Friday afternoon in Rio was a lot of fun. I told the students weeks ago that one of the best things I did in Rio on my last trip back in February was to go parasailing. To do this you contract with a professional outfit that does both hang gliding and parasailing (see http://www.skycenter.com.br/). They take you into a national park, up a very steep road to the top of Pedra Bonita mountain. Then you launch off the mountain, fly over the national park, the city, the ocean, and finally land on the beach. A lot of fun and a very picturesque view (photos of me parasailing back in February are on my Facebook page for my Friends). *One* of the students wanted to go hang gliding on our current trip and *one* student thought that maybe he would want to do this. So, we took two cabs down to the Pepino beach in the Sao Conrado neighborhood and talked to the Sky Center manager. While we were talking we watched people hang gliding down from the mountain and out over the ocean and landing on the beach. Suddenly *three* students wanted to go hang gliding and *two* students thought that maybe they wanted to do it. After watching the first two students launch and float gently down to the beach I suddenly had *five* students who wanted to hang glide. A very exhilarating and fun thing to do.
