences”.
“They will invoke the support of the British Government and the EU if need be, not to mention the thousands of other EU citizens defrauded in this fashion by developers in Cyprus,” said O’Hare.
He said the developer in question has not billed everyone on the estate, which has round 36 homes.
“He is picking off the older ones who are scared of him,” he said referring to the 83-year old. “But she is a very sturdy woman and is a fighter,” he added.
What is Immovable Property Tax?
Immovable Property Tax (IPT) is a tax imposed by the government on land and property owners annually. The calculation is based on the 1980 total value of a property so the average home owner does not generally need to pay as most homes were unlikely to have been worth as much as the threshold €171,000 at that time. Property under that value has a zero IPT rate.
The IPT on property worth more than €171,000 goes up in varying degrees to a maximum of 4.0 per cent if the property was worth €850,000 or more in 1980.
Large property developers however would have had land worth between €171,000 to €850,000 at 1980 prices, which have now been developed and sold to foreigners as individual homes.
The developers are still liable for the IPT because they still hold the title deeds if the total property remains mortgaged.
They then calculate how much they need to pay to Inland Revenue based on the total 1980 value of the land, and divide the charge, based on the number of home owners on the property development.
Owners are then charged individually by the developer who deposits the much-lower IPT charges with Inland Revenue. Effectively the buyers are being asked to fork out for the IPT even if their individual homes would have been worth less than €171,000 in 1980.
Imposition of IPT can go on for years depending on how long it takes for the developer to finally hand over individual title deeds.
Owners are allowed to claim six years worth of IPT back from Inland Revenue once they have obtained their title deeds, but the owners could end up paying ten or 15 years worth by the time the developers hand over the deeds.
Also they are only entitled to get back the amounts paid to Inland Revenue by the developer, and not what the developer charges them. The difference is huge in many instances.
In one instance a developer asked buyers for €1,700 each for IPT when he himself was paying only €25 per owner to Inland Revenue. In another case a developer was charging each buyer €600 and paying €17 per home owner to the tax department.
CPAG has obtained a legal opinion which concludes that developers are effectively scamming buyers by overcharging them for IPT and pocketing the difference.
George & Susan are on their last day today, so for them it was all down to last minute packing and of course weighing the hold bags to stay under the 40 kilo total. George told you not to buy those extra shoes Susan and no you don't need that big casserole pan filled with 2 kilo bottles of olive oil.
This evening fifteen of us gathered at the Asmali to say farewell. They are going back because of family commitments and are quite adamant that they will be back in 1 or 2 years maximum. The Asmali did us proud with their traditional Turkish food. At the end of the meal, we of course had George making a speech, he at least kept it brief despite threats of a long drawn out affair. Almost exactly on 10 p.m. they made a fast get away with Stewart at the wheel. Early Friday morning I had a text message from him saying they had made it OK, to their temporary home in UK.
Currently we are slightly warm with temperatures of 96 degrees, in old money that is, in the shade. We have friends arriving from UK on Wednesday so have called them today to warn them about only light clothing.
Apparently the Brits whinging about problems buying houses here are putting off new buyers, says a leading estate agent. Now there might be some truth in that as I believe that there are a few Internet Forums that do the damage. I have been asked on many occasions to provide links to forums but have always declined. My reasoning, rightly or wrongly, is the anonymous stuff that is often posted without thought to the damage that can be done. I understand that people panic because of lack of information and then assume the worst, but don't aggrevate the situation by making unsupported accusations, that make things even worse. Marion Stokes, from Homebuyers Pressure Group, has been constantly trying to get the government to get it's act together and provide the right information for buyers and take action against illegal actions by lawyers and builders, so far with only limited success. A prime example of this is the fact that more than two months has passed since HBPG sat down with Prime Minister Soyer and posed a number of questions which he promisd to answer. These questions highlighted the very real problems that property purchasers are experiencing. The answers have now been received and they do not even address either the questions or the issues at hand.
There is a further claim that expat villa owners are killing the hotel trade. According to the leader of the Hoteliers Union some holidaymakers had endured a living hell staying in unregistered villas. According to this man there are 4,000 villas being let out, the equivalent of 16,000 beds, which is more than the current amount of beds available in the country's hotels. He is in fact not actually blaming the villa owners but his own government for not doing enough to prevent the problem. I think in particular he believes that a lot of these lets are unregulated and therefore the government is not collecting the appropriate taxes which he claims is unjust competition. He also takes issue with the number of additional hotels currently being built and claims that the infrastructure is not ready for this growth.
The third fuel price increase has been put on hold for the time being, but both the government and the petrol supply companies have agreed that if the price of crude oil continues to rise a price increase is inevitable.
The Finance Minister, Mr Ahmet Uzun, has categorically stated that there is no money laundering taking place in TRNC. OK so that is now a fact. Now I have news for him, last week when George was here, Joan washed a few shirts for him, 200YTL fell out of the top pocket of one, after the wash, which she had to peg out to dry before he could use it. Now if that isn't money laundering, what is?
The two leaders are to have a meeting during the first week of July to attempt to kick start the flagging peace process. It's along way off to any solution I think, unless the outside world gets involved and forces both parties to sort it out. Only last week the US urged the UN to recognise the TRNC during a meeting of the security council. This amendment was rejected by the other members of the council.
Enough of this whinging, its time for a swim.
This evening is pick up time from Ercan airport. Les & Jill have come over to help me celebrate the birthday. Great to see them again, although it's not really that long since we visited them in UK. It is always good to see good friends and to have them make the effort to help you celebrate a significant milestone in life.
The big 70 today and the start of a weekend of celebration. We have always booked a boat trip on my birthday in previous years, so why change the habit.
This year we booked on the African Queen as this vessel had come highly recommended. The recommendation was really good, the boat was large, the service excellent and the lunch really brilliant. For anybody coming out on holiday we would suggest that this is a brilliant trip for you. You can contact them via their website www.sailcyprus.com
We were all on board just after 10 o'clock in Kyrenia Old Harbour so after completing all the harbour formalities needed for insurance etc. we were soon leaving harbour to our first swimming stop. Because it was a birthday celebration we had managed to contract a closed boat for ourselves with 24 passengers plus the youngest member of the crew., young Thomas. Poor little guy is teething and was definitely out of sorts.
We had two different stops for swimming, with an absolutely super lunch at the first one. The weather was lovely and warm and there was some cloud around most of the day which kept a lot of the direct sunlight off us, but Les & Jill still managed to get burnt. After the second stop and on our way back to harbour we had the ceromony of cutting the cake. Sandy had very kindly had a super chocolate birthday cake made for me, it was liberally laced with Grand Marnier and had to be one of the nicest cakes I have ever had. During the return trip Captain Frank was at the wheel but not allowed to do the last bit into harbour, wonder why?
A great day out and after a hard day some just had to have a little nap. They just can't take the pace. To round off our trip, Joan and I managed to get a parking ticket for leaving the car too long in the harbour area. They used to be very liberal about it, but apparently have started clamping down as the authorities need the income.
After the trip a group of revelers came back to our place and consumed a few more wines and beers. A lovely day, here's to the next 10 and the next big milestone.
The day after the boat trip and because it was a Saturday evening we organised a party at The Haci Ali Otel here in Lapta. Whilst most of out guests were "oldie" retired like us, there were some local business people as well, so a Saturday evening suited best.
Joan and I turned up together with Jill and Les to be there as guests arrived, good job too as we started off with a knotty problem. The hellium balloons that Joan had bought, with 70 all over them, had decided to get entangled around the strings. It was fun to watch too many hands getting involved.
This poolside terrace is a grand setting for a party and I have to say that at the end of the day everyone we spoke to was full of praise for the service, the food and of course the lovely setting for an evening party. The chef had prepared us 15 different meze dishes to start, some beef stroganof and fried chicken as main course, with fresh fruit, coffee and brandy to close. It was luuuuvley....and once we had announced grub up there was no shortage of takers.
Fortified with a couple of large J&B over ice, I was able to put my best foot forward and lead off the dancing, although have to say the pool was a bit close by, so nothing fancy from me. Many of the revellers decided that dancing was not their style and more revellers thought that a little more fortifying might be a good idea.
At the end of the evening the chef came out with a very, very large birthday cake and a very small knife. Perhaps he thought I would do less damage that way. The cake was a present from the Hotel people to me and what a lovely cake it was, so armed with a decent sized knife I was able to make the first cut and then leave the rest to the chef.
The four of us got home around 1.30 a.m. and then decided that we should round off the evening around the pool. Joan and Les decided that the only place to have a nightcap was actually in the pool. I think that Sunday might just be a very quiet day of rest.
The newspaper is desperately short of news at this time apart from lots of news about accidents on the roads. Three more killed this last week, a 21 year old drunken girl, who caused the death of 5 students, has been jailed for 5 years, a 34 year old mother of two has been jailed for killing a highways agent through careless driving. In a further report it is suggested that 10% of drivers lost their licence last year, mostly through the points totting up proceedure, but many through drink driving. There is a suggestion that more roadside controls are needed.
The Homebuyers Pressure Group are again trying to push the government into getting control of the building industry and the permit proceedures in central government. It must be like beating your head against the wall, because they never seem to listen to suggestions.
One of the local private hospitals, the one where I had my operation 2 years ago, The Kyrenia Medical Centre, have come up with a scheme which includes expats. The scheme has four tiers, obviously at four different cost levels, but which allows annual health checks, free home visits and much more. I will try to get the detail as it sounds interesting.
Apart from a note that the Amaranta Valley thing still rolls on, there was only really lots of padding in the paper this week.
As we had a very late start this morning, we all four decided that there was only one solution, lunch at The Oleander restaurant. Les & Jill were pleasantly surprised at the quality and price here and especially the fact that you could get a choice of Indian food for Sunday lunch. This was followed by a lounge around the pool for the rest of the day and a fairly early night.
What a superb day. Les and I had booked for an 11 a.m., Tandem Paragliding Experience. At just after 10 we got a phone call to say that the wind was above safety levels so we were to keep in touch and try again later. So we all set off for Kervansary beach as it is quite close to the landing zone, where we are to meet. At just after 2 p.m. we called and they said meet at 3 o'clock.
After we met the two pilots said OK it looks good, lets go up the mountain. You are driven up past St Heralion on to the edge of the mountain where Les and I are kitted out for the leap off the mountain. First impressions of the point where you are to take off from is "Oh S**t". But when the guys you are with say they have been doing this for 8 to 10 years you gain a little confidence. So then we are standing on the edge me and my pilot with Les and his pilot waiting for the right moment when the wind dies down and changes direction a little. At that moment you take two or three steps forward and suddenly you feel the lift from the wing above you and you are away in to space. Les feels better now because he has seen what happens and also how we just soared away into the distance. It is a most fantastic feeling and all you have to do is just sit here and enjoy. You can feel the thermal currents, which sweep up the mountain, lifting you way above your original take off point, in fact you can hear a peeping noise, which rises and falls as the thermals catch you, which help the pilot to get maximum lift. From time to time as we circle around we can see one another and wave, thats us out over Kyrenia, taken by Les's pilot. For the rest of the time you just hang in there being held aloft by a nylon wing and lots of strings with the skill of the guy you are with giving you the flight of a lifetime.
The almost total silence up there and the stunning scenery beneath you are something else to experience and if you haven't done anything like this before, then I would reccomend that you book up while the season is here as it is amazing. I shall be back again for more.
We were up for almost an hour I think, although I didn't actually time it, but my pilot, Pius Gobetti, said we were really lucky with the thermals and because of this we were able to fly out right over the new Mercure Hotel. It almost seemed too soon before we were coming in to land, one behind the other and even that was easy, peasy just like he said. "We will come in quickly, slow right down at the last moment and you just take a couple of steps forward as the wing comes down".
When we landed the welcome party was there to meet us and all keen to know what it was like. well I'll tell you what it is like, contact www.highlineparagliding.com and try it yourself, you will enjoy, I promise you.
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