The legend of Pepe

Despite the wind not looking good at all for Sao Conrado, I had to go there to meet some old friends. Betinho took me up to Pedra Bonita launch, and I think this is the only ramp where tailwind take offs can work. Ive done that myself, but it is always strange. The tandems dropped down significantly after leaving the ramp ;)
In the evening back in the hotel, I started zapping through TV channels, and believe it or not, there was a documentary on SportTV about the story of Pepe Lopez who had died in 1991 during the world championships in Japan. I stopped on the channel because I heard Blenky talking. How strange, I am in Rio and see some of my friends on TV. The accident happened before I even started flying comps, and unfortunately I had never met Pepe. I also had no idea that Blenky landed in the trees close by Pepe trying to save Pepe. Also Pedrao, Phil and Nader were interviewed, as well as several other well known faces of the Carioca hang gliding scene. The program went on for about an hour, with a lot of historical film footage. I have to ask Blenky if he got a copy of it, it was really great to watch!
In Rio, Pepe Lopez is nearly as great a legend as Senna, with streets and places named after him. He was a surfing and hang gliding world champion and was also a really successful musician. Good to see that his legend is still alive and people remember.