On Friday afternoon I flew from Orlando to Miami (flight delayed
half an hour as President Obama was flying out of Miami after meeting with
school children and Jeb Bush about education funding) to Cali, Colombia, the
nearest big airport to Roldanillo, site of the 2011 Colombian National Hang
Gliding Championships. It's not a long flight starting at 2:30 PM and ending
around 8:30 PM with Cali in the same time zone as Eastern Time.

The airport seemed pleasant enough even though we were the third international
plane in at about the same time (due to a further delay with a broken cargo
door) so it was a while getting though customs. Mike Glennon, a well traveled
member of the Colombian National team, was there to greet me at the airport.
Mike had arranged for my airline ticket as an inducement to come and report on
the scene here in Colombia. It is much appreciated.

We drove at typical breakneck speeds auto racing style through the rundown
streets that seem so prevalent in towns south of the border (those looking for
less government should move here) until we came to the more prosperous areas
above the valley floor and Mike's house. Cali is a city of about two and a half
million people.

Later today, after we pick up Raul from Ecuador at the airport, we head for
Roldanillo, a smaller agricultural town of 30,000 about an hour and a half to
the north.  Mike says that it looks like we'll have great weather. Right
now, mid morning, there are towering cu's over the mountains just behind us.
They have had a very wet winter here.

The PWC (paragliding competition) was held here in January (see
here
and
here) and apparently they had so much flying and fun that they are coming
back for the super final in 2013.