NORTHEAST BRAZIL

Joanna Di Grigoli at home in the sky above northeast Brazil

Photo: Joanna Di Grigoli

NORTHEAST BRAZIL

Joanna Di Grigoli has spent several seasons in northeast Brazil, chasing records and personal bests. Whether foot-launching or towing, here’s her advice on getting the best out of your stay.

1. Do your research. Before you go, talk to pilots who have already been. If you don’t know anyone who’s been there, go to XContest or Leonardo and take a look at tracklogs to see what the usual routes are. I’ve superimposed my tracklogs from different years and I’ve seen I’ve thermalled in the same spots in the middle of the flats!

2. Prepare your kit so you can fit in food and lots of drinking water. I also recommend mixing powdered electrolyte solution with your drinking water – you’ll stay extra hydrated in the air and on the ground if you ever have to walk or wait in the heat. You’ll also feel much better the next day. You can find it in any pharmacy in Brazil in different flavours (my favorite is coconut!). Bring food with you because you’re going to be in the air all day long. Dried fruit and local nuts like cashew and Brazil nuts work fine, or bring your favorite from home.

3. Wear a peeing device or diapers and use them! There’s a peeing device for women called the She-P (she-p.com) that works like a charm after some practice. You need to drink lots of water in flight and that water will eventually want to leave your body. So, salud!

4. Pick your launch time. Flying in Quixadá or Patú and Assu or Caicó is completely different, especially on when to launch. If you foot launch, get off as soon as you can before the wind gets too strong and wait until the base lifts before you turn around and fly downwind. If you tow, choosing the right time to launch is trickier because if you launch too early, you can end up on the deck at 7.15am and if the logistics don’t allow coming back to relaunch, your day will be over. It all depends on your goals. If you’re there to break records, you’ll want to get off as soon as possible, but if you’re there to fly your first 200km or 300km, then it’s worth waiting for the right time. It will be more fun.

5. Team up. In Quixadá or Patú, a gaggle will form naturally as people wait for the right time to leave and that makes the first (and hardest) part of the flying a bit easier. But if you go towing, it’s worth teaming up with another pilot with a similar glider and towing at the same time so you can work together (and it’s more fun!).

6. Early in the morning, take whatever climb you find and don’t leave it! Usually, the wind is strong, and you’ll see the kilometres go by while you drift in that zero. The pace changes throughout the day: it’s slow early on, then full-on before noon, then there’s a pause at noon (stay high!), then full-on again and then there will be a lovely restitution during that final glide at sunset. Learn to adapt to these changes in pace and you’ll fly all day long.

Clouds showing the way ahead

Photo: Joanna Di Grigoli

7. Read the clouds. There can be blue days, but there are many days with puffy clouds like in your dreams. There will be endless cloudstreets you can surf, but reading the clouds is the key. While you climb in a thermal, take mental photos of the clouds in every turn (a tip I read from Will Gadd ages ago) and see how they evolve. That way, you can see if the cloud you’re heading to is getting better or not. Sometimes, you’ll have to switch from one cloudstreet to the other. Learn to tell if a cloudstreet is dying so you can switch to another while you’re still high. Looking at the cloud shadows is also helpful, especially if you’re at base and can’t see the other clouds anymore. If the wind isn’t very strong, cloudstreets will be less noticeable and the sky will be filled with cumuli you can choose from.

8. Forget about the mountains. This place is all about the flats. Because it’s so windy, it’s not worth going to a mountain and trying to find a thermal there. You might end up in some nasty compression and fly backwards towards the lee. If you have no choice and you’re stuck in a mountain/hilly area, find a thermal before the mountain, that way you’ll be high enough to cross it.

9. Cycles are short. Normally, thermic cycles are very short so sometimes that puffy cloud you’re heading to has already stopped working. It’s worth heading towards a cloud when it’s starting to form, especially early in the day, so you’ll be able to use the entire cycle to get to base.

10. Don’t fight against the wind! If your thermal breaks up and you are over halfway up, don’t fly against the wind to try to find it: you’ll have more chance of finding lift flying downwind. Of course, if you’re high and a vulture is showing a better core nearby, go for it! I never argue with vultures in the Sertão.

11. Get your goals straight. Don’t let the group influence you. When you’re in a group, you can get motivated by them or get sucked by their negativity. I’ve seen both. So when you go to the Sertão, you need to know why you’re going there. This is an amazing place where you can have goals like breaking records, flying all day long, making your personal best, or having an adventure with the locals. All these goals are valid and they’re some of the reasons why we fly. So, know why you’re going to Brazil and enjoy yourself.

TRAVEL INFO

Best time: September to December is the main season, but you can fly Quixadá all year round

Guiding and where to stay: Andy Flühler (flywithandy.com); Eurismar Junior (tinyurl. com/tn59jgh); and Escape Paragliding (jockysanderson.com) run XC tours to northeast Brazil. DIY in Quixadá and stay at Pedra dos Ventos (pedradosventos.com.br)