Road trip to Mongolia

Five months on the road – from Monaco to Mongolia. Somewhere in the fully packed land cruiser a compact rucksack of lightweight paragliding cross-country gear. When Alain and Nathalie Antognelli set out on one of their adventure trips one thing is clear: boredom won’t be an issue!

For Nathalie and Alain Antognelli life means adventure – whether with a kayak in Greenland, hang glider in South Africa or paraglider above the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. For years the Monegasque photographer pair have been travelling the world and documenting their adventures in travel publications. In the summer of 2016 they were riding their bikes in Iran when Alain’s knee suddenly gave up the struggle and failed, so they had to abandon their original project – to kayak from Monaco to Greece, then bicycle to Mongolia.

“Just giving up would not have been our style”, explains Alain, so they kept an open mind about the new situation and set off again two years later. The goal was the same, but by a different route and, above all, a different vehicle! This was their old Toyota Land Cruiser, brought specially out of retirement, and, as a paraglider pilot from the original days, Alain immediately saw the potential of this change of travel plans. Even after a long flying pause (and he’s now 59) he had lost none of his enthusiasm for flying. Why not take a paraglider along and enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the route? Nathalie could follow him on the road. But would there be room in the full-up Land Cruiser for a hefty dayglo paraglider bag? Nathalie said yes: times have changed “Today’s fully-functioning cross-country package weighing eight kilos was something Alain simply could not refuse”, she remembered with a smile.

As a flying warm-up Alain flew his new wing in familiar places like Italy and Greece. It was in Turkey that he experienced his first reminder of problems that might occur when you fly on your own in an unfamiliar place. With Nathalie he went to an isolated mountain. Conditions at the top were perfect, and Alain was quickly ready for takeoff; then, suddenly, the wind picked up so quickly that within half a minute flying was out of the question. Alain was just about able to grapple the wing into a bundle with Nathalie’s help. Alain realised: “With paragliding you have to take everything into account and keep an eye on your surroundings – constantly. A healthy respect and sharpened senses are essential.”

It was really exciting in Iran. This huge country has a very well organised flying scene, and foreign pilots are warmly welcomed. “The hospitality and friendliness of the locals is incredible”, recalls Alain. “And there are plenty of flying possibilities: there’s hike and fly in the green vegetation at the Caspian Sea up to long cross countries at heights up to 6,000 metres in the desert-like land at Kermanshah. It was there that Alain had another memorable flying experience. He set out for a cross country with a group of Iranian enthusiasts. Thermal conditions were strong and progress was rapid. After about 50 km Alain suddenly suffered a big collapse which reopened quickly, with a bang. His XI flew on, but Alain had no feeling from his right brake: the handle in his hand was connected to nothing! What to do now, in the roughest of desert thermals under a cloud street at 3,500m? Alain decided to manage his right wing with the rear riser, and glided down to land, where Nathalie found him thanks to satellite tracking. After landing Alain had a look at the brake line and concluded that it must have been cut by a sharp stone at takeoff, and had failed with the re-opening shock. His companions flew 200 kilometres that day.

After the journey from Iran, wind and strong thunderstorms in Central Asia prevented Alain from flying. He next got into the air with some local pilots near Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan. Another flight worked at the lonely Son-Kul lake in Kyrgyzstan. Here, on the lakeshore, Alain and Nathalie were subsequently invited by the locals into a yurt. This was another memorable experience for both, and an example of the immense hospitality they repeatedly enjoyed. Near Almaty, capital of Kazakhstan, Alain found wonderful cross-country conditions even in late autumn. The pair reached Mongolia as winter set in. During the five-month journey through ten countries they had crossed the most diverse of landscapes and left endless expanses of nothingness behind them. As “lovers of open spaces” Nathalie and Alain certainly got their money’s worth on their tour. The many encounters with the people were what most appealed to the couple. Above all it was the local pilots’ hospitality and willingness to help that impressed them, again and again.

To best get to know Mongolian culture and be able to use the good flying conditions in spring they decided to spend the winter in this country: in a Mongolian yurt; together with the locals.