Bday

Air rushing up my face ...

Everything is turning around ...

Up is down ... down is up ... looking to all directions at once , cold air filling my mouth ...

maybe i should begin at the beginning ...

Sunday, 10.2.08.

0920 am. The alarm goes off. i open 1 eye, remembering i need to go down and extend my stay @ the backpackers before 10am. I turn the alarm of, and go back to sleep.

0950 am, jump out of bed, throw some clothes on, head down, extend my stay, and think about all the things i need to do before noon. Get back to the room, crash on the bed, back to sleep.

1100 am, alarm goes off again. I turn it off, and snooze for half an hour or so.

1130 am, get out of bed, start preparing my backpack, and around 1200 head out, towards Queen st. in search of Coles.

1220 pm, get to Coles, find a muffin, some candles, and a lighter. Total damage: 5$.

1230 pm, start running towards the train, cursing the moment i turned the alarm off.

1250 pm, return train ticket to Redcliffe, 4.40$, 1255 pm i'm on the train.

1330 pm, reaching Redcliffe, getting picked up and driven to the beach.

1400 pm, strapped in, getting in the van again, heading to the airport.

1415 pm, short briefing done, crawl into a dubious looking 2 motor airplane, lacking the back door.

1440 pm, reaching 14000 feet, heading towards the exit.


Air rushing up my face ...

Everything is turning around ...

Up is down ... down is up ... looking to all directions at once , cold air filling my mouth ...

1 minute of free falling. Enjoying the view, feeling the cold air rushing past me, enjoying every moment, yet knowing it will end soon.

Parachute opens, the position changes from free fall to hanging down. The sea bellow is greenish instead of the normal blue you would expect, but i guess you can't have it all.
I can see the other 4 sky divers bellow me, preparing to land. The skydive instructor pulls the cords, and the parachute starts to turn around and around, i smile and enjoy the turns.
The land is closer now, and i wonder when will we start heading towards the big "X" on the beach. On the last second, we do another turn, go above the trees, missing their tops by some meters, and head to the landing. 5 seconds later, i'm sitting on the beach. It's over.

I get up, go back to the van, get a beer, stick the candles in the muffin, and try to light them. Seems like the wind will not cooperate, so i get the shots with the unlit candles, and then head to the video room to see the jump, and eat my muffin.

Ended up buying the video, and then i was taken back to the train, having finished half my plans for today, and smiling at the sheer luck i had, since it didn't rain, and since i was able to book the last place on the last jump for today, on the last minute yesterday.

Got back, slept a bit, got up, and headed to the bar to get a nice steak for dinner. The french couple showed up some minutes afterwards, and they and the kiwi that stays in our room joined me.

A quick shower, and off we go to the Casablanca hotel, to get some salsa :) .

Some insights about the salsa scene there. It's not what we're used to back home.

Where back home salsa nights will be 90% salsa, and 10% other things, here it's an equal mix of salsa, bachata and zouk. Zouk is a sensual dance, but i have no idea how to dance it yet, i can hold my ground in the bachata, and the salsa ... well ... i'm still trying to figure out what they dance. It seems it's mainly on1, LA oriented, but it lacks the familiarity of salsa back home.

Oh, and it seems they don't really dance cuban for some reason, even though some of the music is cuban.

It was a fun night. Met some nice people, including a girl that had her birthday on the same day too :).

Late into the night, when the floor was quite empty, i danced a great fast dance when they put the "la pelota", amazed that i can keep up. Seems i'm not as out of shape as i thought :).

And thats about it.

Skydiving & Salsa. Quite a nice bday, where the only thing missing was my family and friends, but checking the mail and getting all the happy-bday mails made up for it.

Thanks all for remembering, and excuse me if i'm too senile or caught up in my trips and i miss your own bday.