This is the BEST day we've had here so far (I seriously still can't believe that everything I just wrote about only happened in three days...time is such a weird concept sometimes). Today was BUNGEE JUMPING DAY! We've all been super excited about it since we signed up earlier in the week, and when I woke up this morning I couldn't believe I was actually going to do it. But no nervousness really set in until we got to the bridge, because it's hard to actually fathom you are going to jump off of something so high.
The bungee jumping place is in a town named Naranjo, about 45 minutes outside of San Jose. We took a small van/bus thing to get there. It was super nice to get out of the main part of the city, and out into...well...I wouldn't call it the countryside, but out into an area that definitely has more green than downtown San Jose. We eventually exited the highway and pulled up to this really nondescript looking peach building that would look like any other if it were not for the giant sign that said TROPICAL BUNGEE right by the front door. So we all piled out of the bus and crammed into this tiny little office, where the guy in charge had us sign liability forms (gulp), and then got back on the bus to head down to the bridge (el puente). The road to the bridge was this incredibly bumpy dirt road, and halfway down the driver stopped to show us a view of the bridge (which was our cue to start freaking out). When we got to the bridge, all there was was a truck, a bright yellow platform hanging over the edge with an awning over it, and a few guys in yellow t-shirts organizing a bunch of harnesses and ropes. We stood around for a bit while they set everything up, taking pictures of ourselves looking scared, and then they gave us a little orientation and got us all set up in harnesses.
Something really nice was that before any of us jumped, the "Jumpmaster" (el Maestro de Saltos) gave us a demonstration of how to stand up on the platform and then jump off. Watching him do it and not fall to his death made me feel a little bit more at ease. Then we decided that Wendy (one of the girls in my group) was going to go first, and after watching her do it, I felt even better. A few more girls went, and then it was my turn.
Oh. My. Goodness. Please let me describe to you the experience that is bungee jumping: You sit on the rail of the bridge near the platform while the Maestro de Saltos checks/tightens your harness and straps and has you show him that you know how to clip yourself onto the rope that will pull you back up. After that, he has you get up onto the railing and walk out onto the platform and drop the bungee rope in front of you. Then, you have to inch forward until all of your toes are over the edge of the platform, 265 feet up in the air. At this point, if you are me, your feet are going numb because you are so incredibly terrified of heights (even just writing about this is making my toes go numb, no joke). Then the Maestro gets down to business. No nonsense from this point on. He tells you to let go of the pole you are desperately clinging to because you are afraid you might slip and die, and then suddenly everyone is counting down, "5...4...3...2...1!" and you have absolutely no choice but to fling yourself off of the platform into nothing but open space. Suddenly you are soaring through the air with the wind rushing in your ears, and even though all of the breath has just been sucked out of your body, you are oddly at peace with the whole situation; it seems almost...serene. It's just you, the air, and the river and trees below that are rushing at lightspeed towards your face. And, though you are at peace, you may or may not let a couple of swear words slip out of your mouth because you realize just how fast you are heading towards earth. And then the bungee rope catches your feet, and BOING, you are jerked upwards and backwards, swinging in a wide arc underneath the bridge to the other side, until BOING, you are jerked the other direction, a little more gently this time, and then boing, boing, boing, until you've stopped bouncing and are simply swaying back and forth. All of the blood in your entire body is now in your face, and you realize that you are completely at the mercy of the people on the bridge, who are in charge of making sure you get pulled back up. All you can see are trees and rushing water beneath you, and you feel at one with nature, suspended in the middle of it. You take a moment to thank God you are alive, and then to say to yourself (astonishingly in Spanish - 5 days in Costa Rica must really have an influence on your brain - "Estoy bien, estoy bien". You also yell "WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!" a couple of times at the top of your lungs (causing your eyes to bulge out of your face because your head is so full of blood), because you are so freakin' elated about what an amazing experience you just had. You take a couple more moments as you hang there, by yourself, to contemplate the meaning of life and sympathize with what a bat must feel like for most of the day, and then, from above, you see a thin black rope with a carabiner on the end being lowered down towards you. You reach out and try to grab it but completely miss, because you are swaying one direction and it is swaying another; it is also especially hard because you are completely disoriented and have no idea which direction is what. It comes back your way again; you swing out with your hand and completely miss it once again. Then, third time's a charm, you are able to snag it and clumsily clip it onto the loop in your harness, tightening it like you were shown. Then you throw your arms out to the side to signal you are ready to be pulled up, and you feel the tug as the people on the bridge turn on the generator and begins cranking you upwards. At first it feels like nothing is happening, and then slowly but surely you feel it pull your body into a more horizontal pose, until finally you are in a sitting position and holding onto the rope, turning around in gentle circles as you move slowly upwards. You can see how gorgeous the trees are around you, and you look up and see the cheering faces of all of your jumping companions peering over the edge of the bridge above. Then, you are back at the platform, being instructed to grab onto the yellow bars and pull yourself back onto the platform. You sit down on the railing as the Maestro helps remove all of your equipment. You have made it! You are incredibly shaky, but lightheaded with excitement and adrenaline, and most importantly, ALIVE!
And that, my dear friends and family, is what it is like to go bungee jumping. We also got a sweet certificate, t-shirt, and DVD of our individual jump out of the deal. Not too shabby. SUCH a rush, SO amazing, I would recommend the experience to anyone who has ever wanted to do it. DO IT. You will not regret it.
So anyway, the rest of my day doesn't matter, because I friggin' went bungee jumping! Now I'm exhausted, and am going to sleep ASAP. Tomorrow it's off to Tamarindo to spend a weekend at the beach, so I probably won't be posting for a few days!
Love and miss you all! Paz.
Raquelita
So that's it! My bungee jumping experience in photos. Hope you enjoyed =]
The bungee jumping place is in a town named Naranjo, about 45 minutes outside of San Jose. We took a small van/bus thing to get there. It was super nice to get out of the main part of the city, and out into...well...I wouldn't call it the countryside, but out into an area that definitely has more green than downtown San Jose. We eventually exited the highway and pulled up to this really nondescript looking peach building that would look like any other if it were not for the giant sign that said TROPICAL BUNGEE right by the front door. So we all piled out of the bus and crammed into this tiny little office, where the guy in charge had us sign liability forms (gulp), and then got back on the bus to head down to the bridge (el puente). The road to the bridge was this incredibly bumpy dirt road, and halfway down the driver stopped to show us a view of the bridge (which was our cue to start freaking out). When we got to the bridge, all there was was a truck, a bright yellow platform hanging over the edge with an awning over it, and a few guys in yellow t-shirts organizing a bunch of harnesses and ropes. We stood around for a bit while they set everything up, taking pictures of ourselves looking scared, and then they gave us a little orientation and got us all set up in harnesses.
Something really nice was that before any of us jumped, the "Jumpmaster" (el Maestro de Saltos) gave us a demonstration of how to stand up on the platform and then jump off. Watching him do it and not fall to his death made me feel a little bit more at ease. Then we decided that Wendy (one of the girls in my group) was going to go first, and after watching her do it, I felt even better. A few more girls went, and then it was my turn.
Oh. My. Goodness. Please let me describe to you the experience that is bungee jumping: You sit on the rail of the bridge near the platform while the Maestro de Saltos checks/tightens your harness and straps and has you show him that you know how to clip yourself onto the rope that will pull you back up. After that, he has you get up onto the railing and walk out onto the platform and drop the bungee rope in front of you. Then, you have to inch forward until all of your toes are over the edge of the platform, 265 feet up in the air. At this point, if you are me, your feet are going numb because you are so incredibly terrified of heights (even just writing about this is making my toes go numb, no joke). Then the Maestro gets down to business. No nonsense from this point on. He tells you to let go of the pole you are desperately clinging to because you are afraid you might slip and die, and then suddenly everyone is counting down, "5...4...3...2...1!" and you have absolutely no choice but to fling yourself off of the platform into nothing but open space. Suddenly you are soaring through the air with the wind rushing in your ears, and even though all of the breath has just been sucked out of your body, you are oddly at peace with the whole situation; it seems almost...serene. It's just you, the air, and the river and trees below that are rushing at lightspeed towards your face. And, though you are at peace, you may or may not let a couple of swear words slip out of your mouth because you realize just how fast you are heading towards earth. And then the bungee rope catches your feet, and BOING, you are jerked upwards and backwards, swinging in a wide arc underneath the bridge to the other side, until BOING, you are jerked the other direction, a little more gently this time, and then boing, boing, boing, until you've stopped bouncing and are simply swaying back and forth. All of the blood in your entire body is now in your face, and you realize that you are completely at the mercy of the people on the bridge, who are in charge of making sure you get pulled back up. All you can see are trees and rushing water beneath you, and you feel at one with nature, suspended in the middle of it. You take a moment to thank God you are alive, and then to say to yourself (astonishingly in Spanish - 5 days in Costa Rica must really have an influence on your brain - "Estoy bien, estoy bien". You also yell "WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!" a couple of times at the top of your lungs (causing your eyes to bulge out of your face because your head is so full of blood), because you are so freakin' elated about what an amazing experience you just had. You take a couple more moments as you hang there, by yourself, to contemplate the meaning of life and sympathize with what a bat must feel like for most of the day, and then, from above, you see a thin black rope with a carabiner on the end being lowered down towards you. You reach out and try to grab it but completely miss, because you are swaying one direction and it is swaying another; it is also especially hard because you are completely disoriented and have no idea which direction is what. It comes back your way again; you swing out with your hand and completely miss it once again. Then, third time's a charm, you are able to snag it and clumsily clip it onto the loop in your harness, tightening it like you were shown. Then you throw your arms out to the side to signal you are ready to be pulled up, and you feel the tug as the people on the bridge turn on the generator and begins cranking you upwards. At first it feels like nothing is happening, and then slowly but surely you feel it pull your body into a more horizontal pose, until finally you are in a sitting position and holding onto the rope, turning around in gentle circles as you move slowly upwards. You can see how gorgeous the trees are around you, and you look up and see the cheering faces of all of your jumping companions peering over the edge of the bridge above. Then, you are back at the platform, being instructed to grab onto the yellow bars and pull yourself back onto the platform. You sit down on the railing as the Maestro helps remove all of your equipment. You have made it! You are incredibly shaky, but lightheaded with excitement and adrenaline, and most importantly, ALIVE!
And that, my dear friends and family, is what it is like to go bungee jumping. We also got a sweet certificate, t-shirt, and DVD of our individual jump out of the deal. Not too shabby. SUCH a rush, SO amazing, I would recommend the experience to anyone who has ever wanted to do it. DO IT. You will not regret it.
So anyway, the rest of my day doesn't matter, because I friggin' went bungee jumping! Now I'm exhausted, and am going to sleep ASAP. Tomorrow it's off to Tamarindo to spend a weekend at the beach, so I probably won't be posting for a few days!
Love and miss you all! Paz.
Raquelita
Photos!:
A view of the bridge we were about to jump off of from a distance.
The platforms and awning of the company we jumped with.
A look at just how high up we were...
I realize I look more excited than scared in this photo...strangely, that's how I felt.
More of my scared face
Getting hooked up to the foot harnesses
Gah!
Getting my equipment checked for the last time before jumping.
Sitting on the railing, getting ready.
Walking out onto the platform...
And...jump!
Flying!
Hanging out, just swinging around, you know, the usual...
So that's it! My bungee jumping experience in photos. Hope you enjoyed =]
1 comment:
It's a little too late, but I don't think our insurance covers stuff like this.
Excellent writing, however. I got a little lightheaded just reading your description!
One more thing that you have done that I haven't--but I'm sure that list is just going to get longer and longer.
Be safe--talk to you soon. Love--dad
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