Gecko Fly Parapente

The most amazing PPG race PXP Baza

2011-10-18T21:24:00.008+02:00

Booting over the resevoir on the first 100K race

Flying over stunning desert landscapes of the Altiplano
of the Baza plain in Granada

The resevoir surrounding Jabalcon

Stonking in to goal on the last race of the 4 day event.
If you'r not on full speed bar all the time ...you lose

Mathieu Rouanet winner of the comp watching the Acro

Jose and flying Camera man

Jose Navarro. Señor PXP.....director and organizer of the event .

Medio dia ..Domingo ........Pallea gigante!

2011-05-25T15:12:00.000+02:00

http://youtu.be/_6gORstJ554

griffon vultures over cortijo al viento

2010-11-08T19:52:00.003+01:00

Today was a day where paraglider pilots stay on the ground... we have had gusts well over 100kmh and were in danger of losing solar panels , chimneys and roof tiles
but the first time I have ever seen griffon vultures being blown backwards
a rarity here ! we had a flock of over 30 vultures pinned at the back of our house unable to gain height to cross the sierra estancias

They persevered for about 20mins until they gave up and flew further
west ,where we lost sight of them ,to try there

Trudy admiring a straggler!

and Lupa a bit excited ...waiting for them to land

Almeria primaveral

2010-05-23T09:41:00.002+02:00

Saliente Skies

2010-05-22T22:44:00.008+02:00

Combination of working in uk , crisis continuing in Spain
and a very wet and windy winter have meant we have been
quite ..but not dead ! back to a ever so green spring here
in Almeria and back in the air

Sprinting in Saliente

Chris hadnt flown for months....so we chucked him off first
and as he was going up and down a fair bit. we worked out
there might be some thermals around...

Jerry and Jess have a new dog Dextar but he will have to get

a blue flying suit if he wants to hang out with us

Thanks for the retrieve Jess ...and the Pics

In flight magazine

2010-02-18T00:19:00.002+01:00

Steve's made it into bmi baby's inflight magazine sharing his top tips for visiting Almeria...check out their destination guide here
The monastery at El Saliente, Mojacar chiringuitos and Cala Alto all get a mention!

www.geckofly.com

2009-09-15T18:03:00.002+02:00

We're now the proud owners of the Gecko Fly domain name - this means you dont have to remember the long blogspot name when you tell people about us - just go to www.geckofly.com and you'll reach this page!

Concentracion de parapente Loja 2009

2009-09-12T21:09:00.004+02:00

So ,back with the heat and flies and blue skies
but here we are in a paragliding festival in Loja,
bumble (a property developer , fallen on hard times!!!) and Jerry
tossing a coin about a free ticket to take off

a final hug from Sam

Bumble yet again with the promise of a tandem flight
where we go up !

only to be dissapointed yet again .....!
wind was off to the south and a short ride down was all we managed
somewhere , some day !!

holiday west wales style

2009-09-12T20:13:00.005+02:00

Ten days in wales, and THE day it didnt rain much!
and the winds were light ish we went to Rhosilli
just to remind ourselves how beautiful this place
is , and there was a bit of flying to watch
everyone taking off from the beach and hopping back to the dunes
apart from this speed wing

Thai fish cakes and mussels in white wine for lunch!

contemporary Welsh fare! not like in the old days

when it was half & half!

New video for Gecko Fly Parapente!

2009-09-12T12:03:00.003+02:00

Here's our great new video: shot on location at the take off at Saliente by Simone Owen who came flyng with us and got inspired!

Thanks Simone!

Weather to fly......

2009-08-19T16:42:00.008+02:00

No messing about with Becky - we took off and caught
a thermal up, right above the take off

Here's Becky waiting on the ground
and in the air.
We were waiting for Jerry 'sprint'
on his new wing to catch up so we could fly together

Nice flight 6km down the ridge, flying with an eagle and landing
with my passenger who looks like
she is going to let me take the
all the weight!! Feet down next time Becky!

Thankfully the under-carriage went down
at the last moment for a perfect landing

Watching Sprint come and join us! Jess is keener
on the colour now she's seen it against that lovely blue sky

Flying Gin Sprints makes you smile!

2009-08-17T23:32:00.003+02:00

Nuestra amigo Hector (phenomenoooooooo!)
mejorando mucho desde hace
8 meses en la hospital , Virgin de las Nieves: Granada
ahora estar en Almeria .
nosvemos pronto para cervecitas !!!

Vuelos en bi plaza

2009-08-17T15:16:00.005+02:00

Its been a busy few days for Gecko Fly Parapente, fiesta season is bringing the pilots and the punters out. Edward from New York, Ernesto from Barcelona and Dominic currently of Bristol all took to the skies over the last few days.
Local pilot Jerry tried out his new Gin Sprint and happy landings all round.

Heres Ed on take off

Ernest y Vanessa de Las Pocicas / Barcelona!

Que guapa! Hasta la proxima vez!

Passenger Dominic with his son Alfie and director of our upcoming video Simone Owen

Jerry lends a hand as 'anchorman'

Jerry gets high on his new wing

Soon to be pilot Keith looking up enviously - Simone says he is now "officially obsessed"

Back on the ground

The Rambla Oria : Our new playground!

2009-07-19T17:39:00.003+02:00

the new fly site at the head of the Rambla Oria.
Take off is top left next to the fire watching turret
it works with southerly through to easterly winds

then we can fly this easterly facing ridge

we have a couple of landing options but the most senic
has to be the flight over the neolithic remains (bottom left)
and then cruise down to land in the rambla, a 525M top to bottom

Above the clouds

2009-07-12T13:53:00.000+02:00

one of the pleasures of flying a paramotor
has to be playing above the clouds

bathed in sunlight flying in shorts and T shirt
casting a Brocken spectre on the clouds below

its the stuff of dreaming!

trudy

2009-07-12T13:42:00.000+02:00

Trudy's usually behind the camera,
at least on the ground!
but when you phone to book your flight
or aerial photos
you will often be talking to Trudy
who not only has an excellent phone manner
but is also an award winning photographer
here is her prize photo from the
1 Concurso de fotografia,
almendros en flor 2009

Misty

2009-07-10T18:46:00.000+02:00

Tattoo artist and trainee cessnar pilot Misty had not one but two flights with Gecko Fly on tuesday. Watched by Natalie, Luca and Carlos (of Saliente fame) Misty conquered her fear of heights by running right off the edge and coming back for more.

More tandem flying with gecko fly parapente

2009-07-07T15:49:00.001+02:00

James and Sarah came out flying yesterday, a present from their Sarah's parents. First time paragliding for both although they've tried their hands at most other activities, sail planes, hot air balloons, bob sleigh, mountain biking! Next week James is going up in a micro-light!
James had a great flight heading over the Santuario at Saliente and then up along the ridge, landing halfway back to Velez Rubio! James had stolen most of Sarah's wind though and her shorter flight gave her a closer view of the valley slopes and she was greeted by Ramon and his amigo landing down in the Rambla de Saliente.
Next time you're over Sarah we'll get you up in the air again!

Sarah said she felt like turtle in her gear!

Sarah and James raise a glass to celebrate "not being dead!!"

El Yelmo 2009

2009-07-03T16:58:00.000+02:00

Still time to head for the 10th Festival Internacional del Aire in el Yelmo, Segura de Sierra, Cazorla this weekend. Take a look at http://www.fiaelyelmo.com/ for details.

Arriba, abajo...y arriba!

2009-07-03T16:28:00.000+02:00

Simone, Keith and the family came down from Caravaca de la Cruz for a tandem flights at Saliente. More usually installing solar water heaters with Solar Directa, Keith has been keen to build on his earlier experiences of hang-gliding where he learnt on the same misty Welsh mountains as Steve did.
He and daughter Simone are planning on learning to paraglide so what better way to get a taste of free flying.........

Heres Steve giving a double safety briefing and below with Keith and Simone moments before they took off......

Smoke from a large wild fire near Lubrin marks out the inversion
level for us !

Keith learns that 'perseverance pays off' after being stuck
low for 15min we eventually climb out and top out
400m above takeoff, before a run down the ridge and a spiral
dive to finish!

Simone's tandem flight ended at the Rambla landing complete with fresh apricots courtesy of Ramon's senora - sadly we have neither a photo of this or any apricots as we think the Owen family went off with our share!!

Volando en verano

2009-06-22T15:46:00.001+02:00

Hot summer evenings, pine and thyme scented hills...aah..... paragliding in summer in spain....here's Jerry clocking up a few more hours at Saliente and Steve takes passenger Steve for another tandem flight over the valley

Parapente en Almeria - perros y pilotos!

2009-05-11T16:47:00.000+02:00

Domingo en Collado Garcia, pilotos de Almeria, Almanzora y mas, perros locos y velas en los arboles!

The Morgue

2009-05-11T16:24:00.000+02:00

Morgan's been waiting for his birthday present for a while. More usually heard but not seen on The Morgue Show - Death metal and more....http://valleradio.eu/presenters_on_valle_radio.htm he finally got in the air along with a few others on sunday at Collado Garcia, Los Filabres.
Here he is looking mildly amused (bemused/in denial?), waiting at take off, in the air and finally a bit more relaxed with a beer and Brekky and Katie....

La primavera en Saliente

2009-05-11T16:01:00.000+02:00

Back on the mountain after a few weeks away to find sunshine and wild flowers have taken over....... almost tempting to stay in the hammock instead of heading for take off.......

Oxford outing

2009-05-11T15:31:00.000+02:00

A long awaited visit from friends from Oxford, Liz, Pete, Alex and Helen..first day activity was to get Helen in the air -here she is being briefed, with brother Alex, relaxed (nail biting?) spectators and running with conviction for the edge of Saliente mountain.

Years ago Trudy sung in bands with both Pete and Liz - check out their more recent musical dalliances http://www.blue-kite.org.uk and http://www.myspace.com/moietyoxford

bob

2009-03-16T20:36:00.000+01:00

Bob came flying and then drinking with us on sunday

along with Debs whose interests are more equestrian

but nevertheless it made her legs like jelly, just watching

when hubby bob took to the air

nice people and bob did a fine job of weight shifting

in our turns

Bob and Debs

Indi and the boys who came to watch.... when your ankles

better indi we will take you up up up up !

club gecko hit the diana (target)

2009-03-05T12:04:00.000+01:00

Concentracion Parapente Berja-Castala 2009
The view of castala on sunday morning
a near perfect looking sky and good spring flying
with thermals up to 5ms

Antonio who hasn't had a taste of the air for
5 months, proving he hasnt forgoten how to fly
and hitting the spot!

juan medico with big smile and a mean pasta carbonares
for lunch

we hit the diana too on the tandem and got a round of applause

and we look very pleased with ourselves!!

jerry comming in determined to win the accuracy cup
(not that he's competitive!)

and once again bang on target!

a very rare photo of Pedro Pu

Jerry and Jess and the really pleased smile

And then we all went home! thanks to Club Parapente Almeria for putting on the
concentracion we loved the take off, landing, bocodillos de jamon, camping and everyone friendly...
next year some toilets would be good!!

Jerry flies Saliente

2009-02-26T13:58:00.000+01:00

Fly Saliente - tandem paragliding 2009!

2009-02-26T13:20:00.000+01:00

A sunny sunday at Saliente sees Juan flying as wind dummy

Steve explaining the finer points of running off a mountain top to Phil of Sunergy Almeria

Phil checking his running direction!

and in the air as Jerry gets ready to fly Saliente for the first time

We apologise for the interuption.......

2009-02-20T16:35:00.000+01:00

Back in the air after 5 weeks landlocked in the UK!
Yesterday saw us heading to Oria with pilots Juan, Chris, and new to the area Jerry and Jess.
Almond blossom, blue skies, spring sunshine and a cold air mass, smooth flying and a chance to fly tandem for the first time at this site.........

Concentracion Castala-Berja, Almeria

2009-01-08T21:46:00.000+01:00

Paragliding Concentracion organised by Almeria Club Parapente with the Ayuntamiento de Berja - weekend of February 28th/March 1st.

The gathering is taking place to launch the opening of the new flying sites in the Sierra de Gador - great flying, competitions, prizes, transport, camping, food, T-Shirts, and dinner on saturday night . Sunday guided walking in the beautiful Sierra Gador for non-flyers

Registration for pilots - €15, dinner €12 and €5 for non-flyers.

Take a look at http://www.parapentealmeria.com/castala2009.html for more information and to register

Big sky - west wind

2009-01-08T21:33:00.000+01:00

Too much westerley winds to fly on tuesday so we went to Chirivel kite flying with Jesus and Nic - freezing fingers and snow on the way, Sierra Maria in the background

Steve acting as anchor man while Trudy flies big kite!

2009-01-07T20:53:00.003+01:00

monday at sierra maria

we had a break in the snow and wind

(seasonal weather for andalucia)

so we went to try out a site/slope for n/westerly winds

nothing to get toooo excited about but got in the air !

lovely views of la Sagra 2368m : near Carzorla just across

the plain of maria

Rambla Oria

2008-12-29T21:57:00.000+01:00

Rambla Oria : its not really a new site cause we have flown
the mountain (in background) before, and its on the cross country route
from saliente, but it meant a hard walk up and
difficult take off (lots of spiky bushes)
so today we went out to see if it was all possible from another
drivable takeoff (god we are getting lazy)

and did it work !!! yep

exactly halfway to a very low cloudbase

(spot the glider comp) big earing out of the cloud

spiraling down to land on the site of this new years eve party
cant be bad! Kev Shaun and kids worrying about pole sizes
for the dance tent...check out
http://www.freewebs.com/sunrisesoundsystem
for latest info about the new years eve bash

Noche Buena nublado!

2008-12-24T17:19:00.000+01:00

Noche Buena, Christmas Eve and the valley is full of advection cloud.... but up at 1400m theres sunshine and fantastic views - sadly the wind is flowing over the back , so the view was all Morgan got instead of his promised birthday flight...........otra vez.........

feliz navidad

2008-12-23T23:59:00.000+01:00

As the sun went down today, cloud laps up the valley around
the foothills of the Sierra Estancias ,a good opportunity to send
merry xmas wishes from gecko fly
... feliz fiestas a todos

Mojacar Magazine

2008-12-02T15:50:00.000+01:00

Steve's aerial view on the front cover of the eighth edition of Mojacar Magazine

Still waiting for the editors to come flying with us!

Louise's flight with Gecko Fly

2008-11-10T15:22:00.001+01:00

Louise of LouLous in Turre, took some time out from the hairdressing business to come flying with Gecko Fly. Last time she did this was in the Alps - no running on the take off, she did it with skis!
Here she is ready to go.......and a great take off which literally swept Louise off her feet!

Mags goes paragliding for MACS

2008-11-10T15:08:00.000+01:00

Mags was given a voucher for a tandem paragliding flight and decided to do it for a cause. She took to the skies in aid of MACS - Mojacar's cancer support charity.
Here's Mags, front row on the left, just before heading for take-off with friends and supporters, they stayed on the ground with a birds eye view from the terrace at the Saliente restaraunt.

Here's Mags getting prepared, watched from the sidelines by Allen

And finally in the air ..........

..............and a big smile on the ground

Mags has already raised nearly 300 euros for cancer support here in Spain - if you'd like to add to that total and make a donation click here

gone with the wind ?

2008-11-02T22:31:00.000+01:00

Caroline came flying with us eariler on in the year
and her article finally made it to print in the Costa Almeria News
last week. thanks caroline !

talking wind....
Sitting here with gale force nwesterlies
the wind generator is making horrific noises
but at least the batteries are full
and the occasional down chucking of huge quantities of water
that have washed out our track to take off (twice)
summer seems a long time ago ........ here in almeria
we need the rain and probably more of it than we have had in
october, however looking forward to some more stable
weather patterns later this week

Happy Birthday Heather!

2008-10-06T22:47:00.000+02:00

Peter persuaded Heather up to Saliente Alto under the guise of taking photos of the Santuario at Saliente for their own website Casa Erizo - whilst all the time plotting her birthday suprise! Here's Heather looking pleased...then a little concerned to be doing such a crazy thing on a monday afternoon..and Peter and her dog Milly watching her fly off into the distance.. tails slightly at half mast...but all smiles at the landing area! Hope you have a great day on thursday!

Steve takes flight

2008-10-06T22:44:00.000+02:00

Long time coming....

2008-10-06T22:23:00.000+02:00

Its seems like a long time since we had any photos of folks flying - forgetting the camera - the rains - the wind..but thanks to Juan the track to the take off is drive-able again and passenger Steve was well keen to have a break from hauling buckets of concrete in Saliente Alto - Ken and Kay's thank you for all his hard work.

Here he is flying today and take a look at Ken's video above for Steve's take-off yesterday - we hope he'll be back to break the altitude record!

and here's Ken indulging in the art of para-waiting........

a wee beastieee....

2008-09-11T18:09:00.000+02:00

we should have been on a flight to the Highlands of Scoootland
tomorrow to attend de Bumble and Sams wedding,
but things are conspiring against us ....not least this wee
clooud that put paid to flying today.
back to normal tommorow, or we start eating the kilt!

Tiempo mal

2008-09-10T12:39:00.000+02:00

Not a good flying week for us Geckos! Stormy, cloudy and strong easterley winds meant we didnt get much flying done here - but ever optimistic, heres hopeful passengers Terri, Paddy and friends learning all about the alternative activity of para-waiting up on the take off - even the windsock has given up and tied itself in a knot

From helicopter to paraglider

2008-09-10T12:23:00.000+02:00

Claire, one of only 80 female helicopter pilots in the UK, came to fly with Gecko Fly Parapente last week - and flew not once, but twice!
Here's Steve getting Claire ready for her flight watched by local pilot Hector.

Blast off Mojacar!

2008-08-21T13:00:00.000+02:00

Mandy and Jason took a break from their business dmatchdigital installing satellite systems to try out the skies for themselves - well Jason's still thinking about it but Mandy was keen!
She flew tandem with Steve catching a few good thermals and cunningly landing closer to the bar at the Santuario than the retrieve vehicle!
Mandy said "thanks for a great day - I had a blast"
Jason took a great video, you'll be able to watch it down at Reflections Bar on Mojacar Playa.

Gap Year Geckos - the Light Family return!

2008-08-04T17:29:00.000+02:00

Really good to see Tony and his family again with Jo coming along for her second flight plus her friend Jasmine - both are on their gap year and planning adventures down under and in Africa and the States, they'll probably have off-roaded, bunjee jumped and sky-dived their way round the world the next time we see them!

A great thermic flying day - it was hard to persuade the wing to descend when it was time to land.....heres Jasmine and Jo in action - nice photo of Jo where her head perfectly forms the peak of the Saliente mountain - I'm saying nothing Jo!!

Head for the hills

2008-08-03T09:00:00.000+02:00

The boys from Mojacar escaped the Playa and headed for the hills on Saturday, Chris, Lee, Cookie and Luke made for Saliente for a spot of flying!
A bit of a cahnge from Saturday afternoon at Mojacar Playa, Cookie loved the views and said he felt like he should have bought his passport with him!
Two fab flights with birds eye views of the Santuario at Saliente Alto..we think they're converted!
Vouchers for Gecko Fly paragliding tandem flights can now be bought in Mojacar direct from Chris by calling in to his bar 'Reflections' on the playa or call him on 652 720791
For other outlets and more info - call us

Parapente en Collado Garcia

2008-07-29T14:29:00.000+02:00

Cuatro pilotos de parapente, Juan y Antonio de Almanzora, Stefan de Belgica y Chris del Bar 'Reflections' en Mojacar - Julio en Collado Garcia ' viento fuerte, dos inversiones fuertes....esperando un poco ...y un poco mas .....por fin, vale la pena - aire muy suave!

Collado Garcia - Tandem flying/ vuelos en biplaza

2008-07-29T14:02:00.000+02:00

Sunday afternoon on a sunny, windy day at Collado Garcia. Two tandem pasengers to fly - Sandy and Gilbert - Sandy has flown gliders and had a tandem flight with Gecko Fly Parapente at Saliente last year - he was keen to go again, this time in the Sierra Filabres.

Here he is getting ready, taking off with Chris as anchor-man (the wind was strong!). Once up the air was smooth and he even did a bit of flying himself (the first time Steve's felt confident to hand over the controls!) then back to earth and looking happy afterwards.......

Meanwhile Gilbert waits for his turn, last time he did this was at Olu Deniz in Turkey, at least its not such a scary drive to the take off.......

Gecko Fly Tandem with Andreas

2008-07-21T14:01:00.000+02:00

Andreas' last flight was a bit of a flop to bottom so this weekend he left his valley and headed for Saliente and the hills hoping for more...here's Steve reassuring him they'll be going up this time!
(They did!)

'Pro Sun' takes to the skies

2008-07-21T13:37:00.000+02:00

Kelly from Pro Sun Solutions in Mojacar got his Christmas present at the weekend - here he is listening carefully to Steve's briefing, a great take off watched by Emma (who had her own white knuckle ride driving up the mountain) and in the air. Kelly's family chilled out at the terrace in the Restaurante Virgen del Saliente below - the best view and no walking!

www.stevebrockett.com

2008-07-16T23:31:00.000+02:00

Steve is in the process of building his new website - aerial photography and paintings - you can view his work past and present - unique images of Andalucia AND purchase a print, commission a painting, leave comments or even order a mug with an aerial view of Albox on it! (well not quite yet but coming soon!)
Its not finished just yet but take a look and let him know what you think
Find it at http://www.stevebrockett.com/

Website hosting by the fab smugmug

festival internacional del aire el Yelmo 2008 : sierra de segura : jaen

2008-07-06T17:17:00.000+02:00

first light of the day strikes the cliff top pueblo of Hornos

flying conditions were good for the festival of free flight
this weekend: a chance to leave the dry landscape of almeria
and spend some time in the green lush landscape of cazorla

Hornos from closer up

Hornos with the pantano behind

Segura de la Sierra

Flying Jesús

2008-07-04T14:00:00.001+02:00

Jesús de Madrid y Gales y http://www.sierrawoodworks.co.uk/ en su vuelo en biplaza con Steve:

Para alguien loco por las aves es lo mas cerca que se puede estar
de ser una de ellas. Es como ser un aguila perdicera durante
media hora... Totalmente recomendable.
For someone mad about birds it´s as close as you can get to becoming
one of them. It´s like being a Bonelli´s eagle
for half an hour... Absolutely recommendable.

2008-06-30T21:19:00.000+02:00

The last few flights have been in the Los Velez valle, around Chirivel,
where the colors and farming are a distinct contrast
to the Valle de Almanzora

more and more i am drawn to the abstaction of the lines
and forms i see below

early starts! up at 6.30 am and in the air shortly
after 7. 00 to get beautiful flying conditions and nice
light , before the andalucian sun starts stirring up the
inversion, and the first thermic activity begins

i'm dreaming of flying down the draa valley in morroco
and photographing the date palms ....maybe this autum!

in the meantime andalucia is a big playground!

Reportaje para Lineas de Paisaje - Press interest!

2008-06-27T13:45:00.000+02:00

Habia mucho reportaje en la prensa de Andalucia sobre las fotos de Steve en el Museo Pedro Gilabert in Arboleas - ver:

www.elalmeria.es/article/ocio/155469/steve/brockett/lleva/sus/fotos/aereas/museo/pedro/gilabert.html

www.ideal.es/almeria/20080611/cultura/imaginacion-contra-frivolidad-20080611.html

y http://www.portalmanzora.es/ foro de discusion>arboleas>museo pedro gilabert

o en ingles ver abajo:

Lots of press coverage of the exhibition, click on the links above or see a profile of Steve Brockett in Almeria's 89.8 magazine below:

from sky to gallery

2008-06-19T21:59:00.000+02:00

The first exhibition of my aerial photos in the museo pedro gilbert
arboleas. a lovely space with lovely staff and a very supportive
town hall

On show are 22 photos in limited edition a2 prints of the
landscape around almeria many thanks to Luis Ramos
the director , Conche and Lala for
all their help and support

in the end the show was impresionantesssss! we were happy!

lots of people came to the private view and thanks to everyone
who made the effort!
here are just some of the people who matter!

Up, up and away!

2008-06-18T09:41:00.000+02:00

A cracking day for Graham's tandem flight with Gecko Fly Parapente - at last, summer flying weather is here! Watched by family and friends Graham and Steve fast became a small speck in the sky with the highest altitude achieved on a a tandem flight here at Saliente!

Safely back on the ground Graham admitted it took him 10 minutes into the flight before he looked down!

Here he is being clipped in just before take off.

Should have been there!

2008-06-09T22:54:00.000+02:00

The third Saliente Fly(ing) Fiesta saw some luck with the weather, big black clouds behind us but fab flying conditions and sunshine for the spectators. Richard got his birthday tandem at long last, Antonio made it to 700m above take off (thats 2000m above sea level!) and Cabrero of Almanzora experienced some spiral diving on his tandem flight with steve. Classic landings on the Plaza in front of the santuario (missing the crucifix this year).

Loads of nice folk came and enjoyed - in the sky and on the ground - a big thank you to dj bumble, hector, sam and trish for music, raffle and keeping an eye on the ground and in the air and well done Kevin and Kath for winning the raffle (you certainly know how to up the odds!!)

See you next year!

I forgot my camera so thanks to Mike Y for a few photos!

Third party fire and theft

2008-06-09T21:38:00.001+02:00

Local insurance man Glen has been waiting for the weather to warm up to experience free flight above Saliente but finally last week the day arrived - Glen's daughter however was in floods of tears about her dad running off a mountain - but once we all got up to take off she cheered up!

Here's Glen at the landing looking in his pocket for the cloud he promised to bring back for his son!

Exposición Steve Brockett

2008-06-04T23:00:00.000+02:00

steve's exhibition at the museo pedro gilabert
arboleas from june 13th to july 25th-
images taken over the last two years
flying over the almerian landscape
opening 13th june at 9.00pm

Descubre Los Vélez-Discover Los Vélez-Ontdek Los Vélez

2008-06-01T12:35:00.000+02:00

Check out the new website http://www.losvelezrural.com/ - information on where to stay, what to see and activities in the Los Velez region and el Parque Natural Sierra Maria

Third Saliente Fly Fiesta!

2008-05-31T18:50:00.000+02:00

Third Fly Fiesta at Saliente! - theres a good weather forecast - more flying tunes from dj bumble, the chance to win a tandem flight and of course some great flying for paragliding pilots from Almeria and Murcia!

For the evening there's flamenco music and dancing and Cabrero's mobile pizza van could be making an appearance......see you there, hasta pronto!

11 countries in 2 days...

2008-05-29T00:25:00.000+02:00

Just the last 2 days our blog site has been visited by people from 11 different countries...
Spain - Barcelona, Malaga, Almeria, Murcia
Brazil
Guatemala
UK - London
Germany
Kazakhstan
Serbia and Montenegro
Norway - Tromso
USA - Salem, Orange County
France - Paris, Ile de France
Greenland - Nuuk Vestgronlau.....
thats great .......who are you all??

Significant birthdays!

2008-05-25T22:17:00.000+02:00

Its been a week of flying passengers celebrating their 'significant' birthdays - it was a pleasure to fly Judith and her son Spencer at Saliente - friends and family all gathered on the mountain top to sing Happy Birthday as Judith soared overhead!

The average age of tandem passengers so far this year has been around 50 - what about all you younger ones?

Feliz Cumpleanos!

2008-05-21T22:51:00.000+02:00

Happy Birthday Ron!!

What better way to celebrate your 70th birthday than running off a mountain in Saliente Alto - heres Ron raring to go and with a good luck kiss from partner Jean...the first 2 minutes were fantastic Ron says but he blames his cousin Brian (of the Star Bar in Velez Rubio) and too much ice cream for the rest of the flight!

Landing supervisor Ramon remains unmoved by the news that our latest passenger is 70 today - he is 80 something and and still maintains that anyone who wants to fly is crazy (he wont let his wife do a tandem either).......

happy birthday dad

2008-05-04T20:58:00.000+02:00

well we sold a lot of tandem vouchers over xmas and have
people been slow to contact us re the flight!!!
well done sam who gave us a ring having been bought one
for his 50th birthday but he ended up with a flop to bottom
on the sat- so we couldn't have that, and conditions looked better
for sunday , so now an old hand , sam had a great flight
saw dolly and had a close encounter with an eagle !

meanwhile max and heidi had kite fun on the take off

joaquin and his trike

2008-05-04T11:29:00.000+02:00

Joaquin bought a brand new airfer v200 paramotor and
trike and after waiting for a few weeks for suitable weather
we went off to aguilas to try it all out. Sebastian a trike pilot
was testing it all out ,unfortunately it kept loosing power
and Joaquin was limited to using it as a expensive
powered go-cart!

I'm sure it will all get sorted and joaquin will take to the skies
without having to run at all!

lorca's first thermal !

2008-05-04T11:17:00.000+02:00

lorca catches a thermal with a kite and
loves it !

parawaiting

2008-05-04T11:01:00.000+02:00

April wasn't a good month ! apart from the occasional day
we had soooo much wind from the west and so what better
than publish a picture of the much practiced activity
of parawaiting , to be fair we do a lot less than in the UK
waiting for the wind to drop , pick up, come round on to the hill,
smooth out, wait for thermals to start, there are many reasons
why we adopt the above pose! all you need is a massive dose of
optimism.

At last, John gets in the air!

2008-04-07T13:08:00.000+02:00

We've been trying to arrange to give John of Search Almeria; Valle Radio and the soon to be Albox TV station a tandem flight since before christmas.
Finally all of us were in the same place at the same time and the weather conditions promised a cracking flight. John and Steve flew for 40 minutes above the Estancias, saw Dolly the Sheep - and John was even heard saying he enjoyed the spiral dive! Great afternoon - thanks for the beers John and the use of your zoom lens - heres a photo of Steve and John in the air - they were miles away when i took this - honest!

Salvemos el Palacio del Almanzora

2008-03-24T20:31:00.000+01:00

A campaign has been launched to restore the beautiful old palace in Almanzora designed by 18th century architect Ventura Rodríguez.
Juan 'Medico' of Club Gecko Fly is currently the chairman (isn't he busy enough?) of the 'Amigos del Palacio del Almanzora' who want to see el Palacio turned into a centre for education, enjoyment, culture and arts.......for those of you who've never seen it and don't know where it is - take a look - its behind the Plaza in Almanzora village.
More information, photos and to support the campaign check out
http://www.portalmanzora.es/salvemoselpalacio
or visit Freebird's stall at the Albox/Arboleas Rastro - Cafe Bar Internacional on Saturdays - for an update and to add your name to their petition

carlsberg beer commercial

2008-03-20T20:17:00.000+01:00

The latest carlsberg commercial is being made in tabernas.
Film set for many a famous western
the boys are back this time as cowboys.
We got a call to do some aerial filming after the director
had an idea for an aerial shot and obviously no budget
for helicopters

So this was a first for us but good experience not least
working out how best to carry the 35mm film camera
battery pack and video monitor an extra 12kg

Thanks to mathias the grip who sorted out the kit!
we didnt have the best conditions to fly with the wind
dropping off very late and even then it was a bit turbulent
with a front fast approaching

But what could be better than chasing and filming galloping
cowboys yeeeehaaaa !!!

2008-03-20T18:15:00.000+01:00

So far March has been a great month for publicity.....

here's an article on tandem paragliding with Gecko Fly

in local magazine 89.8 - the Whats on Guide to Almeria

- and an interview at Valle Radio coming up next week!

http://www.search-almeria.com/

and

http://www.valleradio.net/

mojacar magazine online

2008-03-11T19:26:00.000+01:00

steve's on front page again !!
http://www.mojacarmagazine.com/

flying jesús!

2008-02-28T09:46:00.000+01:00

Jesus de Madrid y Gales y www.sierrawoodworks.co.uk en su vuelo en biplaza con Steve:

Para alguien loco por las aves es lo mas cerca que se puede estar
de ser una de ellas. Es como ser un aguila perdicera durante
media hora... Totalmente recomendable.
For someone mad about birds it´s as close as you can get to becoming
one of them. It´s like being a Bonelli´s eagle
for half an hour... Absolutely recommendable.

2008-02-25T21:03:00.000+01:00

You haven't seen a tree until you've seen its shadow from the sky.
— Amelia Earhart

New landscape aerial photos - nuevas fotos aéreas de paisajes

2008-02-21T22:38:00.000+01:00

Take a look - new photos at http://www.picassaweb.google.com/ or click on the slideshow to the right to be taken straight there

Mira! Fotos nuevas en http://www.picasaweb.google.com/
o haz click en el proyeccion a la derecha

almond blossom almeria spain

2008-01-25T23:01:00.000+01:00

almendros en flor - almond blossom!

2008-01-24T13:31:00.000+01:00

Almond blossom in the Sierra de las Estancias - this was

last year, more coming soon!

All our images can be ordered as prints, on canvas or

greetings cards

gecko fly over mojacar again!

2008-01-15T14:06:00.000+01:00

gecko fly gets another photo on the front of
mojacar magazine, 3 out of 3 aint bad!
http://www.mojacarmagazine.com/

puta motors

2008-01-10T23:26:00.000+01:00

We have adopted Jose Manuel (from granada) in to club gecko
whilst he is here for the next two years teaching in the college
in albox. off we went today for a bit of paramotoring , only Jose's
machine stopped and then wouldn't start! here he is resorting
to pouring fuel straight in to the cylinder head ?
(should have bought a pap Jose ! je je je )

oranges are not the only fruit

2008-01-10T22:38:00.000+01:00

orange picking season! but hey we dont want oranges we
want almond blossom and it is comming !! a bit early, hope
we dont get a gota fria (a cold snap) .Its a bit stupendous
when the blossom comes out, (the only advantage to monoculture i can see)
being surrounded by hectares and hectares of almonds
it does someting to your creative juices! , our best selling
/liked photo is of the blossom last year! more soooooon!

west winds

2008-01-05T21:49:00.001+01:00

With westerly winds we usually can't fly , normally
too strong and today was no exception with gusts around 56kmh
what we do get with the upper air mass more north westerly
are beautiful cloudscapes and lenticular or wave clouds
set up like dolphins over the sierra filabres
what with seasonal flue, trips to the uk and strong winds
are feathers are getting rusty!

sierra marias cara norte

2008-01-05T21:14:00.000+01:00

sierra maria the north side!!!
well it looks like a fab site for those winter days
with a northerly wind and i've lost count the number
of times i've been here with a good forcast only
to have a short flight down or the wind swings around
and then game over! anyway the photo is of club Gecko
arriving last sunday only to find a almost nil wind situation
with nothing happening!!!
what do you do ? Hector (phenomeno) who recently announced
he was a black belt karate champion gave us all a first lesson !

and after that what do bored pilots do ? go for a
flop to bottom , only trouble is this site has such a
shallow and woody take off ,in light winds ......

you end up with many tree/bush incidents!

Must clean this take off but need a good day to show
that it might be worth the effort!

Feliz Navidad y Ano Nuevo!

2007-12-20T22:42:00.000+01:00

Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

club gecko !

2007-12-20T17:54:00.000+01:00

club gecko parapente presentar su
calendario 2008
feliz ano nuevo a todos !!

underground, overground - trogladitos for the weekend!

2007-12-08T22:09:00.000+01:00

Last weekend saw Gecko Fly underground for a change - staying in caves at Cuevas al Jatib in Baza http://www.aljatib.com/ Great food, caves and company - and only a short drive to Lake Negratin and the amazing fly sites of Jablacon where the flying was smoooooth....... a bit unexciting but the views were fab!

despegue jablacon (oeste)

volando encima negratin

dos pilotos

our cave.....

bar and terrace at Cuevas al Jatib

baza landscape

2007-12-06T09:27:00.000+01:00

flight path

autumn trees

planting lines

baza valley

felicidades juan y juani!

2007-11-26T12:24:00.000+01:00

Los novios, mucho bailando no mucho volando!

cabo de gata fly site ?

2007-11-14T19:57:00.000+01:00

Here we are trying out a coastal site in cabo de gata
the wind was a bit crossed!

so we were pinned to the same bit of ridge
but lovely views all the same !

thanks to hector (phenomeno!!) and isobel
for inviting us

landscape photos

2007-11-14T18:41:00.000+01:00

Gecko Fly Parapente's second front cover!

2007-11-13T14:37:00.000+01:00

Mojacar magazine http://www.mojacarmagazine.com/ showing Steve
flying above a snowy Almeria landscape.
This second edition of the on-line
magazine features an article about Gecko Fly Parapente too -
check it out and you'll see why we need a new photo of us!
We've tried to convince the editor to come flying but he doesn't seem keen....

tandem paragliding vouchers

2007-11-13T14:27:00.000+01:00

Now you can really suprise someone!

Gift vouchers for tandem flights in 2008 now available.

christmas is coming!

2007-11-02T13:08:00.000+01:00

Looking for an unusual Christmas present?

How about a TANDEM PARAGLIDING FLIGHT with Gecko Fly?
Treat someone to the experience of a lifetime flying above
the monastery at Saliente or in the Sierra de los Filabres,
southern Spain.
Vouchers available for 2008!
Price 75 euros

Or

An AERIAL PHOTO of your spanish casa or cortijo?
High quality prints, framed, on canvas or on CD
Personalised greetings cards
Book us in now in time for Christmas!
Prices start at 60 euros

Call 680 358 549 or 635 243 539

email: geckofly1@hotmail.com

The family light!

2007-10-28T08:29:00.000+01:00

Friday we had a break from the wet stuff and off
we went to collado garcia with the light family
in tow .
Tony Light is keen on throwing his children and
their friends off mountains ( attached to pilot and wing of course!)
this time it was the turn of Jo and her friend Jenny to have a tandem
with Gecko Fly.
Tony had carelessly mentioned in an email that if
there was time he would have had a go ... and
what do you know ... there was time je je je
Richard a blues guitarist from http://www.fade2black.info/
tipped the scales over our weight limit so sorry
Richard no flying until we get a bigger wing!
Vaughan who is doing a bit of training came along
thanks for the retrieves Vaughan, all part of the training!!

Juan medico and Juaquin came along as well
and what lovely flying smoooooth dynamic
soaring with some gentle cloud suck ...chupa chupa!
Juan tried to do an impression of a tree decoration
but when we got the camera out he was on his feet
as if nothing had happened!

Collado Garcia

2007-10-21T19:22:00.000+02:00

yesterday we were flying at collado garcia in the
Sierra Filabres . we got in three (just) tandem flights
in very pleasent air... lots of local pilots turned up
and apart from needing air-traffic control at times
everyone had a good time !

after the flying all the passengers and spectators
had a mission to go and watch england get beaten
by south africa in the rugby!
well we couldnt resist going along and the faces say it all!
here is Sam close to desperation with only a few minutes of
hope left!

Tres pilotos locos!

Hector (phenomeno)

Antonio (la maquiña)

De Bumble (well almost a pilot, but loco seguro )

learn to fly?

2007-10-19T20:24:00.000+02:00

The first stage of learning to fly is learning how

to control the wing on the ground ....suprisingly

this is much harder than the flying bit,

well at least at first! its far easier to learn at the

beach with smooth laminar wind .

Here is vaughn and geoff getting to grips with

the reverse launch near Aguilas