Visiting dropzones as part of the CYPRES tour means driving long distances across many countries. Often this is familiar territory, but as skydiving grows, more opportunities present themselves to venture further afield – to support communities and operations off the regularly beaten path. Spending a lot of time of on highways can mean that the changes from one place to another reveal themselves first by the language of driving – nuances of structure and style that tickle your curiosity about how a place exsits.
Morocco begins with only small alterations, the Tangier ferry disembarking a snake of white camper vans containing a lot of French, German and Spanish folk. Soon though, the traffic starts to include an element of chaos that makes it very clear you are in Africa now. Things can seem fairly normal, but now humans just walk out across six lanes of toll road, or drive a donkey cart the wrong way down the slow lane. Modern cars weave between brightly decorated old trucks, loaded full and tilted under a second load on top of that. Best are the ones transporting plastic bottles, stacked so high and wide they give the impression that someone aimed to build a zeppelin that hasn’t quite worked. As a statement of finely-tuned humour, most are adorned with statements and slogans – such as ‘Maximum Power’, ‘Turbo’ or sagely and simply ‘Good Luck’.
Skydiving Tarodaunt is next to an ancient-walls town that feels like it should be full of tourists but isn’t, and the dropzone is open for four of Europe’s Winter months when the aircraft and equipment are available from Dieppe in France. It is a win-win situation for the connected people, as Morocco gets a skydiving facility, the equipment gets used, and the French get a highly agreeable spot to get away during the cold months. Chilly enough for the Moroccans to bundle up on the ground and in the air, it is really a rather nice place to go skydive when temperatures bottom out further North.
The is some tandem business, usually local folk from the more monied coastal areas, though the operation is generally a mixed affair with a bit of everything going on. The vibe is a happy one, with a unhurried pace and friendly atmosphere – and it is clear that the staff and community are pleased with what they have developed, but are also looking for ways to move forward and grow. The next step is to secure a small aircraft that would allow them to open all year. It gets too hot to jump all day in the Summer, but a piston Cessna and some careful choices would work great. The plan is to keep ferrying the PAC XL down from France to have turbine power when it is possible, and keep the interest and involvement growing.
Visiting, working and jumping at Skydiving Tarodaunt was a absolute pleasure. Skydiving communities are generally a welcoming bunch, but here it felt extra impactful. It could be the additional effort we made to extend the Winter tour this year to head further afield. It could be that turning up to represent a fancy brand at a small club means people are automatically nice. I believe though, that anyone who might find themselves here would receive the same warmth and generosity from every single person involved. Also, this place has some of the best food I have ever had on an airfield – freshly prepared daily for all to congregate over a lunchtime shutdown. Perhaps the best way.
Cultural differences are easier to navigate though a sport like skydiving. Jumping together can mean a lot to people, and even if you struggle via any shared language, you can go skydive and it smooths the way. Fluency in English makes you soft when it comes to other languages, but even when there are barriers the structure of the dropzone and the syntax of operations means interactions are fun. Being here was a great time, and we very much look forward to returning again.
Tags: CYPRES, CYPRES Road Show
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