Twelve thousand feet in the air--that's half
of Mt. Everest, folks--and I'm smiling.
Proof that travel addles the brain.
I'm hanging over Nelson, New Zealand, which is at the crux of that big
bay at the top of the South Island. Below me there's a green quilt
of farmland, the shimmering sapphire ocean, the piny rumples of the Marlborough
Sounds, and some distant snowy peaks of the Southern Alps. And lots
of air.
Dave, my tandem jumper, has all the control.
I'm literally hanging outside the plane by some straps. And in a matter
of seconds, I saw the turtle-white underbelly of the plane shrinking behind
us--and we hit terminal velocity.
Life is fun!
Back to the main
page
Back to the World
Tour page
© 1999 P. Jason Cochran