Bungee Jumping Experience

Of course I jumped! I’ll never write about taking a 40-minute bus all the way to the bridge, get strapped, and then chickened out. Well maybe I’ll write about it too, but you’ll never read it. :)

I thought I’d sooner eat a live chicken than jumped off a bridge voluntarily. Maybe if chased over the edge by zombies or something extreme like that. If the airplane I’m on caught fire, for example.

Bungee jumping was never on my bucket list. It was something I was sure I’ll never do, ever. I’ve said this for over 10 years.

So when Guido from the hostel asked me, “Lilliane, do you want to do bun–?” I replied “no” before he could complete his question. I was not mind reading, there are bunch of bungee jumping flyers in the hostel. Extreme sports bungee, zip line, rappeling, canyoning, white water rafting, etc. are very popular in Costa Rica.

He said that Carlos from Xtreme Waves Bungy brought brochures and offered him +1 complimentary jumps. He wants to do it but he doesn’t want to do it alone, he said. I suppose I could just say I did it for him, but I’ve been in the hostel for 2 weeks and while we’re all friends here, we’re really far from there. So shamefully, I’ve to admit that I’m such a sucker for freebies! Ha ha.

So I reevaluated my definite No. Could I do it?? Now I wonder. I want to have the courage to do it. He gave me 3 days to think about it because he will go next week. And I really thought about it–almost every waking moment.

I’m not afraid of heights. I have no problem being on the edge of a cliff, on a ferris wheel, on top of a skyscraper looking down. I rock climbed in Poland, jumped off the top of the live aboard boat in Tubbataha (to the water), rode the “thunder dolphin” roller coaster with crazy drop in Tokyo, paraglide in Cavite. Really there are a few more stunts that I was scared of but did anyway.

So why I thought I’d never bungee? The difference (for me) is there’s nothing to hold on to. I know that the harness will not break. I have absolute faith in commercial products. If thousands of people did it, I trust it’s safe. I’m just not super fan of the hole on your chest feeling. But

Never Say Never!

I woke up and check my feeling for fear and/or anxiety. There were none, great. Maybe I can do it? I thought I’ll go with Guido and see, maybe I don’t. I decided not to stress myself–too much. Baby steps. Slowly, slowly.

Around 3,30 p.m. we got off the bus and were met by the brother of Carlos, who then took us to the Puente Viejo del Colorado. We signed the waivers, went to empty my bladder, and marched to the middle of the bridge a.k.a the “death march”. It was all so casual but my heart was trying to beat out of my chest.

We’re lucky that there was no queue to the bungee. In fact, we were the only 2 people at this time. The deal was I go first because I’ll most porbably chicken out if I go last. So there’s a bit of pressure. He doesn’t jump until I jump.

We were strapped, briefed, assured, coached, coaxed, sent to the platform. And then briefed, assured, coached, coaxed.

Pura Vida!

I hope you enjoyed the video! I filed it under drama instead of extreme sport. It’s really funny, I’m so glad it was filmed.

Time was slow motion in there. My pre jump drama was under 4 minutes but it felt lot longer. The fall lasted 4 darn seconds but a billion and one things went through my head, it amazing! I can’t even type a sentence in 4 seconds but all these thoughts went through my head.

I had my eyes closed when I jumped. I felt the wind on my face so I know I was falling head first. It made me think of superman’s “faster than a speeding bullet” with the speed lines. I noted there was no “hole in the stomach” sensation. There was air resistance so I actually felt like I was falling through something–styrofoam confetti comes to mind. Then I thought “why is 4 seconds so long?” so I opened my eyes to see the river (and rocks) closing in and then there’s a jolt. I bounced upward in slow-mo and then there’s a 2nd fall. After a couple of little bounces I was just “hanging out” there swinging between the bridge and the river. The view was fantastic!

Post Jump

Guido did his jump with no drama, so boring. Ha ha. We did a countdown and then he went! But he sent one of his flip-flop flying. Then he threw away the other one too while hanging down there. Ha ha.

We couldn’t stop talking about it after. It was nice to do it with someone you know. Since we see each other at work everyday, the build up to jump day added to the excitement. Everyday he asks if I’m ready. The answer is always no. We were supposed to jump the day before. But he overslept and I didn’t wake him because I didn’t want to do it yet. So he changed to morning shift the next day. Ha ha.

It was also nice that it was both our first jump. The only difference is he’s now addicted and wants to jump again.

So, will I jump again? Well, let’s say I’ve really learned to never say never.