SOARING WITH THE VULTURES
Life lived well in Cyprus

Here’s the weather forecast for the next four months;
Wind force zero until 0900 hrs then south to southwest increasing to force 3 or 4 by 1500 hrs. Sea state flat until 0900 then some swell.
Rainfall nil until September. Temperature warm to horribly hot 28 – 42 Celsius and humid by the coast.

I think I’ll go water-skiing tomorrow. Well you tell me what else can anyone do in those conditions except suffer. The teaching contract I have out here allows me to use all the subsidised military sporting facilities. So after starting the day water skiing, if the snow has gone from the top of Mt Troodos (yes you can do water and snow skiing in the same morning) then you can sunbathe until the wind is strong enough for the wind-surfing.

After two years of windsurfing I only looked forward to the strong winds, and it seemed such a waste to ignore the steady sea breeze, so I wondered about joining the intrepid bird men at Curium Hill.

Sadly the first course in April 87 coincided with the Spring storms and there were only 4 days flying in one month. In Oct Highway Flight Services sent Damian Le Roux and Richard Crane who coaxed and led me to Pl. Then the winter storms set in and I had to wait until Feb for my next flight -so it is not always easy -one year to get my first soaring flight!  Eventually I kept an ancient Stubby going for an hour in such smooth air that all those dreams of floating came real, I was hooked and progressed to a blue Demon glider and the hours of flying  made my dreams become reality.

Flying that big hang glider was the nearest to being a soaring bird, but this big bird attracted challenges from the resident Cyprus avians and sometimes I was soaring with the Griffin Vultures, a large bird with much better skills at soaring than me and with sharp talons and a big beak.  Fortunately they must have thought me too skinny and left me alone. 

But my twisting and turning was pathetic when compared to the Eleanora’s Falcons which swooped and tried to bother me, like crows that mob a buzzard in UK, but the falcons soon left me when I could not imitate their perfect hovering. Even the aerobatic crows saw me as no real competition.

I was happy to be left on my own, soaring over the beach until the sea breeze reduced and I examined possible landing sites and wondering if the topless sunbathers would scatter if I became distracted and landed too near them.  I wondered if I would get a hero’s welcome from the thousands of bronzed bodies when I landed, but once I landed safely the novelty was gone and I was just an ageing hippy in a flying suit. Oh sod it I’ll get a lift back to the top and go hang gliding again.

It is so easy to go hang gliding here -a military club means that equipment and a vehicle is provided and maintained by subscriptions, grant etc. For a nominal fee I have flown the Club’s Gyre, Super Scorpion, Demon, Vision and Polaris.

Most of the flying is over Curium, an ancient Roman settlement that was destroyed in an earthquake and in the process of being excavated. In front of the cliff we soar over is the clear blue sea and between my feet I see the large amphitheatre where outdoor Shakespeare is performed in the Spring evenings soon. I remember tucking into my hamper and wine at Curium listening to recorded music by moonlight, watching Andy floating in the last of the sea breeze. It would have been idyllic except for the helicopter that came over and buzzed him because there was a VIP in the audience and we are not far from the Middle East, the tension is always there.

When we fly we don’t carry the heavy hang gliders but drive to the top and take off from beside a tavern and land next to a tavern – well if you are in paradise why not go the whole hog and get every benefit! It is sometimes interesting to photo the mosaics underneath while soaring and then guess which undulations in the untouched bondu may still have such beautiful discoveries yet to be discovered.

Bondu is the name of the scrubland. That and the steep sided valley around this area make cross country flying difficult. Even cultivated areas are uninviting when a landing may be in a vinyard -some have wires strung at waist height! We have found a few other coastal sites though our “biggy” is Panayia, a mile wide valley with about 2000 ft ht top to bottom and the chance for thermals or a funnelled sea breeze.  

The ultimate dream must be the forbidden North now occupied by the Turks where the Kyrenia range extends for 20 miles, 1000+ ft high and less than a mile from the coast. On the coastal side must be dreamy ridge soaring in sea breezes and on the other side there is height to catch the thermals off the flat hot central plain, with safe landing areas all the way to Nicosia. The only problem is that you will be shot at by the Turks as a spy!  Or if we fly too high near Troodos then the high powered radar might interact with our metal frame like a microwave and …

One intrepid local invented his own way of overcoming light winds and problems associated with cross country plans -he attached two lawn mower engines with home made props connected to an aerodynamic cross tube which is also the fuel tank.  The Cyprus cliché of “No Problem” started to wear thin when an aborted take off or bad landing might swing into the tip of one of the propellers and the under side of the wing was affected by the airflow of the engine. He later flew and claimed an increased height using the design with cut down props. Since then the authorities have banned powered flight from that site so there will be no more entertainment thank heavens.  He is still flying at 80+ years old when he contacted me in 2016.

That’s about all for now, the sun is setting, and I can leave the air conditioned room for the 30+ heat. I’m teaching windsurfing every afternoon next week, and it will be my luck to have perfect winds for teaching which are the same as the perfect winds for hang gliding. Actually there has not been any wind recently -I guess we’ll just have to go water skiing after all.
(typed in 1987)