Wheelchair paragliding over the Lima coastline was unforgettable. The conversation on the ground is what stayed with me.
I was in Lima, Peru, scrolling Viator to see what excursions were available. And yes, I was checking which ones looked wheelchair accessible, because that’s the extra homework that comes with how I travel. One listing looked like it could work: paragliding.
So I got their WhatsApp and messaged them. Told them I was in a wheelchair. They asked me one question: “Are you alone?”
Yeah. I was.
Long story short, we did it. It wasn’t the easiest, and I’ll give credit where it’s due: all those hours working out are what made me strong enough to transfer myself into the glider when the crew wasn’t sure how to maneuver it. And then I was in the air over the Lima coastline, and it was the craziest, most beautiful experience.
The conversation on the ground
But the part I actually carry with me happened on the ground. One of the guys helping me didn’t speak English, so we talked through Google Translate, passing the phone back and forth. He asked me how I could be so fearless. Then he asked me something harder: why was I so happy? His circumstances weren’t even as heavy as mine, and he wasn’t as happy as I was. He wanted to know how that worked.
I told him how I ended up in this chair. And I told him the truth: I choose to live life. I choose to enjoy it. I choose to be happy.
Either way, I hope I left him with something powerful. He definitely left me with something: proof that the reason I travel isn’t the views. It’s these conversations, the ones you can’t plan, in languages you don’t speak.