The bus ride to Mendoza took about eight hours, so on our first day there we did little else besides hang out and go out to dinner. The following day, we had bigger plans...Dan and I decided to go skydiving (Sorry parents! We didn't tell you before, but it was for your own good. And yes, it was completely safe. Love you!). We arranged the excursion through our hostel, and left midday for our adventure. I had been skydiving twice before, but this was Dan's first time, and I was equally excited for both of us.
It took an hour to get to the jump site, and once there, the four-person company took their time preparing both plane and equipment. Finally, it was time to go. The man who would be tandem jumping with us informed us of his past experience; he had done well over 4,000 jumps in his life, and I think Dan and I were both happy to be just another number in his tally. He gave us a briefing of what to do once in the air. The plane was extremely small, and there was only one man doing the tandem jumps, so Dan and I would be going up separately.
I went first. We flew fifteen minutes in the sky before the moment arrived. The instructor told me to reposition myself by the door, at which point I put on my goggles and he strapped his harness securely to mine. Finally, he opened the door. The wind came rushing at us, but I focused my attention on placing my feet on the ledge of the plane. One down, two down. Then the instructor's feet were down. Finally, he told me to let go. For a brief moment, my legs were mid-air, yet still beside the plane...then, whishhh. The instructor let go of the plane and we were falling to the ground at an exhilarating rate. The air rushed over my skin and I had a massive smile on my face as we sped downward. After thirty seconds of free falling, the instructor deployed the parachute and we began floating at a peaceful pace down to Earth. Nothing was quite as fun as that initial free fall. Yet having a view of the Andes ahead and vineyards below was pretty remarkable.
Dan followed shortly thereafter. I was able to watch from below as he and the instructor traveled downward in their parachute. As he neared the ground, he looked like a rag doll that was hanging limp in front of the instructor. I was worried he hadn't enjoyed himself, but he had a big smile on his face when I approached him. I asked him if he had been nervous at all. He said no, but I am eager to watch the video evidence and find out if his face betrays him.
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The following day, Dan and I took advantage of being in the wine capital of Argentina and went to some vineyards. We had been to two vineyards when we were previously in Mendoza with my mom, but thought it could be fun to see some more.
During our prior trip to Mendoza, we stayed in the countryside, so all of the wineries were close to the hotel. This time, we were staying in the heart of the city, so we needed to travel about an hour away to seek out the vineyards. We took a bus to a nearby town called Maipu. Once there, Dan and I rented bikes and were given a map of all of the local vineyards. We set off for one that sounded good to us, but once there, learned that they were not yet open. Instead, we settled for a vineyard across the street that was so tiny it was not even marked on our map. We were the only ones there, and apprehensively settled at a table. Then, a woman brought over a wine list from which we were instructed to select four glasses. Allowing us to choose our own wine!...already, I started liking this place.
From there, it only got better. Because we were the only ones present, the woman gave us a generous pour on each glass. She also brought out a beautiful charcuterie plate for us to share. On top of that, Dan and I were both surprised and excited to discover that all of the wines we sampled were some of the best we had ever tried. Had it not been for space, we probably would have bought a bottle of everything they produced. Instead, we settled for a single bottle of some of the best rosé either of us had ever had. After the fact, once we realized we would probably never again discover wine from this boutique vineyard, we regretted not purchasing more of it. However, at the time we eagerly placed the wine in our bike basket and moved on to our next stop.
Our next vineyard, Trapiche, was much more established; it had been around since the late 1800s. Though neither of us thought their wine compared to the previous vineyard, we both enjoyed going on a tour through the property and learning about their production.
After the second vineyard, we had had our fill of wine. So we chose to end our day at a nearby beer garden. It was a nice spot to round out our afternoon, and after finishing our beers, we rode our bikes back to the shop and returned back to the city for one final night in Mendoza.
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