Marcelo is a maverick who makes his living strapping himself to tourists and hurling himself off one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest mountains, Pedra Bonita.
We were fortunate (or unfortunate depending on your point of view) to meet the man and get strapped to him. But before we did he made us feel really at ease by driving us up Pedra Bonita’s thin winding uphill roads at top speed care freely overtaking and brushing past oncoming traffic.
And if we had fears of the roadworthiness of Marcelo’s vehicle he soon put them to rest by reassuring us that he had made it himself. He was even kind enough to give us an itemised run down of the different vehicles he’d salvaged to put her together.
By the time we’d driven all the way up to the peak of Pedra Bonita we were feeling a little anxious and in need of a brief toilet pit stop. The other tourists that had gone before had generously filled the bowls with last night’s dinner.
So feeling ill prepared, with ‘ill’ being the operative word and a bladder full of water mixed with an evening’s worth of caipirinha we ran off Pedra Bonita strapped to a man whose mental state we were beginning to doubt (perfect timing).
Below is a video of GETfizzYcaL’s blogger-in-chief doing that very jump. Marcello was nice enough not to mention the accidental headbutt he receives to his ass on landing, however please do feel free to take the mick!
Slightly, only slightly exaggerated jokes aside Marcelo is a top bloke and we recommend you seek him out if you ever go hand gliding at Pedra Bonita. For more information visit Clube São Conrado de Vôo Livre.
