"Stunning view" I said with a slight mix of fear and anticipation. ''A good place to celebrate your birthday'', added Rob. We were standing on the south east side of the Sierra de Lijar looking across the valley towards the Grazalema Natural Park admiring the pretty white village of Zahara, a view not too dissimilar to a photo that I once saw advertising Andalusia on the London tube! It's February, the area is very green and it's my birthday. My family have seen fit to buy me a paragliding tandem flight with a local British run school called Fly Spain. I gather they teach as well, but today their chief instructor was taking me flying on his tandem.

Rob my instructor, had convinced me that he had been practising enough to keep us in one piece - very funny! He informed that the risk was shared by us  both, so in theory, he had as much desire to take off and land in one piece as I did. A lot of questions go through your mind when you leave your comfort zone, I realized it began on the phone when booking. Am I fit enough? Will I fall to my death? Rob and all his team of instructors, who I had met briefly over the course of my day, seemed very normal well rounded people, reassuringly  calm. If I could run a half dozen steps without dropping to my knees that would be fine for launch.

Launch is not what I thought, quite civilised really, here's me thinking cliff edges and leaps of faith, but the faith you need is with the pilot who is really in charge and the equipment that we were to fly. We were not alone either, Rob had brought a group of qualified pilots with him who were out from the UK on holiday to get their fix of winter sun and great flying. While they got ready Rob prepared me for flight. Never have I paid such attention to a stranger...whatever he said unthinkingly I would in theory obey - such is my level of fear.

After getting the glider laid out as he would like it, I am called over to be checked and clipped together under the wing. So there we were, a little over 3000ft above sea level, being attached to what was promised to be a comfy armchair.

All briefed and ready for launch the nerves start to kick in. Rob meanwhile happily jokes about drinks trolleys and duty free opportunities which appreciably take some of the sting out of waiting to launch.

Ok? he asks...we will launch any minute now just waiting for the right thermal to come along. On heightened alert ... One, two, three and the glider is effortlessly lifted up by Rob, we turn and Rob encourages me to run...and scream if it helps....the adrenaline pumps and in a blink of the eye we have left the surface of earth.

....God help me... is my first thought, then the next is how painless was that. A little wiggle and I am now sitting incredibly comfortably in front of Rob floating up on what he tells me is a nice easy thermal. Wholly molly, I can't believe it, I am airborne, all 90 kilos of me and it's just so surreal, apart from a little wind noise I have the sun on my face and a commentary from my pilot on the plan ahead. I am informed how the glider works, how thermals are formed and that we can effectively play in them like the birds.

Robs favourite pastime it seems is flying with the birds of prey, the vast majority of local raptors are griffon vultures but there are the occasional eagles to spot too. It was explained to me about the process of thermal development and drift, how to catch them, circle in them and ride these invisible escalators as high as you can. Apparently like-minded pilots spend their time looking for the favourite conditions in which to get as high as possible before gliding to the next thermal, covering as much ground as possible in between. The distance record in the UK alone is 240 kilometres, made by a guy who regularly practises here in Spain. Nothing compared to the recent record of just under six hundred kilometres made by three pilots before Xmas.
Like base jumping I had thought this was a sport of a few brave souls or I had confused it with the joy ride found on the coast behind boats. In Germany alone there are 30,000 pilots, another 15,000 Swiss, 20,000 French, the list goes on. Some of the qualified pilots Rob had were, dare I say humble men and women, a nursery school teacher, a plumber, computer technicians all weirdly chatting about world politics or Eastenders on the way up in the van, a couple of them now waving at me as they thermalled past.
The flight lasted well over half an hour, we thermalled up over a thousand feet plus high over the mountain. When we got good and high Rob came out with a surprising admission.... He is afraid of heights... ladders....bungy jumping, terrifying he said...this is different....why?....can't fall off he says.  The plot thickens.
I get a chance to steer the glider with Rob ever vigilant, I pull down gently on one side and the glider turns smoothly in the direction I wanted. It felt supremley natural, I was relieved to have a professional nearby and he explained to me that they regularly teach pilots to free fly within four days and to soar and stay up over an extra six days. Tandems are good fun and an excellent way to see if you really enjoy this sport, but learning for yourself is easier than you think!
In no time we were heading towards our landing field. It looked miles away but following some gentle 's' turns and a brief of my role.... 
Don't sit - just run. We had a nice bit of ground rush followed by a gentle landing. Back to earth with barely a bump. Fantastic and a round of support from my fellow flyers for my maiden flight.

The enthusiasm and interest of the FlySpain holiday flyers was touching. Why?  I asked Rob, easy he said, flying is just lovely and an opportunity often overlooked. All these and the many others that come and get paragliding lessons from us or coaching on our advanced courses have tasted what it is to fly and can't shake the feeling. 
They know that come the weekend they can leave their surely bonds and fly like a bird.

Well he had me sold, as well as my family who are all trying to get into his diary for a taste of flying for themselves !

The flight itself lasted half an hour, which was plenty, but people do commission Rob and his team for longer thermic flights. The drive from the mountain took an hour and the village of Algodonales at the base was charming for a post flying cold beer and tapas in its lively square.

FlySpain also run courses where you can get your licence, allow a week to two weeks. The tandem flight cost 120 euros, and ten days tuition is generally enough to get your license, buy kit and free fly. To contact Rob or Nicola call 0034 651 736 718 and take a look at their website www.flyspain.co.uk.