After a trio of days into the trip our visit to Castelo draws to a close.
Today is to be a transfer day as the drive to Governador Valadares (GV) will take in excess of 6 hours and everyone is going to be right tired when we arrive. The word from Steve: no flying until tomorrow.
Ashley drying his just laundered shirt during the commute to GV.
The group is split amongst the pair of vehicles with Steve taking Ashley, Rob, Dean and myself in the truck.
The trip is rather uneventful, just the typical Brazilian road experience. Peeps passing in turns on double yellows while speed cameras and sleeping policemen abound.
To break the monotony, Steve stops at what he describes as the 'best' coffee shop in Brazil. The qualifier of 'best' is relative. The general consensus amongst gringos living here is that the Brazilians export their best product and push the leftovers on the locals. So this shop serving the 'best' simply means it serves 'good' by international standards.
The cafe.
The interior.
Back patio overlooking a Koi pond.
By early evening we make GV and are checked in at our hotel, the Ibituruna Center. It is a reasonably decent hotel all in all (4.5 star by Brazilian standards - 5 star being the Pousada I stayed in last year as it had a room safe). There is a rooftop pool, a breakfast buffet, room service, AC, stocked fridge with Skol + Brahma, and a smattering of English language channels on the tele.
The room, small but functional.
... and doesn't smell funky or is falling apart like the place in Castelo.
Tomorrow we head up the mountain and get down to the business of why we are all here - to rack up airtime and km's.
Dean is but a spec, high in the distance with a train of gliders stung out behind. I get strong sense Dean is very much about flying fast - maximize time on glide, minimize time in climbs. Simply put, one does not rack up the km's going around in circles. Take risks, calculated ones mind you. In some ways it feels to be the antithesis of comp flying where one lets the gaggle do most of the work and flying conservative (until final glide) almost always pays off. In essence - comp flying is fixed distance vs. near unlimited time (relative to the distance), while XC is fixed time (sunset) vs. unlimited distance. A lot of overlap in skill, but differing in mindset.
A satori of sorts but there is still flying to be done.
The crew push on northwards. Landing options are more limited with restricted retrieve possibility. Bushwacking in 37C temps on my second day of flying here? Not so keen. And I am getting low again.
I need a top up. So back south to the ridge face overlooking the valley. I am sure to snag something there.
A Nova Phantom sharing the same plan.
Heading south, into wind.
Trying to avoid the venturi that is sure to be between the two hill tops at the bottom of the picture.
Climbing again.
Another climb scored.
It is unlikely I will be able to link up with Dean and the others at this point, so I branch off on my own to give the run to town a look.
Castelo ahead. Tick Hill LZ to its left. Wall LZ directly below.
Unless I find another climb, the Tick Hill LZ (so named due to the tick infested long grass covering it) is a gamble with the growing sea breeze (one needs to arrive rather high at LZs here in Brazil due to the potential for power lines). The Wall LZ is possible but will put me further from the retrieve van with its AC (thus a longer wait for no real benefit).
Lets make the best of the situation and turn this straight line run into a triangle. Backtrack towards launch and try for an into wind valley crossing.
Motoring on back up the valley.
See the perfect crossing point ahead? Good. Cause I didn't.
If there is ever a master of the low save, you're lookin' at 'em right here (I've since been given the nickname 'ain't no thermal low enough' by my fellow tour mates). So I gamble on driving straight out in the valley with the intent of catching enough bubbles to make the opposite ridge line.
Rolling the dice.
Bubbles are found, but not quite enough. Eventually I roll snake eyes and need to find a LZ.
One final pass, looking for power lines.
LZ located. A side hill landing (crash) it will be.
Sadly, Little Baby Jesus did not smile on my attempt at a valley crossing today.
On final...
... and down.
Landed nary a scratch or bruise (it goes 50/50 in my case with remote side hill landings). Radio in on the retrieve channel that I am down and push a 'retrieve me' message on the Delorme.
Doesn't take long for the van to pull up as I hike out and I find out I am somewhere in the middle of the pack in terms of landing time. Not a bad outing for the first XC at this site.
The room at the Hotel Ibis is spartan but functional. As it is a transfer accommodation, I am not expecting much from it aside from it being comfortable and secure.
Hotel Ibis room.
The room includes the buffet breakfast that starts at 0630 hrs.
Hotel Ibis buffet.
0900 hrs the group gathers in the parking lot of the Vitoria Ibis. We are to be split across a pair of vehicles - a mini bus owned by Steve's retrieve driver Diogo and Steve's pickup. The trip to Castelo will take about 3 hours give or take, depending on how many speed trap cameras Steve manages to spot along the way. Speed limits here are draconian compared to back home and enforcement is via automated radar cameras - some well marked, some rather well hidden.
Noon - we pull into Castelo, a sleepy town of a few thousand (my guess anyways) and make quick time to the pousada we will be staying at, Lua y Sol. Lua y Sol has been a mainstay for Steve's groups in the past - though it is starting to show it's age. One can detect the hint of mold in the lower rooms of the main building (likely the result of the river next door flooding its banks during a particularly long rainy season), many of the fridges in the rooms do not work, and the hot water systems in the showers are a walking code violation (the water knobs are wrapped in electrical tape to reduce the likelihood of getting zapped while turning on or off the shower). Appears to be kind of the norm for anything shy of top end or internationally branded accommodation in rural Brazil (such as the pousada in Governador Valadares or the Ibis).
Update: the rooms in the upper level of the two story building are an order of magnitude better. If you are taking one of Steve's tours that pass through Castelo, be sure to require one of the 'honeymoon' suites (as one of the lads, Ashley, put it). Steve will understand what you mean. It will cost an extra $40 or so a night but it is well worth it.
The bare minimum.
By 3 PM Steve, Dean and and few of their friends have arrived. It becomes quickly apparent that the shear size of this group is going to put Steve's logistical skills to the test - especially if Mr.Murphy pays a visit. In addition, some quick mental math of the group size vs bus seats leaves me curious as to how Steve will arrange the groups transfer to Governador Valadares.
Update: two of the late joiners ended up taking the overnight bus to GV and will join up with us in the morning on Day 5.
Dean briefing.
We go through the familiar XCBrazil powerpoint briefing though flavoured for flying in Castelo. Sim cards and SPOTs are distributed to those that need them. The separate radio frequencies for flying and retrieve are posted along with a overview of the retrieve process.
Steve's powerpoint briefing.
Now that everyone is on the same page with respect to comms, retrieves, and general flying in the area - time to make our way to the hill. The drive is along a dirt road of varying condition and the steepness of the hill proper made for a right struggle on the part of the van carrying its allotment of pilots. By the last half kilometer Steve had to run circuits with the pickup to ferry pilots to the launch. Mr.Murphy has officially arrived.
Up top everyone kits up and launches into the rather mild cycles. A quick familiarization flight before sunset to shake the cobwebs sort of thing.
Sunset flight.
Only the hill had a different idea. The sun set but the climbs didn't dissipate. The entire valley lit up in the evening restitution ('magic air' in Canuck pilot lingo) with climbs exceeding 2 m/s at times.
Even as heavily loaded as I was - I had to search for small regions of 'sink' (weak lift for normally loaded wings). Pulling ears resulted in the same rolling oscillation as seen in Valle so they were let out sooner than liked.
Getting dark.
By this point head is on a swivel to make a count of wings nearby and keep track of where everyone is. Approaching the LZ, there are two wings below me and one above. I now navigate by the lights of the buildings and road, the lone tree in the LZ is barely visible in the growing darkness. I can also see the glowing screens of the varios of the two wings below and fall into a pattern above and behind them.
Setting up to land.
A very low and tight right hand pattern at tree top height, I set down in a run and kill the wing before it reaches the fence.
