Jumping off on a Peruvian Adventure - First Stop Lima, Lima, Peru

I’m standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean getting ready to jump. No, it’s not a metaphor. Or a cry for help. I’m harnessed up, ready to paraglide over the coast of Lima, Peru.

You might think I’m a bit of a daredevil, into the latest high adventure craziness. But you would be wrong. The older I get the more painfully aware I am of my own mortality. I know now what could go wrong and am quite afraid of pain, not death so much, just pain. So as my instructor - was his name David? I’ll call him David - buckles up the last of my harnesses I’m silently wondering what the hell got me into this mess, and will those buckles actually hold?

I know, of course, why I’m here. A couple of people in my Two’s A Crowd tour group thought it would be a great way to begin our tour of South America. It’s the first day of the tour, but all we’re really meant to do today is have a welcome talk with our tour leader and then go for a get-to-know-you dinner. Instead, here I am waiting to jump. The oldest of the women with me is in her 70s and was keen, very keen. So I couldn’t very well say no now could I?

So here I am waiting for the wind to pick up enough to allow us to soar off the edge of the cliff. I’m up first, something to do with weight and low wind levels meaning if you weigh any more than 60 kilos at the moment you probably won’t get off the ground. So I’m picked out of our line up and told to go see my instructor. David, who wouldn’t look out of place as Chris Hemsworth’s stunt double in Thor, tells me he was a lawyer but decided to give it away to parasail for a living. “It’s my third day,” he laughs. Luckily I remember that he had told me earlier he’d been doing this for about five years so I know I’m in good hands. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).