We arrived early doors in Mendoza and got a taxi to the hostel independencia. By the time we had dumped our bags and settled in it was 10am, at this point i went and asked about a skydive. I had previosuly signed me and Harriet up in Cordoba for a skydive, but cancelled it as i was told the view was better in Mendoza as you can see the Andes mountains.

So this morning was Friday and i was asking about a dive Saturday morning. Sunday they didn´t dive, and i was told the weather the next day wasnt meant to be as good. However, if i wanted to dive today i could do. Originally, i was told it was 1pm, so i thought i had some time to think about it. However, at 10.15am i was told i would have to leave at 10.45am. After about 3 seconds of thinking i figured why not, and got ready to jump. I spent 30 minutes trying to persuade Harriet to jump out of a plane but it turns out she has more sense than me and turned down the opportunity. I was picked up by Adrian the man i was trusting my life with that day and had an hour mini-bus ride to the jump sight. On the way we picked up an Argentinian couple and a lad from Denmark who were jumping as well. In the rear, was a young boy that turned out to be Adrian´s son. The jump sight was a tiny grass runway out near the desert. We had a quick introduction, and even quicker safety briefing. However, i do remember hearing that Adrian had been the 81st best skydiver in the world at the world championships, had worked in Europe for several years, dived for 32 years and completed around 9000 dives so i did feel a little more secure after that!

We went up one by one in a tiny 1 seater plane that had just enough room in the back of it for 2 people to sit behind the pilot. On the side was a door that opened upwards with a tiny platform underneath which i was told i had to stand on before we jump. We jumped in weight order, so i was 3rd in line. I watched the Argentinian and Danish lad get into the planes first and then they would disappear for 15 minutes whilst the plane climbed before a tiny spec and parachute would appear above us. Remarkably, i wasn't nervous or scared, not even when i saw the young lad packing a parachute which he told me was going to be mine. He must have been about 15 years old, which doesnt exactly instill confidence. When it was my turn i got my harness on and walked out with Adrian to the plane. We crammed ourselves in the rear behind the pilot and in what felt like a lawnmower with wings we climbed to 2750m! Once we were above the landsite i had to shuffle alongside the pilot on my knees and was told no matter what happens do not lean on the door - he didn´t have to say anything i was not going to jump before we were ready! Adrian strapped himself to the back of me and the door flew open. This was definately the scariest point for me, when the wind started tearing into the plane and there was just nothing 20cm to my right. After 2 minutes we were ready to jump and i had to edge myself in the platform below, then when i was given the signal i had to suspend over the edge completely with nothing securing me to the plane except Adrian still sat on the edge of the plane. The dangling was actually fine, and i was more excited than nervous when suddenly we were off. The first 3-4 seconds were crazy as you look upwards at the plane zooming off above you, then you rotate and your guts move around inside you like when you go over a bridge. and when your face down its just incredible. I reached just under 200kmh freefalling for about 30 seconds. It was thrilling, the view was awesome and the adrenaline was certainly pumping. After 30 seconds, I felt a tug on my shoulders as the parachute opens and 5 seconds later you know you are safe. I had about 5 minutes in the air parachuting and took control of the chute using the ropes to practice landing and to steer from right and left. After a while Adrian took control and put us into a spin, which was horrible and then when we were a couple of hundred metres from the ground Adrian got ready to land. We landed perfectly on the airfield, but came down with the parachute on top of us. A successful dive though, i would definately recommend it! After we waited for the last jumper and then headed back to Mendoza. I arrived back around 7.30pm and having eaten nothing all day i had a big smile on my face when i found out Harriet had just about prepared dinner. That evening we just had a couple of beers and chilled out before turning in for the night.

Next morning we knew was going to be a good day because we started the day being fed pancakes and fried eggs, luxuries in the world of hostels! We were going to go on the bike and wine tour and had agreed to meet an American girl at 10am who wanted to go as well. At 10am we were ready, but she had just got up, so i headed into town to get a haircut. After 50 minutes of being directed one way and then another i finally came across a barber and despite my instructions was basically given a number 2 all over. I got back to the hostel around 11.30am and stll the Ameruican wasn´t ready so we decided to head off just the 2 of us. Unfortunately, we started by getting the wrong bus so ended up at the bus station in Maipu and had to transfer to another bus. We got to the bike rental place around 1.30pm and headed off to the vineyards. The first vineyard we went to was closed, but fortunately the brewery around the corner was open so stop number 1 was complete. We tried the pale and ale and the red ale, and a pint and a half later were ready to the hit the road. 2km further on was vineyard number 1. We bought 4 glasses of wine between us, 2 reds and 2 whites but i´m afraid i know nothing about wine so thats about as much detail as your getting. Still slightly tipsy we moved on another 500m to the next vineyard. Here we cycled over a small drain and parked our bikes, then i stepped over the drain, turned around and found Harriet on the floor with her legs in the drain! Yep, Chilean wine gets you drunk just as much as any other it turns out. Inside, we figured the best way to get over it was for 6 glasses of wine between us instead. We pretended we knew what we were doing, and sipped/downed away. I thought all of the wine was going to be from Mendoza, but they were from all over the world, so why they were at a vineyard drinking wine from France was slightly confusing but i didnt care enough to ask. We worked out if we pedalled hard, we could just about catch another pint at the brewery before heading home. The 4km cycle back certainly seemed a little more challenging than at the start of the day, think it was the afternoon sun or something...

We managed to sneak another pint in and returned thoroughly merry to the bus station at 7pm. Once at the hostel we had another asado (all you can eat BBQ) and washed it down with a couple of beers. That evening we met Marloes (Dutch) who had travelled Antarctica with Olly (the Ozzy we met in the pantanal). We went to bed quite early well fed and watered and just hoped there was no hangover the next day!

We got up and had another pancake breakfast and then headed into town so Harriet could book a flight to Bolivia from Santiago. Despite my persistent efforts to persuade her to stay for 5 months in South America it was decided we were going our separate ways :(! We got a panini and juice in town and returned to the hostel at 1.30pm ready for white water rafting at 2pm! We went with Marloes and Alberto, an Italian mountain guide that had climbed Aconcagua a few days previosuly and then slept for 21 hours straight after! We had an hour death journey in the back of a souped up Clio to the hut where we put our wetsuits on and met Dekan who was joining us on the boat. We were given a safety briefing that was more comedy than it was serious and then climbed aboard. After a couple of minutes drifting it was decided that i should volunteer to jump overboard to practice being rescued, thanks for that one guys! Once aboard again we hit the rapids, they were level III/IV and it was great fun. For the first half i sat at the back of the boat laughing at the others getting wet, but for the latter half i was at the front and got well and truly soaked. We all went for a dip in between rapids and then finished the day with a beer at the side of the river. We all slept on the way back and then the 4 of us went to find some dinner in town. We settled on a smart looking restaurant where i ordered the famous Bife de Chorizo (steak) and ate like kings. I was the first meal in about 2 years that i have not finished, the last 2 bits of steak were just too much after the rapids earlier in the day! Whilst eating dinner we also saw the Bolivian and Argentinian football teams drive pass in their team busses as they were playing nearby in town that night. After dinner Alberto was still hungry and far too energetic so i agreed to force an ice cream down up the street with him, turns out passion fruit and fererro rocher ice cream washes steak down quite well! Back at the hostel we spoke/serinaded Cecilia the receptionist girls with our version of the song "Cecilia" before Alberto passed out on the mattress outside.

In the morning (after pancakes for breakfast) we were warned that there was a landslide in the Andes in the night and that the route to Chile was blocked, not ideal seeing as we had a bus ticket for 1pm! We went to the bus station to ask if the bus was still running and left an hour later none the wiser. When we returned at 12.30pm we were still unsure what was happening but at 1.30pm our bus turned up and we climbed aboard. The route (in between naps) was specatular as we carved our way through the mountains. However, we did catch the end of the queue through customs caused by the traffic build up after the landslide. We were due to arrive in Santiago at 8pm, but at 11pm we were still sitting at the border crossing. After the most longwinded immigration and customs procedure (not thorough, just long) we finally arrived in Santiago at 2am!