It was unreal. Knowing that I'm a bit of a chicken, I couldn't jump on my own, so I had to choose a position where I was released. Not wanting to be outdone, I chose a 5 out of 5 difficulty which a position called "Gimp Boy goes to Hollywood". Oh Yeah. It requires being hooked on around your waist, then pushed out over the edge so that you can flip yourself upside down, loop your legs around the bungy above you and arch your back with arms stretched straight out and staring down at the ground as they pull the pin and release you. And in true form, they start the countdown from 5 and pull the pin at 3 to scare the shit right out of you! I think I fell too fast to even scream!! Woo-hoo!!
Our tour operator, Harry, who was a classic guy from Australia, made the whole experience that much more exciting by revving you up with comments like "I don't think they did that harness up properly", and clicking and unlclicking things just as they dangle your over the ledge. Oh, good God. Just because I was so wowed by it, we had to buy the DVD which distinctly has me saying ""Oh, f*ck"" as they sat me down and then pushed off the ledge to get into position. Scary, but exhilarating. I couldn't stop laughing all the way back up!
Not to be outdone, Kyle had to give '"The Gimp"" a try too. He was somewhat more graceful and kept composure better than I did though. I think I will let him add his own comments about his experience...
That's Harry on the left...
The look of a man keen enough to give it a second go...
None the less, he was brave enough, and wanted the free t-shirt badly enough, to actually do a second jump. He was pretty keen to do forward flips off the ledge, but the guys wouldn't let him. Said that since it was his second go, he had to go off backward somehow. So after many minutes of delay, he took a big pushoff and managed a big backwards swan dive into the canyon. So impressed!! Actually, let's be honest, I had sweaty palms.
All in all, we had a great day that was punctuated by our great guide, Harry, who really made it that much more fun.
After all the adrenaline, we decided to wind down the day with a couple (or more) pints Macs Gold at our new favorite local Pog Mahones. Classic Irish pub with the irish boys that have been in there drinking their Guinness since 10AM. Classic.
Steph xx
