Mums do travel

Travel with and without teens

  • Home
  • Destination
    • UK
      • London
      • Kent
      • Northern Ireland
      • Wales
      • Elsewhere
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Croatia
      • France
      • Gibraltar
      • Greece
      • Hungary
      • Italy
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Russia
      • Spain
      • Turkey
    • North America
      • USA
      • Canada
      • Carribean
      • Costa Rica
    • Africa
      • South Africa
      • Tunisia
    • Asia
      • Thailand
      • Bali
      • Singapore
    • Australia
  • Inspiration
    • Things to do in…
    • Things to do in London…
    • Where to stay
    • Language learning
    • Family travel interviews
    • The journey
    • Recipes
  • Published in
  • About
  • Contact
  • Travel shop
Home / Type of trip / Active / Indoor skydiving on the Costa Brava

Indoor skydiving on the Costa Brava

June 7, 2013 by Gretta Schifano 12 Comments

 photo 55c37e25-4fed-4fc6-b061-5125d8172733_zps7901b901.jpg

Shoulder to shoulder today is a blog hop – series of blog posts – hosted by different bloggers each day in support of Emma Day over at crazywithtwins. 27 year-old Emma is mother to a 5 year-old daughter and twin baby girls, and she has thyroid cancer. When Emma found out that the high dose of radiotherapy treatment she needed to undergo would make her dangerously radioactive and unable go near anyone else she said that she was heartbroken: ‘I can’t hold or kiss or feed or comfort my own babies for around a month.’

A group of Emma’s blogging friends decided to step in and write daily, positive posts to support her, and to raise awareness of cancer. Thankfully, Emma’s radioactivity came down to safe levels sooner than predicted and she’s now able to hug her babies, but we’re carrying on with the blog posts as planned. Today it’s my turn to host #S2S2D, together with Sam at Up All Hours

Emma has a list on her blog of 30 things she’d like to do before she’s 30 and number 17 is ‘Try indoor skydiving’. Now it just so happens that I  tried indoor skydiving for the first time last week and it was fantastic, even though it made my face look like plasticine, temporarily, and left me with giant goggle marks for the rest of the day. I was with my teenage daughter and a lovely group of BritMums bloggers and children at the Windoor wind tunnel at Empuriabrava in Spain, as guests of the Costa Brava tourist board. Empuriabrava is one of the top places in Europe for skydiving and the wind tunnel is used by professional skydivers for training as well as being open to visitors like us.

In order to ‘fly’ in the tunnel, our lovely instructor Pali Rovnan told us to lie on our fronts ‘like a banana’, keep still, relax and breathe, all at the same time. Once inside the wind tunnel I found this easier said than done, but Pali was reassuringly close by, and I think that my weekly Pilates classes helped me to keep vaguely in the right position. Pali said that there’s no minimum age limit at the wind tunnel, and children can join in as long as they’re wearing all the safety gear – he took his daughter there for the first time when she was 18 months-old. This is me as a banana, trying not to dribble:

Wind tunnel. Copyright Steve Keenan

Copyright Steve Keenan

 

We each had two turns in the tunnel. The first time was just to get a feel for it and learn how to stay in the air. The second time Pali linked arms with me and we whizzed right up to the top of the tunnel and back down again really, really fast. This was exhilarating but not at all scary – until I watched my daughter do the same thing and I felt sick, tearful and terrified for a split second, even though I knew she was completely safe.

Emma, I really hope you get to try indoor skydiving one day too – it’s fantastic fun.

Emma would like to urge people to get lumps checked sooner than she did. She’s taking part in the Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life this weekend, because she’s marvellous. If you’d like to sponsor her, you can do so here.

If you’d like to share a post with Emma then please link up below, display the badge and tweet using #S2S2D and include @crazywithtwins.

Shoulder to Shoulder to Day
<img src=” http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u568/ToriWel/811fe3d0-1420-4987-9719-6c146ee76adb_zps87798b9c.jpg” alt=”Shoulder to Shoulder to Day” style=”border:none;” />

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Related

Categories: Active, Seasonal, Spain
Tags: costa brava, indoor skydiving, shoulder to shoulder day, wind tunnel

About Gretta Schifano

I'm a freelance journalist and blogger specialising in family travel with teenagers, trips when parents manage to travel without their kids, and 50+ travel. I also write about vegetarian travel, parenting teenagers, adoption, SEN, ADHD and anxiety. My work's been published by the Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, National Geographic Traveller, Lonely Planet and others. I've lived and worked in Italy and Spain and am now based in rural south-east England with my husband, adoptive and birth kids and our dog. I previously worked as a social action radio producer for the BBC.

Facebook - Twitter - Google+

Subscribe to posts by email?

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Comments

  1. Coombemill says

    June 8, 2013 at 8:04 pm

    I think I would be right out of my comfort zone doing that, heights and me don’t go well together. Happily hand this one over to you and Emma!
    Coombemill recently posted…Country Kids from Coombe MillMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta says

      June 8, 2013 at 9:55 pm

      You don’t have to go up high though, you could just stay down low, but it wouldn’t be as much fun!

      Reply
  2. Emma (crazywithtwins) says

    June 7, 2013 at 10:33 pm

    I’m feeling rather jealous! Looks like you had lots of fun. Thankyou for taking part in #s2s2d and for all your support xx
    Emma (crazywithtwins) recently posted…Cosatto: Thankyou for your incredible support!My Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta says

      June 8, 2013 at 10:39 am

      You’re very welcome, and good luck in the Race For Life, I hope it goes well x

      Reply
  3. Sarah MumofThree World says

    June 7, 2013 at 5:42 pm

    That looks amazing! I’d never even heard of it before! Really hope Emma gets to give it a go soon.
    Sarah MumofThree World recently posted…Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate AtkinsonMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta says

      June 7, 2013 at 7:58 pm

      Me too – I’m sure she’d love it.

      Reply
  4. Jennifer Howze says

    June 7, 2013 at 12:07 pm

    Love the pic. You look so tiny. A tiny little banana! Great to fly with you.

    Reply
    • Gretta says

      June 7, 2013 at 12:40 pm

      I think it’s because Pali’s so very tall!

      Reply
  5. Verily Victoria Vocalises says

    June 7, 2013 at 9:42 am

    WOW! That looks amazing :)) I would so love to do this too – even more now I’ve heard about it. Thanks for hosting today xx
    Verily Victoria Vocalises recently posted…Post Comment Love 7th to 9th June 2013My Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta says

      June 7, 2013 at 10:13 am

      You’re welcome, I’m proud to be taking part in such a great initiative x

      Reply
  6. JallieDaddy says

    June 7, 2013 at 8:23 am

    Indoor skydiving? Mad! I want to do it!
    JallieDaddy recently posted…OvercomingMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta says

      June 7, 2013 at 10:14 am

      It’s just so much fun!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 10 things my kids have learnt on holiday - Mums do travel says:
    April 3, 2014 at 6:49 am

    […] to skydive in a wind tunnel. On the Costa Brava the eldest and I found out that we both love this kind of flying and I learnt […]

    Reply
  2. Things to do on the Costa Brava with kids - Mums do travel says:
    November 26, 2013 at 2:06 pm

    […] Windoor wind tunnel at Empuriabrava is one of the best places in Europe to practice indoor skydiving. When we went […]

    Reply
  3. Instagram on the Costa Brava | Mums do travel: a family travel site says:
    July 17, 2013 at 7:36 am

    […] a good activity for families. My teen says it was the best part of our trip, even better than indoor skydiving or our catamaran cruise. I’d definitely go on another Instagram day with her, but hope that […]

    Reply
  4. Family Days - share yours | Mums do travel: a family travel site says:
    July 16, 2013 at 11:45 am

    […] has particular reasons for feeling emotional but I also found it hard to watch when my teen went indoor skydiving recently, even though I’d just done it myself). Mammasaurus and Ozzy enjoyed their day at […]

    Reply
  5. Cap de Creus by catamaran | Mums do travel: a family travel site says:
    June 10, 2013 at 1:27 pm

    […] ← Shoulder to shoulder today – indoor skydiving […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Search site

Follow me!

Email: gretta at mumsdotravel dot com
Follow me on FacebookFollow me on Google+Follow me on TwitterFollow me on InstagramFollow me on YouTubeFollow me on PinterestFollow me on Bloglovin

You'd like posts by email?

Booking.com

Most popular posts:

  • How to pack for an 8 kg luggage allowance
    How to pack for an 8 kg luggage allowance
  • Thailand with teenagers: a two-week summer itinerary
    Thailand with teenagers: a two-week summer itinerary
  • Where to find Mary Poppins film locations in London
    Where to find Mary Poppins film locations in London
  • 5-night itinerary for Northern Tunisia
    5-night itinerary for Northern Tunisia
  • Itinerary for a three-night Berlin sightseeing trip with a teenager
    Itinerary for a three-night Berlin sightseeing trip with a teenager
  • What to do when your teenager doesn't want to go on your family holiday
    What to do when your teenager doesn't want to go on your family holiday
  • 5 of the best: UK castles for family stays
    5 of the best: UK castles for family stays
  • 60 free things to do in London with a teenager
    60 free things to do in London with a teenager
  • Top things to do in Sicily with teenagers
    Top things to do in Sicily with teenagers
  • How to go seal watching in Winterton, Norfolk
    How to go seal watching in Winterton, Norfolk

Recent Posts

  • How to apply for Italian citizenship: everything we’ve done so far
  • How to explore London’s top attractions from home
  • Amsterdam virtual museum & gallery tours
  • Introducing Armchair Travels
  • How to explore Florence, Italy, from home

About

  • About
  • Published in
  • Contact

Disclosure

This is a personal blog written and edited by me, Gretta Schifano. Sometimes I’m given products or sent on trips to review, but I always make this clear and give my honest opinion. See my About page for full details.

Copyright © Mums do travel 2019
Header by Suzanne Barton
Website by
Callia Web

Sign up for my free newsletter:
Subscribe to the Mums do travel mailing list... it's FREE!
You'll receive family travel news, offers and competitions. Once you sign up you can download my tips for saving money on family travel.
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.
Sign up for my free newsletter: