Day 7 - Flying Like an Eagle

Standing at the top of the highest peak in Ölüdeniz (1700 meters), I felt butterflies in my stomach. It took us 20 minutes of ride in a truck on the bumpy unpaved road uphill winding till Julee and I were dropped off at the clearing. Hali, my pilot did not waste any time to whip out the jump suit, helped me go in and zipped me tight before he put me into the harness with a stirdy chair in my back. My suit was purple. Julee got in her silver suit. With the helmets on, we looked like we were going to embark on a space travel tour. It was a perfect day. The sky was strikingly blue and the wind was perfect for flying.
''Run when I tell you, run fast and do NOT stop.'' Halı said. I repeated the instructions to myself and thought this was no point of return so of course there would be no stop. Hali opened the parachute and laid it out behind us then he hooked himself to my harness. When we were ın position, a third person walked in front of me, dragged the string and started running backward towards the cliff. As I ran sandwiched between the two men, I was sure I stepped on both of them. In the next second, the man facing me disappeared, I saw the slope below me and I was air lifted. This was one of the most exhilarating moment in my life as the wind took me and fiercely swung me towards the sea. The air was cold at first. My hands were freezing. My arms could feel the wind puncturing the jump suit. I adjusted myself so I could lean back into the chair. The ride was smooth. Hali explained to me the names of the cities below, the twelve islands near Fethiye and patiently answered my gazillion questions. The Aegean Sea was perfectly blue. Closer to the beach at Ölüdeniz, the water turned a little green and sparkled like diamonds. The terra cotta roofs of Ölüdeniz looked like tiny jewelry.
In mid air, it warmed up. I felt the sun on me. Hali asked me if I wanted to try the Spiral. From the name, I could tell it would be a very dizzy experience and could not have been positive for a motion-sick person like myself. ''Why not?'' I heard this stranger coming out of my body and answered very firmly. And that was when it started. I soon had the first hand experience of what people would say ''my life has turned up-side-down''. Everything in my vision was spinning around and I was in the center of the spiral. I lost my equilibrium instantly. The sea, the mountain, and the terra cotta houses went all over places. It was the strangest sensation.

When we got closer to the beach, Hali asked me if I wanted to navigate. I was so happy about his offer, I immediately grabbed the handle on each side and started pulling. Left straight down pull took us to the left facing the sea. Right side directed us to the beach and houses. I was having so much fun, he had to gently interfere and take over before we crash-landed over the roof. The landing was not rough either. As we were over the beach about 4 feet high, he said ''Stand''. I extended my legs and pulled myself up as straight as I could from the chair, I did not even squat down or stumble when I landed in the sand. My heart was liberated with excitement, it was pounding so hard. My ears were ringing from the spiral movement. As I got out of my jump suit and looked up, I saw Julee's red and white parachute right above. She was about to land too!