testmeat photoblog

the boat that i was sailing around the galapagos on had three levels. one day when we were anchored for lunch and had a few hours to kill i decided to jump off the first level into the water. it was only a few metres above the water so it wasn't particularly valiant of me, but fun nonetheless. some other passengers saw me doing this and wanted to get involved, so they climbed to the top level of the boat and jumped from there. i wanted to join in, but as soon as i got to the edge and looked over i felt paralysed. it was just that little bit too high for me to trick my brain into thinking it was a good idea. i ended up sitting on the edge for over half an hour, looking down at the ocean and waiting for that 'what the hell' feeling i needed to make the final step. it never came and i climbed the ladders back down a failure. the next day i came back from a snorkelling trip, walked straight up to the top, asked another guy if it was clear down below and then without thinking too much i took three quick steps off the boat and into the water. it was scary, and i didn't repeat it, but i was proud that i overcame my rational fear. it was because of this experience, specifically spending 30 minutes looking over the edge and failing to convince myself to jump, that i knew that i couldn't get involved in the bridge jumping that was happening around banos. bridge jumping, or puenting as it's called in spanish, is like bungee jumping, only the rope doesn't stretch like the bungee does. to me that sounds like an even more uncomfortable experience, and one that i was certainly a lot more comfortable photographing as opposed to participating in.

here's the original