X-atacama: 18. November 2014 - Morro Moreno & Playa Moreno

I sleep on the Peninsula Mejillones as the south facing coast line of this peninsula shows a lot of uprising condensate all year round and watching this made me curious for years, if I could fly there. I take a walk up the first hills and find a proper place for take off and fly just as supposed, how it would work. It is a national park here since 2010 and noone can be seen anywhere, where I am flying over. The distance to be flown easily without the risk of a walk back to the car instead of a flight back is not to big, but a very nice scenery. As I wanted to do just some recreational soaring on the coast on my way to Santiago I choose a nice beach and land there and take a bath in the pacific ocean. Afterwards, having packed and going back to my car I see the signs, that entering is forbidden for protecting nature reasons. I could not have seen them from the air … and others, who left their plastic bottles, cans and other garbage in this nature paradise obviously mistreated this advise. Hopefully these behaviors turn better and hopefully the chilenian authorities don't follow US regulations to much in terms of "no private aircraft in national parks". Having reached the van I drive over to the Playa Moreno to try a Xcoastal soar flight from the beginning of the rocks with some meters height as far as possible towards Antofagasta and back. But when I come to the La Portada view point park rangers with a siren and a megaphone tell me, that flying here is forbidden - I guess yesterday I was to late and they had already left the place … So I have to turn around and fly back to where I came from. Although this part of the soaring track is underneath the corridor, where passenger plans departing from Antofagasta airport are flying over, is seems to be allowed to paraglide there. As a paraglider you cannot soar up here a tenth of the altitude passenger plans are flying over it seems just common sense, not to forbid the soaring, but compared to other countries, this tolerance is really to be enjoyed.