A broken landscape, full of trees, rivers, hills and mountains, you jump in the big fat jeep and follow the road through the vineyards full of grape pickers because autumn is upon us. In the jeep, 3 women, 5 men and 7 huge 9 Kg backpacks, all bumping from the left to the right and to the left side again depending on the rocks we cross.

From the vineyards the jeep goes straight high to the pine and oak trees forests. Here and there, some truffle plantations but nobody. Why would anyone come here?

At one point, the road loops. Here we park, get down from the jeep and unload the bags with one guy on the roof and one on the grass to get them. With the bags on our backs, we walk through a thin walkway through the pine trees. We walk and walk until we arrive to a grass field. The north side of the Eagle Nest is still in the shade so we go further away, to the south grass field. After a few more minutes walking through the trees, the southern grass field offers an amazing green view. In front of us a valley of huge trees. No field, no house, no road just trees.

Two or three of us unpack their bags, we put our casks on our heads and then we start preparing the glider : put the wing flat on the grass and sort out the tens of strings holding it to the seat. Quietly, everyone is concentrating on his glider, getting prepared.

Once the wing is ready, we check the seat and put it on. We fix it, check the strings once again : not knot, no turn? Ok ready to go.

Now we wait.

One after the other, and under a teacher’s supervision through the radio, you hold the breaks and the other strings, you wait for a good small wind and you walk your wing up. You control it. And then you run straight to the other side of the valley, straight away from the grass field. After a few paces, you feel the earth going away from your feet; you feel your wing holding you gently.

Here you are, you fly.

The wind blows softly up on your face.

You can seat under your wing and feel like a bird. You turn slowly tout the right or left to go down or just go straight and see the forest under your feet, and see the village you come from, and a swimming pool, and some vineyards and some workers in the yards and a few churches… so nice, so peaceful…

And you stay concentrated because you have a goal : enjoy you flight and land safely in the landing field. You know, the small field rounded with trees on two sides and fields on the two other ones.

Ok, you see it? So how is the wind blowing?

Ok you round the landing field so you can land in front of the wind. Once you are just high enough, you go straight to the middle of the field, you get up from your seat, you accelerate so you go down faster and just 2 meters away from the grass, you brake slowly.

And gently, you walk on the grass again, and you get your wing down.

Now you have a small notion of what it is to be a bird.