Roldanillo Day 4

Day 4 proved a turning point for me in terms of scoring well, but also provided the most amazing landing out experience I've ever had. After a poor start and then catching up well with a strong gaggle, I became overconfident coming off a 2nd place finish the day before, and reverted into a mindset where I was able to make pretty much any mistake.... and the mistakes poured out of the processor one after another until I found myself alone, far off the course line, sinking into a rather steep valley with few landing options and no shortage of power lines.

An extremely technical approach and landing found me on a nice hillside full of field workers preparing and planting coffee bean plants. I had landed myself right in the middle of the Rochela Coffee Plantation. I spent the next 6 hours being buried in hospitality unlike anything I'd ever experienced over the years of xc. From the field workers who helped me with my glider and transported me to the main plantation facilities, to the top managers who drove me around the plantation for 2 hours, including a breath taking vista high up in the mountains. They fed me a most excellent meal with delicious soup and mouth watering chicken as good as any I've ever had. I toured the stables, learned everything about the evolution of a coffee bean from the plant to the grinder, and honestly didn't want to leave when the retrieve finally found me that evening.