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I never intended to stop in Cordoba. I wanted to go straight from Iguazu Falls to Mendoza, but the bus ride would take 36 hours. At least the bus to Cordoba is only 20 hours. From Cordoba to Mendoza, the bus ride is only eight hours.
I didn't find Cordoba to be a very interesting city. The city has seven universities, essentially a university town. The night life is really good though. I guess having all those university students isn't a bad thing.
Skydiving
There isn't much to see in this city, so I decide to go skydiving. I don't tell my parents as I know they would start freaking out, but I do post on my Facebook profile the following: "Going Skydiving. If I don't make it, it's been nice knowing you all."
At the skydiving site, they offer jumps at two different heights. The lower height allows you to free fall for eight seconds. At the higher height, you will drop for 32 seconds. I choose the higher height. If I'm going out, I'm going big and leave my mark on the world. The tandem jump costs 680 Argentinian Pesos and includes a video and
pictures of the jump. On the 15 minute flight up to our jump point, I had a lot of time to think about whether to jump or not. Should I do it? Should I not do it? If I don't do it, will I get my money back? Will everyone think I'm a wimp if I don't do it? If I jump, will it impress the girls? In the end, I decide to jump for two reasons:
1. I already paid and can't get a refund.
2. I saw a girl jump before me and I wasn't going to let a girl beat me (no I'm not chauvinistic--just an ego thing).
So, we get to the jump point and I need to climb out of the plane with the instructor attached to my back. I really have no control on when we jump as I'm literally hanging outside the plane and the only person keeping me from falling is the instructor. Guess I can't change my mind now. The instructor starts counting and I come up with some very strange thoughts as the number go by:
1, I have travel insurance.
2, Good thing I went to
pee before I got into the plane.
3, I should have written my will.
Jump!
Next thing I see is the plane above me in the air. HOLY SHIT! I'm actually free falling. It's AMAZING! WOOOO HOOOO! I'm really doing this! This is the most amazing feeling in the world! The wind whistling by, the weightless feeling, and the feeling of being totally free of everything. I thought I would scream like a girl all the way down, not that I actually could, but I'm actually screaming with excitement. I feel like the happiest person in the world and I'm pretty sure it's not all the extra adrenaline pumping through my body. When I finally land, I'm telling everyone I want to do it again. If anyone gets the opportunity to go skydiving, definitely do it. It's worth every penny. And yes, it's safe to do in South America...well, Argentina anyway.
Spanish Lessons?
I decide to extend my stay in Cordoba and take Spanish lessons. I book a weeks worth of lessons. My first lesson is quite good and I learn a lot about verb congregation. It reminds me a lot of French and I finally learn some
Spanish grammar. The class was in the morning and it was a private lesson. The next class is booked for the next day at 6:00 pm. The next day I go with a few friends to Alta Gracia to see the Ernesto "Che" Guevara's house. I figured I had plenty of time as we left the
hostel at 11:00 am.
We spend about an hour in the house then head for a late lunch. By the time we finish lunch it's close to 4:00 pm. I'm thinking I'm not going to make it back to the hostel in time for my Spanish lesson so I call the hostel and ask them to cancel it for me. They do this for me. We actually get lost looking for the bus station. In the end, we don't get back to our hostel until 7:00 pm.
The next day I ask the hostel staff to book a Spanish lesson for the following day. This time I'm going to my lesson. The following day, my friends Dalia and Katie ask me if I would like to go for a hike to a waterfall. I do and ask the hostel staff to cancel my
Spanish lesson. I figured I wouldn't make it back in time for my lesson at 7:00 pm. Sure enough, I don't get back to the hostel till 8:00 pm. I decide not to try to book anymore lessons. I don't think the instructor would allow me to book more lessons anyway. It's a good thing I didn't pay for the Spanish lessons in advance. Mind you, if I did, I probably would have made a more concerted effort to attend all my lessons.
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