So you must be thinking where did this come from! Well, I thought let’s take a break from Colombia series and write about this beautiful experience I had in Mexico. “Beautiful” may not be the best first adjective to describe the skydiving experience. Well, this is the first thought that comes into my head while writing the post but it was certainly not the first thought that came into my mind when I was actually doing it. So I have done skydiving last month in Playa del Carmen in South Mexico. Read on:
WHAT IS TANDEM SKYDIVE
First things first let’s talk about what is Tandem Skydive? Tandem Skydive or Tandem Jump is an act in which a person jumps with an instructor attached by a harness from a plane at an altitude of above 10000 feet. The initial part of the jump is free-fall which last for 30-45 seconds followed by the opening of the parachute. The whole experience lasts for 6-8 minutes.
THE MOTIVATION AND THE MEDITATION
Well, I had no plans on doing the skydiving when I started my solo trip to Mexico back in November last year. As they say, things fall into place. When I was at the end of my year-long Latin American trip, I was looking into doing Scuba diving. While searching about it online, I stumbled upon a Skydiving experience at Playa del Carmen in the South of Mexico. It is rated by many as one of the best skydiving experiences in the world. Before starting my now doomed(Thanks to the pandemic) South American trip, I bought USD 300 and I had it with me all along and the skydiving experience fell into my budget. I had thought about doing skydiving in the past but always had this fear in my mind. This time I made my mind to finally do it and end my year-long trip with an unforgettable experience. I start thinking about the skydiving experience during my daily meditation sessions a week before the said day. The whole experience played in my head and slowly I got used to the idea.
THE LOGISTICS & THE COST
The skydiving experience takes place at Playa del Carmen city in the state of Quintana Roo of South Mexico. Around 45 min ride from Cancun International Airport. The company I did the skydiving with was SKYDIVEMEX. The best thing about the skydiving experience here is it is budget-friendly and we jump over the beautiful beaches of Playa del Carmen which are not man-made like Dubai. Eating a light meal 2 hours before the jump, wearing comfortable clothes and closed shoes are recommendable. I was lucky to avail myself of the ongoing offer and paid USD 250 including video. The general rate is USD 269 + USD 99 Extra for video.
THE EXPERIENCE & THE VIDEO
So the day has come. I woke up in the morning with a dream about skydiving. I went to the designated place at the designated time but as luck would have it, I had to wait because the direction of the wind was not suitable for the jump. After waiting for several hours, finally, we got a go-ahead for the jump in the evening. They gave me two options: To do it now or do it tomorrow morning. I didn’t want to wait for one more day and decided to do it right away. I was introduced to my English instructor. He has done more than 5000 jumps till now and was quite professional. He is relatively new in Mexico though. After doing all the necessary formalities of registration, signing a waiver form, weight check and wearing the gear. We boarded the AirVan GA8 plane. We were three jumpers on the plane and I was the last one to jump. When I asked my instructor: “Are we going to jump last”, He said, “You don’t want to be first, trust me”. Some assurance that was! We flew for approx. 15 minutes up to an altitude of around 13000 feet. I was really excited and pumped. Looking out of the plane’s window and enjoying the stunning views. Beautiful crystal clear water surrounded by eye-catching nature. I was given goggles by my instructor to wear over my glasses. It was nicely fit. The moment has finally come. The first instructor opened the plane’s door and I could feel the strong gust of wind. The moment I saw the first jump (which I shouldn’t have), my mind PANICKED. It felt as if someone just did suicide from a high-rise building. My mind was sending me “MISSION ABORT” signals. The thing I learnt from meditation is how to train your mind to get used to negative thoughts. Always focus on the idea of a blue sky. It helped me to maintain my composure at that time. Also, the best thing was after the first jump, the second and the third (mine) jump happened in quick succession. When I was at the plane’s door, my heart was beating so fast like it will be going to pop out anytime soon. And then we JUMPED! I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds and when I open my eyes. WOW! I felt like a superman. There’s no other way to explain it. I was literally flying. All the fear and anxiety were gone! I was enjoying every second of it. My mind was saying to me “You could be anything/ You could do anything”. That feeling was really really special. The wind was gushing through my face and hair. We were going down at a speed of approx. 110 mph. After around 35-40 seconds, my instructor opened the parachute and we could finally talk. My first reaction was a shout of joy thanks to the adrenaline rush. I was ecstatic by what just happened. The rest of the way down, I enjoyed the stunning beach views. My instructor let me handle the parachute for a short while briefly. He even showed me a whale shark in the waters. It was a fun experience once the parachute opened. We had a smooth landing on a beach. I was a bit disappointed to be back on the land haha. My first thought after landing was I wanted to do it again! I was filled with this confidence that I can do it better next time. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush talking 🙂 The only scary or the difficult part was the jump itself and if you have done it once. It won’t bother you again. The company’s vehicle picked us up from the beach and drop us at the office. You can watch the edited video of my skydiving here.
FINAL WORD
Coming back to the word “Beautiful”. When I think about the experience now. There’s no other way to describe it. The experience was exciting, scary, liberating, ecstatic, fun and ends with a feeling of gratitude and achievement. If one experience gives you so many diverse feelings, I think that experience is nothing but Beautiful 🙂
