I am not an adrenaline junkie by any means. My last post explored the environs of Bled and given that we were in Bled for my birthday, we had booked a Hot Air Balloon ride over the lake as a birthday treat. The Gods decided that this was not to be, and instead, I was to be pushed beyond my comfort zone. How? I’ll tell you as I also show you beautiful pictures from a stunning region of Slovenia known as Lake Bohinj, in the Upper Carniola region amidst the Triglav National Park.
The day after my birthday dawned fresh and bright, only the winds were not favourable for a Hot Air Balloon to take off. 3glav Adventures called us early in the morning asking if we would prefer to do “something else”, given that we had already booked and paid for the ride..and that “something else” turned out to be..wait for it…Paragliding. *Insert stunned emoji here*
Mandatory Selfie…yep, we can be mush puffs when we wanna be!
I have parasailed in Mauritius but this was strapped to the safety of a boat and the experience lasted all of a few minutes before I was safely back on board again. I have to say, had it not been for my WanderlustMate M nudging me to start off my new year by going outside my comfort zone, I may just have asked 3glav Adventures to refund our money and spent the day basking by the shores of Lake Bled listening to the ringing of the bell in the distance.
Anyhoo. We were picked up from Vila Bled by 3glav’s partners and trundled across the mountains to the shores of Lake Bohinj, where we spent quite a bit of time waiting around which I will admit did nothing to calm my already frayed nerves. Whilst I felt the constant need to pee, M on the other hand, was all geared up and excited and couldn’t wait for it to be our turn! Walking along the shores of Lake Bohinj and watching the ducks waddle along and then swim gracefully across its surface was a much better use of time than wondering when the loopteam car would come and pick us up to literally, take a running jump off a high cliff!
Chatting with one of the instructors. You can tell I am nervous! Ha Ha!
Idyllic Lake Bohinj
For all the incessant worrying I did, which I will wholeheartedly admit was all in my over dramatic mind, all the way up to the Mt. Vogel take off point, on the chair lift to literally, the point of no return: the experience was beyond BRILLIANT.
I am no adrenaline junkie but in tandem with my pilot, I literally ran and took a jump off a high cliff with nothing but a parachute attached to us, and went beyond my comfort zone, which is something that I will always be proud of. Amazingly, the body adapts to what it needs to do and the safety harnesses form a kind of “seat” and so you feel like you are sitting on a chair!
Heading up to the take off point in the chair lift
Mt Vogel Station
Vogel Ski Station
Getting ready to take a running jump off a high cliff!
Soaring high above the Julian Alps with the slightest hint of powdered snow, with the emerald green waters of the calm Lake Bohinj below, I honestly felt like I was having an out of body experience with nothing but the wind whistling in my ears. If this is how a bird feels, free of any shackles then I envy birds! Hand on heart, for all the fearful scenarios I had concocted in my head this was one of the BEST experiences I have ever had, and the feeling of being free with peace and serenity washing over me is something that I haven’t had replicated anywhere else, yet. Reality is a figment of your imagination and all that exists is that moment, up in the air, surrounded by the crisp, fresh mountain air is the present: the beauty and wonder of nature around you as you glide gently down to earth. My tandem paragliding instructor did do a couple of tricks and flew up and down over the lake which was adrenaline inducing however realising very quickly that I much preferred calm and serene over adrenaline, reverted to a gentle soar down to the ground.
Thats me, paragliding over Lake Bohinj!
WanderlustMate M’s footstagram!
An alpine dream from the air!
Beautiful scenery from up above
The whole experience lasted about 30 minutes but it felt like it was over much too quickly, and yes, I was a bit of a divalicious drama queen in the beginning and wanting to jump back onto the cable car up to Mt. Vogel and do it all over again once it was over! M and I were walking on air for the rest of the day, and if anything, this has only whet our appetites to try out sky diving next!
Moral of the story: adventure indeed lies at the end of your comfort zone! There we have it my dear Wanderlusters; Harpreet’s Wanderlust isn’t such a coward after all I am pleased to report! Until next time, thanks for hanging out with me! Xoxo.
Coming in for the land!
aaaannnd…back on earth!
WanderNuggets
-On booking the experience
– We booked our adventure at the 3glav booking office in Bled. We were picked up by their partners LoopTeam at 8:30 am and taken to Lake Bohinj, however we didn’t actually commence our trek up to “jump” until 11:30 am, as there were about 6 people who para glided before we did. Still worth the experience and something I would highly recommend. The team is very friendly and professional and do brief you on what to expect. Ideally, wear a windbreaker and trainers however the team does have gear if you don’t have it.
– We opted to do the panoramic tandem paragliding flight from Mt. Vogel. The take-off point is at 1682 meters elevation and we did have a flight time of about 30 minutes from take off to landing.
-On Cost
Euro 145 per person. Prices and terms subject to change so please do check their website 3glav.com for up to date information.
