Iceland has been on my bucket list for a few years now, and I finally had the perfect opening in my schedule to make the trip to the island of volcanos, hot springs, geysers, and lagoons. We landed in Reykjavik, so naturally my first adventure was to take a helicopter to the top of Mount Esja to take in the best views of the city.

We walked to the domestic airport and met our pilot from Nordurflug Helicopter Tours. We took off over the city and had the most amazing view of everything from downtown Reykjavik to an up-close glimpse of a inactive volcano crater. After about ten minutes we were headed for Mount Esja.

Because we were blessed with a perfect day with minimal wind and not a cloud in the sky, we were able to actually land on top of the mountain to explore and take pictures. We soaked in the 360 degree views, inhaled the fresh air, and did a little yoga for good measure.

The ride back was equally as thrilling as the pilot rode up the summit to then quickly drop us straight down the other side. It honestly felt like I was in a IMAX version of exploring the arctic. It was completely surreal. This was just one of the many adventures I will go on during my time here in Iceland. But needless to say… Im off to a great start.

My eyes opened at 4:35am to the sound of my morning wake up call. The familiar voice on the other end apologetically coaxed me out of my comfy bed. After scanning the daily humidity levels, I crawled into a taxi and drove 30 minutes to the marina. This was my “morning routine” for three long days as I sat with bated breath, praying to make my way up the waitlist.

I have been wanting to skydive the Palm for more than two years now, ever since experiencing the intoxicating mix of adrenaline and pure panic achieved while hang gliding off a cliff in Rio de Janeiro. However, every time I’ve traveled to Dubai it was either last minute or on accident, which unfortunately doesn’t work well with the two month wait list to reserve a dive with Skydive Dubai.

The first day, jumps were postponed due to humidity (apparently when the air is humid it is counter-intuitively less dense making you fall/land faster **no thanks). Because of this unfortunate climate issue, the next day was completely overbooked leaving me down to the wire on my last and final day in Dubai. As luck would have it, there just so happened to be one spot left for me on the last flight out for the day. I filled out the “I promise I won’t sue you if shit goes south” form and began to get strapped in and ready for the jump. The next thing I knew, I was 13,000ft up in the air connected to my tandem partner Alex, looking down over the Palm.

It was by far one of the most thrilling things I have ever experienced in my life. From my stomach dropping to my toes as we dove out of the plane, to the feeling of free falling through the sky. Both of these things, combined with the highly contrasting views of the futuristic skyline, crisp cerulean beaches, and the vast Arabian desert is something I will be remembering for the rest of my life.

My tips for skydiving in Dubai:

Reserve as early as physically possible
If you can’t pre-book/plan your dive (like me) get to Skydive Dubai around 5am the day you want to jump to insure you get a good spot on the waitlist
Bring a snack with you (after getting there at 5am on an empty stomach I was dying by the time I actually got to dive which was around 11:15am)
Wear good/comfortable shoes, **essential for a smooth landing