Adventure Park

Sunday, September 7th was a good day. I was assigned to work the programme. The schedule was adventure park and then hiking Sillerenbuhl. I'd never been to an adventure park so I as quite psyched. I mean I've been up in the genie in the theatre no problem, but I had more surface area for my feet. And I have frozen due to heights a couple of times before. So I was excited but anxious to see how I'd handle it.

We got to the adventure park and got a quick (and I mean quick) safety lesson and then did a mini ropes course to get use to the process. It was unclip here, clip here, clip here in the opposite direction, climb this, unclip, clip, clip, clip, and zip. But don't zip until the person in front of you is off the wire. And don't clip until they're unclipped. Confused yet? Nervous yet?

Then it was cross bridge, and by bridge I mean single wire definitely smaller than my fat feet. Then unclip, clip, unclip, clip, clip, swing, unclip, unclip, stand on tippy toes to clip again...well you get the picture.

But I made it through the mini course unscathed, and was ready for the real thing. Peter was our guide and he was a very nice guy. Very patient and good humoured. Which helped me because I crack lots of jokes when I'm nervous. And I don't know if he courtesy laughed or genuinely laughed, but either way I felt better. So I climbed the hill, unclipped, unclipped, clipped, clipped, waited until the person before me unclipped, then clipped my final carabiner, sat in my harness, and ZIPPED. I mean ZIPPED. And it was GREAT. I was going so fast, with nothing but air, rocks and river below me. It was amazing. And I got to do it again and again and again. And soon I wasn't so consciously thinking, clip clip unclip, but oh my god this is fun and I can't stop giggling.

Then we got to the rope bridges. And it was cake. One foot in front of the other and a nice song to hum in my head and I was smooth sailing across the bridges. The only time I got nervous was the bridge with lots of air between the slats. But I made it and was even able to stop and pose without holding on. Peter wanted me to cross it without holding on, and I wanted Peter to shut up.

After that, it was abseiling off the bridge. Abseiling is when you lean far out from the bridge using your feet and a single rope, then lower yourself down to the ground secret agent style. It was great. And of course, I did it while singing "Secret Agent Man" at the top of my lungs. I'm starting to see that singing helps men when I'm nervous too. But seems to embarass others a bit.

But the best part was yet to come.

It's called the pendulum swing. And you step out on this tiny ass platform on the side of this tall ass bridge and, while attached to a single rope, you just step off the platform and free fall into a pendulum swing.

I had to do it. I needed to do it.

So I strapped in, and made sure Peter was using all new ropes and did all the proper clipping and unclipping, and climbed over the railing of the bridge. The second my feet hit the platform, I knew I couldn't think. So I grabbed the rope and fell backward. (Apparently not many people just jump right off when they get out on the platform, they have to get their courage up. Everyone was very surprised at my eagerness. I just wanted to get the hell off that platform.) The second I was in the air, I felt like my face was being ripped off. And then the rope caught, and I went into this wonderful huge swing back and forth, back and forth under the bridge with yet again, nothing but air, rocks and river below me. And it was great. I only wish the free fall had lasted longer.

I will never forget it, and am determined to do it again - several times in several different places.

Then we hiked to Sillerenbuhl, but it was too cloudy to see the nice view from the top. Well I say hiked but we really took the gondola up and hiked back down. But it pailed in comparison to what I had just experienced. Although the slide in the restaurant up on top of Silleren was pretty cool. I just couldn't stop smiling from the amazing experience I had just had.

There's just something about putting your life into the hands of a complete stranger, even if you know his name is Peter, and then letting gravity decide whether you will land safely on a platform or meet face to face with a river bed of rocks. It makes your hot chocolate at the end of a gondola ride on a very foggy day that much sweeter. And you really don't even stop to think of calories or your waistline, you just smile to yourself and are proud of surviving.