Cross Country, issue 127
January / February 2010
Sunshine all year and cumulus to the horizon, Brazil has it all. Ed Ewing goes native
“We don’t have winter in Brazil,” says Frank Brown, Brazil’s paragliding champion. “It’s endless summer, we can fly every day.” And he’s not talking ridge soaring. He’s talking ripping thermals, endless horizons, convergence lines and cumulus clouds dotted like chess pieces in the sky.
The country is bigger than Australia, stretches from four-degrees north to 33 degrees south, and could have been invented for free flight. From barefoot soaring on the beach to record chasing in the outback, this country has literally hundreds of flying sites.
Names like Quixada, Araxa and Governador Valadares evoke images of screaming up to base above a land parched of water, a long day of awesome flatland flying ahead, with unknown adventures getting home.
But there is so much more than just the headline sites. Castelo for example, well known as a Paragliding World Cup venue, is just one of 30 or so sites in the immediate area. There are dozens of sites with 200 km+ potential, miles of soarable coastline, adventures to be had in the mountains, rainforest, the heat of the outback, above the world’s biggest wetlands or looking down on one of the world’s most exciting cities. A handful of sites grab the international XC headlines, yes, but there are lots more waiting to be discovered. All you have to do is ask.
Roberto Novaes Hering spread out a map of Brazil and underlined Governador Valadares, surely the jewel in Brazil’s crown. “There are 10 m/s climbs here,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “January is strong,” eyebrows again, “but February and March is truly classic.” The 800 m rock face that is the thermal goldmine of GV is black, sheer and bakes in the sun – it’s a supersonic ride to base 1,000 m above you…
Nine pages, 3,500 words. Read more in Cross Country magazine, subscription required
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