Halfway between Nice and Cannes, Antibes offers silky sandy beaches, an enjoyable old town, good hiking, and a great Picasso collection. The town’s glamorous port glistens below its fortifications, with luxurious yachts and brightly painted fishing boats. In the 1500s, Antibes’ Fort Carre, which now dominates the port, was the last French stronghold before the Italian border. Today, its festive Old City is charming in a sandy-sophisticated way, and its daily market, spread beneath a 19th-century canopy, brings out the locals. Antibes sits atop the ruins of the fourth-century B.C. Greek city of Antipolis. The Museum of History and Archaeology, featuring Greek, Roman, and Etruscan odds and ends, is the best place to get a sense of this town’s ancient roots — even without English explanations. I liked the 2,000-year-old lead anchors.

Sitting serenely where the Old City meets the sea, Antibes’ Picasso Museum offers a remarkable collection of the master’s work — paintings, sketches, and ceramics. Picasso, who lived and worked here in 1946, said if you wanted to see work from his Antibes period, you’d have to do it in lovely Antibes. Several photos of the artist make this already-intimate museum more so.

For a lazy afternoon in the sun, stretch out on Antibes’ golden sandy beaches — the best lie between the port and Cap d’Antibes. Antibes is also the launching point for several scenic hikes along the rocky coast.

Villefranche-sur-Mer, between Nice and Monaco, is a romantic’s top Riviera choice. Come here for upscale, small-town Mediterranean atmosphere. Narrow cobbled streets tumble into a mellow waterfront, a scenic walkway below the castle leads to the hidden port, and fancy yachts bob in the harbor below. Pebbly beaches and a handful of interesting sights keep visitors just busy enough.

See the stunning interior of the Chapel of St. Pierre, Villefranche’s cultural highlight. Relax on the harbor cruise. At the park, enjoy a lively game of boules (like a grown-up version of marbles). In the evening, your biggest decisions are between a beachfront dinner or an ice cream-licking village stroll. Fit in both.

Along with Antibes and Villefranche, here are some of my other favorite French Riviera towns:

The hill towns of St. Paul and Vence offer a break from the beaches. An easy 45-minute bus ride inland from Nice, St. Paul is part cozy hill town and part local-artist shopping mall. It’s appealingly artsy but gets swamped with tour buses. Meander into St. Paul’s quieter streets and wander far to enjoy the panoramic views. Or consider a steep 15-minute walk uphill to the prestigious (and high-priced) Fondation Maeght gallery, with its world-class contemporary-art collection and pleasant gardens.

Just a 10-minute bus ride from St. Paul, the enjoyable hill town of Vence bubbles with work-a-day and tourist activity. (No boutique shortage here.) Once a haunt of D. H. Lawrence, Henri Matisse, and Marc Chagall, the town has a buzzing daily market and small cathedral with a fine Chagall mosaic. Matisse fans make the necessary pilgrimage here to see the much-raved-about Chapelle du Rosaire for its stained glass and brooding tile sketches.

Eze Village, floating high above the sea, is a spectacular medieval town mixing perfume outlets, fancy boutiques, outrageously priced hotels, steeply cobbled lanes, and jaw-numbing views. A 15-minute bus ride east of Villefranche, Eze Village makes a handy stop between Nice and Monaco. Drop in on the Fragonard or Gallimard perfume outlets to watch the production process and shop the fragrant collections. Nearby hills provide ideal picnic perches. On a clear day you can see Corsica.

Source:ricksteves

I have found my passion – Kite surfing. Let me tell you why this is so important to me now, Kitesurfing is a really cool sport which gives you a wonderful workout and the feeling of ultimate freedom. It’s exhilarating to kite surf on beaches all around the world, not just in the USA, but also exotic lands.

I know just how enjoyable kitesurfing can be and I have made it my mission to help other people learn how to enjoy this fantastic sport.
Getting Started

In 2009 I went on holiday to Brazil with my boyfriend. It was a fantastic holiday, I enjoyed the weather and the activities available. The first day I was there I noticed a few people kite surfing along the beach. I was immediately fascinated by these individuals. They looked so cool and were having the time of their lives. I had a day dream about learning how to kite surf myself, but gave up on the idea because I thought it would be too difficult.

When I got back to the hotel I discovered that there were some beginner’s courses for people who wanted to learn to kitesurf. When I found out about this I decided “I’m going to learn to kitesurf!”

The next morning, I visited one of the kite surfing schools recommended by the hotel and signed up. They specialized in teaching foreigners and all the lessons were in English. From my first moment on a kite surfing board, I knew that it was the sport for me. I knew that it would instantly become my new passion, and the love of my life.

Just try to imagine why it is such a great activity. You can fly through the air, without a care in the world, take your feet off the board, and then land back on the sand or the water. You simply can’t imagine how great this feels, you really need to experience it yourself.
Spectacular

Kite surfing is a stunning sport because you can do it on virtually any beach anywhere in the world. All you need is your board, some wind, and yourself. You don’t need any gasoline, electricity, motors or even pay an entrance fee.

Kite surfing is environmentally friendly, and it’s also convenient. All of your kite surfing equipment can fit into a relatively small bag which you can sling in the trunk of your car and carry anywhere you might need it.

Kitesurfing is suitable for anyone who enjoys the water. You don’t need to be an Olympic athlete or be as strong as Superman to enjoy Kite surfing. If you want to be more active, and are comfortable in water then Kitesurfing is perfect for you.
Exploring

Kitesurfing isn’t just a sport, it’s a great way to explore off the beaten track. You can enjoy this during your vacations all around the world. Once you know how to kite surf you can then use this to explore your local coast line, and also beaches all around the world. You can kite almost anywhere in the world.

The only thing that you need to enjoy kite surfing is wind, water, and your equipment. If you’re lucky enough to live by a beach then you can get a lot of action!
Getting Experience

If you want to learn how to kitesurf as quickly as possible, then you will need to study other experience surfers. You can also learn a lot about different techniques by reading about them. I wanted to learn as much as I possibly can about surfing so that I could get the most out of it.

Source:kitesurf-ebook

First-timers will love the open air feeling as the tandem certified instructor guides your dual hang glider to altitude, then releases it from the tow plane. The silent descent is exhilarating! No skill or previous experience is necessary to try high-altitude dual hang gliding. The instructor will be happy to share controls during the descent if the student desires.

Dual instruction is a great first exposure to the excitement of hang gliding, even for the one-time only student. You don’t have to attend the hill flying class first, you can choose to do the tandem hang gliding as your first hang gliding experience. When you take a tandem hang gliding lesson at Raven Sky Sports, you’ll be flying with a USHGA certified instructor in a special two person hang glider. Since you’ll have your instructor with you the entire time, you won’t need a lengthy training session. You’ll get oriented to the tandem flight plan in just a few minutes, and you’ll be ready to fly together.

The tandem glider is equipped with a special wheel assembly that allows it to roll freely during take-off and landing, and there’s no running involved. When we’re ready to go, the instructor signals for takeoff, and the tow plane will slowly accelerate down the runway. The glider will roll behind the tow plane until it is going fast enough to fly, and then we’ll lift off. Flying on tow is a lot like waterskiing through the sky. Your instructor will keep the glider lined up behind the tow plane throughout the tow up. You’ll be in a great position to watch everything that the instructor does, and to talk with him, and to enjoy the incredible scenery as we ascent to 3,000 feet above Wisconsin. When we get to altitude, your instructor will trigger a release mechanism, and we’ll fly free of the tow line and begin our descent.

At this point in the lesson, you can take the controls and steer the hang glider around. You can try flying faster, or slower…you can steer right and left. Your instructor will keep you within safe limits, and your instructor will take over the controls when it’s time to set up the landing approach and the landing. We land on the wheels, back on the grassy runway, right where we started from. Total round trip time is usually about 20-25 minutes, but that can vary according to atmospheric conditions.

If you love hang gliding, and you want to continue with lessons in the curriculum, then you’ll fly additional tandem flight lessons from the lower harness (which corresponds with solo flying). Your instructor will fly above you in the upper harness, where he can keep you within safe limits and assume the controls as necessary. Eventually, you’ll be able to perform the whole flight from take-off to landing without any input from your instructor…and you’ll be very close to being able to go solo!

Tandem hang gliding lessons are usually held mornings and evenings- 7 days a week. Midday appointments are also available by special arrangement, but are more likely to experience wind gust delays.

Source:hanggliding

Windsurfing is more likely to be enjoyed by many. Sometimes, winds can be strong, and you’ll then admire the colored triangles flying from one end of the bay to the other. Most of the time, winds are blowing moderately enough to allow amateur windsurfers to gradually develop their technique. In St. Jean and in Grand Cul de Sac, beach clubs rent their windsurfing equipment, and their know-how, to beginners.

Source:st-barths

“You know,” said my friend Peter, as he belayed me up, “you’re really not using your feet well at all.” Instant deflation, which also left me perplexed: how could he say that I wasn’t using my feet well if I was getting up the pitch?

Most beginners, certainly men, are terrible at using their feet well, and some never learn how. The key to improvement is usually seeing someone who is very, very good climbing: if you watch them getting up something where you can’t even see what they’re standing on, you quickly realise that footwork can make a very big difference.

Fact: the difference between ordinary climbers and top climbers is footwork, not big arms.

The week before I was on The Plum, I was at Millstone watching someone who had just led Time For Tea (E3 5c) having a go toproping Scritto’s Republic (E7 6b). What amazed me was the precision with which he placed his feet – more specifically, how he looked at just where he was going to put his toe and the edge of his foot, and then put it right there. No scraping or scrabbling; he just put his shoes on the rock and stood on the spot he had chosen.

It’s very hard for beginners to understand that your footwork is the key to improvement. But think of this: remember the difference it made when you first put on a pair of climbing shoes, rather than trainers? Suddenly your feet would stick to things you never could have dreamed of with normal shoes.

The precision and sensitivity that good climbers bring to their footwork, wearing the same shoes as you, is the same as that between wearing trainers and rock boots. They’re much more aware of the signals coming from their feet, of how well their feet are sticking, and they take more care about where they put them. Whether you climb 4c or 5c, don’t forget that there are people who can do 6c, 7a or maybe even 7b moves – and most of their weight is taken by their feet. That’s a lot better than you’re doing presently – but honestly, they’re not superhuman. Nor do they have different rubber from you – Seb Grieve climbed Parthian Shot (E9 6c/7a) in a pair of Five Ten Velcros, the same model you can see at crags and climbing walls all round the country.

So, you’re thinking, how can I tell what’s wrong with my footwork? And how can I improve it?

Diagnosing what’s wrong is tricky. It can help to get a friend to watch you. (Take it in turns on each other – that way you can hurt each other’s feelings equally.) Clues include:

you find your feet slip off holds that other people stand on easily; if you listen to the noise your feet make at a wall, and there’s a lot of banging as you move them between holds, you’re not being precise;

you prefer big footholds, even if they need a bit of a stretch/jump, to small intermediate ones. The last is a common mistake of wall-bred climbers. Trouble is, you might find outside that the whole route consists of little footholds.

Because your legs are much stronger than your arms, you should always try to get your legs to take the overwhelming majority of your weight. Always try to maximise the force that you put through your feet – though be sensitive to marginal holds. Make sure your boots are tight: sloppy boots mean sloppy footwork, because you can’t push precisely on holds.

Look down at what you’re going to put your foot on. The most common fault beginners make is to stand and look up for handholds, and vainly try to move their hands up while standing in the same place. It never works and leads to desperate lunges. Instead, get comfortable on the handholds you have, and then look to see what footholds are available so you can step up. Ask yourself as you look at the footholds: is that the best hold? How do you have to direct your weight to use the hold best?

Many people (especially at climbing walls) don’t believe that sloping holds will take their weight. Usually they will (often better than the same hold used as a handhold). What puts people off is that their foot slips off the hold initially.

This makes many beginners reluctant to trust small or sloping holds – they put their foot unweighted on it, and it seems to want to slip off. But your shoe rubber can only stick to a hold once you exert force on it. This is why rockovers and smears can seem perilous until you get used to the principle that you have to transfer weight onto the higher foot: for rockovers, shift your weight sideways towards the higher knee; for smears, consciously think about pushing on the wall with your smearing foot.

Aim for precision too. As the top climbers show, it’s control over your feet which makes a difference. Tim Emmett once described being in a heightened state of mind on a day when he soloed Left Wall (E2 5c) and Right Wall (E5 6a) at Dinas Cromlech: “I could just see the little pebbles and screw my toe on them and know exactly that they were going to stick,” he said. Notice that he didn’t talk about the handholds; hands are for balance, and on the Cromlech using your feet to the maximum is essential to stop yourself pumping out. And if you’re soloing, then the importance of not pumping out is obviously a lot higher.

If you want to improve your footwork quickly then doing lots of gritstone and limestone slabs is an excellent way forward. But vertical faces and even overhanging rock are good too; on overhanging ground it actually becomes more important to use your feet precisely, both to save strength in your arms on each move and to get you through the physically wearing parts quickly, before you tire too much.

Slabs however give you more time, because your arms aren’t at risk of pumping out, in which you can listen to what your feet are doing, and try to sense – with your eyes closed if you can (though perhaps this is better done indoors) – how shifting your balance controls the weighting on your feet, and the way that affects the usability of a foothold.

Practise using smaller footholds when you’re training. When you’re warming up you should use large footholds until your arms and fingers are warm, but try then to give yourself harder problems. If you use small footholds then you will put more strain on your arms, but you should also aim to extract the most help from those footholds too. Sometimes it’s effective to have one foot high so that you can let most of your weight rest on one foot; other times you’ll just have to invent ways to get the weight off.

If there’s one piece of advice that would make most mid-grade men climb better, it would be: try to climb like a woman. Because they don’t have the height or the big shoulder muscles, women have to climb more efficiently, using their feet to get them higher. This is just as true on difficult traverses and roofs: men think it’s all about muscle, but “weaker” women will often outshine them. The best solution, then, is to watch out for women climbing next time you’re out, and try to copy them.

Well, at least it gives you a good excuse…..

Source:justclimb

This document is intended as an initial information source for BASE jumpers interested in starting wingsuit BASE.

This document is not an instruction manual. It does not contain rules, only advice.

Wingsuit BASE is more dangerous than normal BASE jumping if the jumper does not conduct adequate preparation.

If you choose to pursue wingsuit BASE you are strongly recommended to seek instruction from an experienced wingsuit BASE jumper. There is no substitute for one to one coaching.

A wingsuit allows for incredible freefall delays and horizontal distances to be achieved, almost eliminating the chance of striking the object you jumped off, the number one cause of BASE jumping fatalities.

But jumping a wingsuit also has some serious drawbacks:

The wingsuit restricts your physical movement making exits harder to perform i.e. difficult to climb down to the exit point, easier to go unstable and then harder to recover.
The wingsuit complicates deployment and prevents you from controlling your canopy immediately after opening.
The wingsuit jumper must carefully assess the terrain he intends to fly over as the eventual opening point and landing area will be different than for a normal BASE jump and will also depend on flight performance.
Experienced BASE jumpers who use ground rush as an altitude indicator must exercise caution during their initial jumps. The low fall rate and high horizontal speeds can fool the jumper that they are higher than they actually are. The wingsuit ground rush for a minimal canopy ride is a lot less intense than for normal freefall.
The wingsuit jumper must also pay attention to his altitude when flying down a talus or over sloping terrain. The jumper often focuses on the airspace they are flying towards, giving the illusion they have lots of altitude available (e.g. looking at the valley floor in front of them).
In this situation the jumper must remember that the critical altitude is the immediate vertical elevation they have over the talus or slope. The wingsuit jumper must always ensure sufficient altitude for a safe deployment – bear in mind that as soon as the PC is released the wingsuit jumper will stop flying and drop vertically approx. 200’+ as the canopy deploys.
Experienced wingsuit BASE jumpers may attempt to make jumps that would be otherwise impossible without a wingsuit. The jumper must be absolutely sure of his own capabilities and those of his equipment when undertaking jumps that allow little margin for error.

2. Before even considering doing a wingsuit BASE jump you should be:
An intermediate BASE jumper:

With minimum 50 BASE jumps (but more jumps are strongly recommended!)
Cool under pressure, very comfortable in the BASE environment
Always performing solid exits, also when exiting with arms by your side
Have good sub & terminal tracking skills
Have excellent canopy flying skills and landing accuracy
Have consistent record of stable deployments and on-heading openings

An intermediate wingsuit skydiver:

With minimum 50 wingsuit skydives (but more jumps are strongly recommended!)
Who wears a wingsuit as if it were pyjamas, not feeling physically restricted by the fabric
Always able to find the PC quickly and cleanly, with good on heading openings
Well practiced at recovering from instability
Able to unzip arm wings instantly after deployment – like 2nd nature
Familiar using arm and leg cutaways in freefall and under canopy immediately after opening
Able to fly the suit comfortably without “potato chipping” achieving reasonable fall rate and forward speed
Ideally have performed some wingsuit balloon jumps to simulate the exit & sub terminal flight
See Appendix B for specific flight drills to practice whilst jumping the wingsuit from the plane.

A person who has read all the incident reports, analysed the contributing factors and accepted that wingsuit / BASE jumping is worth the risk of serious injury & death.

3. So you still want to wingsuit BASE? Let’s talk about specific preparation:
Equipment:
First thing, it is strongly recommended to start wingsuit BASE using a low performance wingsuit i.e. Birdman Classic, GTi or similar. Once you have 10+ good wingsuit BASE jumps you could consider jumping with a higher performance suit.

The following items are strongly recommended:

A 1 or 2 pin BASE container for wingsuit BASE. The high speed airflow over the container and high deployment angle excludes the use of a Velcro rig.
A normal terminal pack job i.e. symmetrical, mesh slider packed “up” (large or fine mesh depending on personal preference).
ZP pilot chutes, the size depends on your canopy, between 34” – 38”. The PC should NOT have a hackey handle (or heavy handle). With a hackey PC handle there is the possibility of the bridle wrapping around the base of the handle. A heavy PC handle could contribute to PC hesitation.

The following items are recommended:

A container with “dynamic corners” or open corners.
A suitable helmet, goggles and low profile protective pads.

Back to the dropzone:

Perform 20 hop-n-pops using your low performance wingsuit and a sensibly sized 7 cell main, or even better your BASE canopy in a skydiving rig. (The 20 jumps can count towards the 50)
Work your deployment altitude gradually down to USPA minimum of 2200’, open by 2000’ (Discuss this with your CCI / DZO first, some dropzones may enforce a higher pull altitude)
If you have any instability, deployment or opening problems go back to full altitude jumps until they are rectified, use a BMI if necessary.

During these 20 hop-n-pops think about your emergency drills for the following situations, bearing in mind the reduced altitude and time under canopy:

•     Unstable exit
•     Handle inside of pouch /BOC
•     Hard pull
•     Floating handle
•     PC in tow
•     Premature deployment
•     Horseshoe malfunction
•     Line twists
•     Line over
•     Water landing
•     Jammed zip

Now to a far away land:
It is strongly recommended to go to one of the following well known “high” locations for your first wingsuit BASE jumps. Become familiar with the object performing normal BASE jumps, getting to know landing areas and outs, obstacles, rock drop, winds, talus / ledges etc.

Site     Pro     Con
Carl’s Huge wall in Northern Norway:     Good vertical rock drop
Huge LZ
Good access
Not many sheep and it rains a lot
Norwegian Fjord in Southern Norway:     Good vertical rock drop
Medium sized LZ
Good access
Very expensive beer
Italian Terminal wall:     OK vertical rock drop
Small LZ (assume Heli LZ)
Good access
Wind / turbulence can be a problem
Swiss Fungus:     Good vertical rock drop
Large landing area
Access is difficult, requiring high fitness level and basic climbing skills

Once you are comfortable with the site, pick a day when you are feeling 100% and the weather conditions are perfect to make your first wingsuit BASE jump.
Advice for your first wingsuit BASE jump. What to focus on?

Being current! Make sure you get current at wingsuit skydiving and BASE jumping in the weeks running up to your first jump.
Pack yourself a nice terminal opening, attach the wingsuit correctly with the PC packed in the BOC with the correct tension (not too loose or too tight). Perform a full gear check before the hike, avoid “exit gear fear” syndrome, as you will already be under pressure.
Exit in a nice head high position, student style, with you arm wings open and your leg wing closed, your arm wings will help you balance and remain head high. 1-2 sec after exit slowly extend your leg wing and start to trim the suit as you feel the air speed picking up. Premature exposure of the leg wing can cause you to go head low – be warned! Better to be head high.
If you should go head low, stay calm! Bring your head up and if the object allows it, try to stay parallel with the surface and build up some speed to allow you to pull up out of the dive more easily. You may wish to consider this possibility when selecting the site of your first few wingsuit jumps.
After you have extended the leg wing focus on flying the suit efficiently away from the object pulling nice and high – don’t rush, take time to reach, grip and throw the PC. The PC throw should be vigorous to clear the burble the suit makes behind you. Remember to keep your body symmetrical at all times during deployment to help maintain on heading performance.
It is recommended to learn to deploy from full flight as the BASE environment rarely allows enough altitude to collapse your wings and fall vertically prior to deploying. This also has the advantage of keeping the airflow over your body fast & clean reducing the chance of pilot chute hesitation. Deploying from full flight implies keeping your leg wing inflated and only collapsing your arm wings for the moment required to locate the PC. As your canopy reaches line stretch it is better to close your leg wing as it can catch air causing your body to twist.

Your first 5 – 10 jumps should focus on a stable exit, flight and deployment, once you have these survival skills you can start to think about flight time and distance.

4. You now have some wingsuit BASE experience, what’s next?
Once you have become a competent wingsuit BASE jumper you could consider:

Jumping a higher performance suit
Jumping from lower objects, for example the higher exit points in the legal Swiss valley.
Jumping camera
Performing 2 ways +
Opening up new objects
Aerials
Your imagination is the limit! Make sure there is video!

Note: Trying to land any of the current wingsuit designs is only recommended for the terminally ill.
You want to jump a higher performance wingsuit:
So you have done approx. 10+ good wingsuit BASE jumps with a low performance suit and you now intend to jump a higher performance suit.

Assuming you have trouble free experience flying the higher performance suit from the plane you can go ahead and use it for BASE.

Treat your first wingsuit BASE jump using the higher performance wingsuit the same as your first wingsuit BASE jump.
You want to jump a wingsuit that has a leg pouch PC:
If you intend to use the leg pouch PC (e.g. S3 or Phoenix Fly wingsuit) – it is strongly recommended to perform the following ground and skydiving preparation.

Prior to jumping the leg pouch PC perform a couple of thousand practice pulls on the ground. Be able to find the handle, regardless of body position with your eyes closed. Do 300 practice pulls a night for a week or so, simulating full flight then deployment.

When packing the PC into the leg pouch assure that the Birdman or Phoenix Fly guide lines are followed. The PC should not be too loose or too tight. It is strongly recommended to bar tack the Velcro sleeve to the bridle – check that you leave enough free bridle between the bar tack and pin to ensure the Velcro is completely peeled before any tension is applied to the pin. Failure to do so can cause PC hesitation.

Don’t mate the male-female Velcro over each other 100% when the suit is brand new, let the them overlap 50% to the side for the first few dozen jumps until the Velcro is slightly worn. For more details on assembling and packing the leg pouch PC system please refer to http://www.interone.net/learn/basepc.html.

Perform at least 10 skydives with the system, using a wingsuit or BASE bridle, start with normal altitude jumps, performing dummy pulls in flight and then pulling high to give yourself extra time. Assuming you have no opening problems or issues finding the PC handle quickly & easily you can work down to lower altitude deployments.

Treat your first wingsuit BASE jump using the leg pouch the same as your first wingsuit BASE jump.

5. Conclusion

Following these guidelines does not make wingsuit BASE jumping a safe activity.

Wingsuit BASE is still a relatively new discipline. It requires jumpers to develop new skills, new muscle memory, new judgement and new understanding. Respect it.

This document is by no means the final word on wingsuit BASE jumping, always seek advice and guidance from other experienced wingsuit jumpers and share what you discover.

By taking part in this activity you are in effect a “test jumper”, we all still have a lot to learn….

Let’s be careful out there

Long Flights

Contributors:

• James Boole
• Craig Poxon
• Robert Pecnik
• Simon Brentford
• Gray Fowler
• Yuri Kuznetsov
• Steve Schieberl
• Per Eriksson

Disclaimer:

The authors of this document accept no responsibility, financially or otherwise for any loss, serious injury or death that occurs as a result of any persons following the advice contained within this document.

BASE jumping and wingsuit BASE jumping are extremely dangerous activities carrying risk of serious injury or death. Performing the activities described in this document with out becoming an expert skydiver and completing dedicated BASE / wingsuit training will likely result in a demonstration of natural selection.

Appendix A
Specific wingsuit drills to perform whilst jumping from the plane:

•     Barrel rolls
•     Front flips
•     Back flying
•     Flying and pulling with left arm wing closed (i.e. to simulate blown wing)
•     Pulling out of steep dives quickly (i.e. bad exit)
•     Dropping knees
•     Turning with minimal altitude loss
•     Carving turns
•     Arching, de-arching
•     Deploying from full flight
•     Flying with one bootie off
•     Turning only with legs
•     Turning only with arms

Source:dropzone

History and mystery are all around us, from the sentient Moai of Easter Island to the spiritual ruins of Maccu Piccu to the city of Petra, carved into the hills. What better way to enjoy these special places than through the lenses of talented photographers.

I’m a firm believer in seeing the history of the human race through what they’ve left behind.

Many of these places defy our logic and prove that perhaps ancient people were more advanced than we thought. Each one of them provides us with plenty of fuel for the imagination.

Stonehenge – Wiltshire County, England

Kaghan & Naran valley: Kaghan Village has given its name to the whole Valley. It is 64 km from Balakot at an altitude of 2,039 m. Naran is the main tourist attraction of the valley. It is linked with Balakot by 88 km long metalled road. It takes 4 hours by car to reach Naran. Naran serves as a base for the whole valley. From here, you can ride a jeep or horse or hike to several picturesque lakes, valleys and peaks. The journey through the valley by the side of Kunhar river is indeed a unique experience.

A holiday in Kaghan Valley, the Himalayan hide-away situated northeast of Hazara district of North West Frontier Province, is an unforgettable experience. Its mountains, dales, lakes, waterfalls, streams and glaciers are still in an unbelievable pristine state, an unspoiled paradise. The Valley extends for 155 km rising from an elevation of 2,134 metres to its highest point, the Babusar Pass (4,173 m). Kaghan is at its best in the summer months (May to September). In May the temperature is: maximum 11 C and the minimum 3 C. From the middle of July up to the end of September, the road beyond Naran, snowbound throughout the winter, is open right up to Babusar Pass.

Tourist Attractions

Most of the tourists especially come to visit lake Saiful Maluk lying 10,600 feet above sea level with its natural tranquillity in the foot hills of Himalayas. Saiful Maluk is one of the most beautiful lakes of the world. To sit beside the lake is to be in the fairy world. Camping at Saiful Maluk is an experience of life time.

You can find nice and comfortable hotel accomodation at Shogran and after a day’s rest consider moving on to Sri Paya. But be prepared for the extra bumpy ride. You can also plan a hiking trip to Sri Paya from Shogran. It will take around two and half hour to reach at peaks of Sri Paya.

Once you reach Sri Paya the discomfort of the journey is forgotten as you find yourself surrounded by a spectacular view of the Makra hills and the Malka Parbat peak. Malka Parbat in english means “Queen of Mountains”.

The next stop Khanian offers the best trout one can taste in the north. The dazzling greens of Dana Meadows and the slippery glaciers at tarmac, on the way to Naran, are quite an experience.Malka Parbat, can be best approached by hiking or driving 10 KM from Naran to the legendary Saiful Maluk nesting in the shadows of The Malka Parbat. On a clear day, you can behold the majesty of the Malka Parbat’speaks reflected in the lake’s deep blue icy waters.

Source:travelspk

Purobeach Black Sea offers a fanstastic beach and a great pool terrace with sunbeds. Whether lounging with a bottle of champagne or
having a glamorous dinner at night, the area is in perfect harmony with the best seaside services, all wrapped to fabulous lounge music
from our DJ´s. Sunsets at purobeach are unrivalled in Mamaia, as the sun sets behind the club, kicking off the evening into a night lounge
filled with music, food & drinks continuing well into the early hours.

The convenient location makes it easy to reach from the city center of Constanta, just taking a right turn from Mamaia drive. Those guests
arriving by boat are able to anchor directly next to Purobeach, following this hot point 44°16‘17.55“ N /28°37‘25.29“E

FACTS & SERVICES:

• Outdoor and indoor bar & restaurant
• 20 double cushion covered sunbeds in our pool oasis area
• 20 single cushion covered sunbeds in our pool oasis area
• 10 hang over beds
• 150 cushion covered sunbeds in our private beach
• Outdoor massages
• Deep tissue massage
• Aromatherapy massage
• Reflexology & foot massage
• Body care, manicure, pedicure and hairstyle salon
• Free wireless internet connection
• Shop
• Shower & changing rooms

Source:purobeach

You can’t have a seaside holiday without a good beach, but you need to be sure that they’re safe, relaxing and clean – especially if you’re taking toddlers with you. South Devon’s got great beaches that are perfect for proper bucket and spade holidays, and many of them are award winners for cleanliness and safety. Bantham beach is one of the best in the area and ticks all right the boxes if you want a typical English seaside holiday.

Beautiful and Safe

This crackingly good beach is part of a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It’s also won awards from the Marine Conservation Society and the coveted Blue Flag, so you know it’s clean. You can see Bigbury Bay and Burgh Island from the beach – a couple of interesting locations that are well worth a visit. You can get to Burgh Island by taking a ride on the famous ‘sea-tractor’, which the kids will love. Bantham is shallow and sandy so it’s great for families with kids who want to do a little swimming or paddling, and to keep anxious parents’ minds at rest there are lifeguards on duty from May to September. At low tide, you’ll find loads of shallow pools that warm up quickly in the sun and are perfect for crab hunting.

Surfing Trips

But there’s more to Bantham beach than just sun, sand and ice cream. It’s also one of the best surfing beaches in South Devon. The beach has got mellow waves for beginners (known in surf-speak as ‘ankle slappers’), while the mouth of the River Avon fires out enough rips and breaks to test even the most radical hot-doggers.

Once you’ve had enough of the waves there’s a pub nearby serving great beer and home-cooked meals. If you want to stay near the beach there are plenty of great B&Bs in the local village. The beach is well served with its own facilities, including a beach shop where you can buy all those little essentials. While dogs are not allowed on the beach between May and September they are allowed on the Estuary all year round, which you can get to at low tide.

Source:visitsouthdevon