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We arrived in Mendoza at 7am which was a bit late as we took so long at the border. We needed some money so I went to find an ATM. There was only one in the terminal and there was a big queue. After waiting and having to pay a fee to withdraw money, we took a taxi to the hostel.
The hostel was quite nice but we again had to wait for our room as we were early. We had some breakfast and made a call to India as the hostal offered a free 15 minute phone call. We tired to Skype Beejal for her birthday but couldn't get a good connection.
When then decided to shower up and dumped our bags in the lockers and went out to book some trips. We came across the bus companies on the way and booked a bus ticket on Cata for Thursday evening that would get us into BA for Friday morning.
We then went to troutandwine which was the recommended tour company for wine tours. After looking at the options we booked a full day tour for the next day. We then went to look what else we could do. I wanted to do a skydive and we went to ask around. Not many places did it but there was one in our get south book that was also advertised at the hostel. We came back to the hostal and asked if we could do it today. The receptionist phoned the company and they said they would come get us in a couple of hours. We were going to do this now and I started to get nervous. Shivani wasn't that bothered about it and was hungry so we went out to get something to eat and get money out to pay for the trip.
Getting money was annoying as everywhere charged a fee and you could only take out small amounts. After getting it out we went and had a sandwich at one of the cafes close by. It took quite a while and when we got back to the hostal it was almost time to go. Our room was ready so we checked in and at the same time the skydiving guy came to pick us up.
We got in the van and headed off. The place was quite far away and it took us over an hour to get there. On the way the guy told us his credentials and he seemed like a very experienced, top sky diver.
When we got to the place we were greeted by a dirt runway and a not too impressive office. It was really hot and the instructor made us watch a video and gave us our briefing before telling us we had to wait for the atmospheric pressure to be right.
It was a long wait and made more annoying by all the flys that kept buzzing in our faces. We waited almost three hours for the conditions to be right but then I was told to suit up. I was still nervous but really wanted to do this and psyched myself up. The instructor put on my harnesses, which were quite tight, and put on the cameras before we walked out to the hanger.
Here I got another quick briefing before getting on the plane. We were soon moving and we took off smoothly from the runway. We began to climb and the views were good. I was pretty nervous and the flight up took an age. When we were at the right height, I moved into position and the instructor strapped himself on. It was really uncomfortable as I had to shimmy to the door.
When the door opened I felt a massive rush of air and it looked really far down. The instructor told me it was time to go so I put my legs out of the plane. The wind was blowing them away and as the instructor sat behind me I could only see the sky. I was told to get into position and then we jumped. It was an amazing rush and really scary at the same time. We had a good few seconds of free fall and I started to relax, it was really something amazing. Then the cord was pulled and we came to an abrupt stop. We now felt like we were floating and I was given my skywine to enjoy. After a couple of sips I was told to put it away and given the controls and shown how the parachute was steered.
We slowly drifted down, looking over the vineyards, and came into what the instructor said was a really good landing, although it felt a bit rough to me. I was greeted by Shivani and said a few words for the camera. I had done it!! I felt really good. It was all over so fast.
We went into the office and the assistant started to download the videos and pictures and I got to see how I looked. I could see I was nervous but also managed to enjoy it too.
It was now Shivanis turn and she suited up and went out to the plane. I followed her out and having just done it wasn't too worried about her doing it. She seemed to be enjoying it and was posing for the camera. She was quickly away and I watched the plane go high up into the sky until I couldn't see it anymore. After a few minutes I saw the plane overhead and a speck jump out. The parachute quickly opened and I was relived. Shivani seemed to come down quite fast and had a pretty hard landing. I went over and she had a big smile on her face and had enjoyed it.
We went in and we watched some of her video and we exchanged experiences. It was now pretty late and we got in the van to head back to the hostal. The girl was burning our CDs in the van and when she finished we watched them. They were really good and would be a good reminder of the day.
When we got back we arranged to go for a place that was highly recommend on trip advisor for dinner. We walked over to it and found it to be a really nice place. It was quiet but that was nice. We ordered our dinner and enjoyed a bottle of wine as we discussed the day and experience. The food was really good and this was the nicest dinner we had in a while. After dessert we headed home. It was midnight and we had an earlyish start tomorrow for wine tasting. I went to bed reliving the skydive experience. What a day!!
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