And fly I did!
The 52 second free-fall from a plane 14,000 ft above sea level was indescribable! I thought it'd never happen. My plan to jump off a plane which was originally set in Adelaide, Australia never happened. They cancelled all jumps on my scheduled date because of the bad weather. So inasmuch as I would've wanted to go through with it, I decided to just jump some other time as suggested by them experts.
It proved to be the best decision. The sun was up and it was a very clear morning on the day of my skydive. The instructor assigned to jump with me was Phil Onis. He’s just the Australian skydiver who’s had over 25,000+ jumps.. the most number of jumps in all of Australia. So ok, whatever. Haha!
And so anyway, I was set. I bravely walked towards our mini-aircraft which would take us 14,000ft above the ground.
During the lull moments in the aircraft, I felt my heart throb so wildly. I wanted to not think of the events that would soon happen, but I just could not.. what with the view of the land becoming tinier and tinier by the second. It was good that the other tandem skydivers inside the plane were joking around, making fun, which sometimes took my mind off what was about to take place. But then before I knew it, someone all of a sudden opened the rear side of the plane and the first tandem skydivers went into their "position." I honestly had no time to gasp and gawk with what I saw because everything happened so fast! After a few seconds.. yes only seconds after the first skydivers jumped, I felt my instructor nudge me to the edge of the plane.
This was it.
Ok, I don’t mean to be a spoiler to the people who are also planning to skydive, but the worst part of the entire ordeal was when you’d actually sit on the edge of the plane. During this time, I saw the vastness of the infinite space I was about to fall into. My feet dangled from the plane, without anything for me to step on.. Even as a psychological security blanket that says “yes, you will not fall off this plane.” I saw bits of cloud particles which reminded me that I was indeed thousands of feet above the ground. I felt the cold wind slam into my entire body from all directions. And I knew that this was the point of no return even if I wanted to back out.
And then, I suddenly felt my body lunging forward, falling into the nothingness I saw seconds back. I tumbled out of the plane as I saw the distant land and the clouds all whirl before my eyes.
The initial shock of falling made my heart stop. My stomach lurched and I felt my chest thump wildly.. The usually feeling one would have when falling. I screamed.. I think. I don’t remember anymore. I don’t remember what my thought process was at this point. I just knew that I was scared to death!
After that 2-second heart stopping moment, I realized what was happening already. I fell off a plane, and was continuously free-falling. I opened my arms wide, and even if my body knew if was still in a free-fall mode, I felt like I was floating in the air.. almost like flying! The thrill I felt was marvellous! More than marvellous! I saw everything from up there.. I saw how the land slowly became clearer as I dropped closer to it. My hear still beat wildly, but not because of fear anymore, but because of the excitement I was feeling.. Saying it was intense is definitely an understatement. Sobrang sarap!
I didn’t even feel like it was almost a minute already when I felt my body jerk because of the parachute suddenly opening. I caught my breath and tried to relax. However, the parachute ride proved to be another incredible experience. Yes, it was relaxing, but it did not make me less amazed. I was in awe as I got to appreciate the view better. Phil made sure that we stayed up in the air for as long as we can. He turned, glided and flew us in every direction possible. I told him then that now, I can understand why they, the instructors loved their job so much. I mean, I would too.. if my job involved jumping off a plane a few times each day.
As soon as we landed and I pulled myself together, I sent a quick SMS to the people important to me: “Im aliiiiiiive! I love the land! I love earth! I love you guys! Im aliiiiiive!!! Will kwento details in email! It was amaziiiiiing!!!”
And boy, did I kwento. I couldn’t stop regaling about it. I talked about it again and again until I realized that I can’t use any more words to describe the moment.
This will definitely be one of the most incredible things I’ve done. And I would do it again, given the chance.
Meantime, allow me to share my video with you, as I relive this incredible experience. Absolutely one of the best f-in feelings in the whole wide (WILD) world.
When: November 28, 2011
Where: Sydney, Australia
What: Sydney Skydivers
1 comment:
daring!
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