Early in the morning, don't ask me exactly when, I woke up
and noticed that the wind calmed down a bit, but was still stable....I
got up and checked the conditions: stable wind between 20 and
30 km/h. Ideal conditions for doing my first tries with the buggy
and the 1.6 square meter Q2002.
There was only one problem to solve before: I had a really
dry throat and needed something wet...but the water was burried
somewhere between Agustas and Andreas bed and they were still
sleeping....
I think that was the first time that the first thing I drank in
the morning was wine, the only liquid I could find. But at least
my throat was a somewhat wetter. Then I remembered the Ice Cubes
somewhere in a cooler I could reach and began to eat ice......tell
me nothing...I know I'm crazy....
Riding
the buggy was really great: as I was used to control the kites
from my kitesailing experiences with ski on frozen lakes, I could
really concentrate on the control of the buggy. And it really
worked...sometimes...somehow...more or less.
The longer I was driving the more comfortable I felt in the buggy.
I think my topspeed was about 30 km/h, not much, but I was satisfied
with that for the first time on the buggy.
After about 2 hours of kiting with the Q2002 the wind calmed down
and I thought to be ready to try it with the Quadrifoil Competition
XL, 4.8 square meters. The power this kite has is impressive.
So I got faster and faster and the faster the kite is, the more
power it produces....so much that I started to drift aside....a
great thing if you're able to control it after some practice....
....and that's exactly what I didn't have....a very short time
later I was saying goodby to the buggy and saying hello to the
hard ground.....after that I walked back to the basecamp and put
the big one aside.
But there wasn't enough wind to go on with the Q2002 and the rest
of us was still sleeping......so I decided to park myself in the
shadow in front of the motorhome to take a nap ( which took in
the end about 2 hours ).
A while later also the rest of us got up or arrived again from
the village but as there was no wind we had time to play some
other games like buggy races without kite or other crazy things.
We also had time to watch 'Mini Tornados' or enjoy the high mountains
as you can see on the following pictures:
It was a pitty, but this was already my last day on the pampa.
After playing a lot again with different kites, doing also some
tricky flying, and sitting a bit more time in the buggy, my stay
in the pampa was over.
Agusta and Andrea decided to stay one more night directly in the
pampa to enjoy the stable bearable wind early in the morning which
I enjoyed really early in the morning. Henry joined them as well.
I was driven back into the civilization of the village where I
was sleeping in an old landhouse, used now as a hotel. This was
not because of the good bed, more because of the water which was
available there (even in a swimming pool) to get rid of three
days dust and mud.
And this was really necessary...I would have been kicked out of
the airplane immediately arriving the way I arrived in the village......
Next morning, the 31st of December 1998, ten o'clock in the morning
I was picked up by a driver who drove me again to Mendoza where
I took the plane back to Misione....I arrived at 10 o'clock in
the evening at the house of the parents of my wive...just in time
for the yearend party....
This three days in Mendoza were really great. It will stay
in my mind forever as an extraordinary experience and adventure.
Many, many thanks to all those who made that event possible, to
all members of the meeting, and many many thanks especially to
Agusta and Andrea for their great hostage during the three days
there.
Patrik