It all began on Monday this week when, from my workplace, I watched the streets of clouds forming in the sky (after a small storm we had endured on the peninsula on Saturday night and Sunday), but both Monday and Tuesday the wind was very strong. On Tuesday, as a joke, I asked my workmate if he would take me flying the next day, and he said yes. I started looking at the forecast to take off at Caracenilla, and it looked superb, ceilings of 3,000 m with cloud formations and the wind in the right direction. The problem was how much time I would have to reach my town (Motilla del Palancar) since I finish work at 2:30 pm and then the journey, etc... That same day I left everything ready for the next day.

On Wednesday morning I was keeping a close eye on the sky; around 12:00 I could already see the clouds starting to form and by 13:00 there were cloud streets; the forecast I had been waiting for was coming true. We left work in a rush, arrived in my village, loaded the gear, and headed straight for Caracenilla. I reached the take-off on the north face around 16:00, prepared everything, and the wind was a crosswind from the west; I couldn't waste more time switching to the west face, so I decided to take off with a light gust and thread my way onto the west face. I took off with some difficulty as the wind was crosswind and gusting off the western slope; I was sinking as I tried to move forward. I found a very mild thermal, did a few figure eights, gained some height and managed to position myself on the west face.

Honestly, I thought that given the time and not finding anything that would really lift me, I wasn't going to achieve what I had been seeking for so long; when I found something that could be roughly called a thermal my perspective changed... now I had to give it my all. I climbed as high as I could and headed straight for the nearest cloud street I had. In the transition I entered a very strong descent of about -3.5 m/s, I lost a lot of altitude, I was already in a bad mood as usual... when I saw on the phone that my father was calling, he started giving me general advice and telling me not to be so pessimistic since I saw the flight as finished; I found a very turbulent thermal that hardly lifted me; I slipped back a lot and didn't rise much; I didn't want to go back so far because what was behind looked like Mordor, but with patience it finally released completely; as I climbed more it became more turbulent and more powerful but with it I was reaching the clouds; I ended up inside the cloud but I had never been inside one for so long (about 8 minutes). I started to feel a little seasick because I had no reference to look at or guide by; I decided to look at the tip of the cocoon and it seems that the dizziness began to pass; meanwhile my father kept telling me which direction to take until at last I began to see the sun over the top of the cloud and I knew which direction to follow.

The next part of the flight was fairly easy since I only had to go from cloud to cloud; there was no need to turn, just accelerate and ascend. When I was approaching the height of Olmeda del Rey and Valera de Abajo the cloud street ended; I continued with a very good glide; now it was time to rely on instinct and the little experience I have in flight. I was still fairly level and while I was deciding where to go, I noticed several vultures circling in front of me. I pressed the throttle to enter a thermal as soon as possible and start climbing with them. As soon as I touched the top of the thermal I glided again towards Gabaldón. Arriving at Gabaldón I had already lost a lot of height and again with my usual pessimism I told my father that the flight had reached its end (I only lacked one more thermal and I would glide into my town). And while I was thinking where to go to find another thermal... I saw again some vultures circling (it seemed they were guiding my path). I began to turn with them; the thermal was super gentle since the sun was quite low and the cloud streets were disappearing; I gained enough height to reach Motilla. 'It was done' I thought. I was arriving very low on height; I started calling my friends to tell them where I would land. Soon I realised I would not reach the glide path to where I planned to land. I kept pushing the glide to windward of the town, following the road, and bubbles rose to keep me aloft; until I realised the glide was more than enough to go to where I wanted to land. I took the straightest line to the landing, passing over the football pitch and El Carrascal park, until I faced into the wind and began to land gently. Curious people were approaching to watch and ask questions; it all happened so fast that the onlookers arrived before my own friends, ha ha.

P.S. I am incredibly proud to have reached my town, to have done it on my own (although company in flight is always welcome); both the weather and the route to follow and even with many factors against me such as the take-off time, for example, and with the help of my father by phone during most of the journey.

All that remains is to thank everyone who congratulated me and who have always helped and taught me to be a better pilot every day. THANK YOU!