Sea expedition was over. We showered and changed. We got out the helmets and harnesses and went up a really long flight of steps, to the top where an open area full of height elements activities were held.
The sun was scorching. The moment I went into the absence of shadows, my skin felt like burning. No way would I survive without sunscreen. Fortunately Brandon had an ample supply of spf 130 sunscreen to spare many people. My spf 30 sunscreen would never have made it. Thanks a lot Brandon!
There were several stations. There were these weird pillars, a rope ladder and a rock climbing wall. Personally I would have preferred the rock climbing wall, which I felt was more interesting and exciting, though not necessarily more challenging. However, we were assigned to the rope ladder, also known as the double dangling duo, or something like that.
It was a series of logs connected vertically, each spaced ranging from 1 - 1.5 meters apart.
Some people took rather fast to get to the top, while others took quite long, which could be pissing sometimes, especially when you are one of those managing the belay and ropes. After standing for quite a long time managing the rope and watching people climb up, I started to get a little dizzy from the sun. Despite me having drank water, I think I was dehydrated.
Time was passing quickly, yet many had not had the chance to try climbing it. I would have liked to try how hard it was to climb it, like some people have said. Unfortunately, there was not much time left.
Until our instructor Roland challenged us to a solo climb. Jonathan took the easier one, which he had managed with shocking ease. However, not sure whether I would be able to make it to the top, I volunteered to try the harder one, which turned out to be twice as hard as I thought it would be.
Roland said that I had the courage to give the climb a shot, yet I did not really agree with him. I did not feel much fear in failing, because I wanted to do it, at least till later...
When I tried putting my leg up to the log, the only remaining move was to hook the other leg up. That left me hugging the log upside down. Next step would be to put myself right side up, but twisting my body up proved useless, contradicting intuition.
I struggled to get up fast, but to no avail. It felt rather embarassing to be stuck there at that time, even though it was not easy to get up. Therefore, all the more I wanted to get up faster.
I was not getting anywhere. I released the second log and stepped back onto the first log, and tried something I have always did in school when I was bored. However, doing something for fun is a lot easier than using it in application.
I hung from the second log and swung my legs up, hooking my legs onto the log above. Then I realised that the log was too fat for my legs to get a grip on. If I tried pulling my body up, my legs would probably give way. But I still did it in a desperate attempt. My legs automatically unhooked, and straightened by reflex. I was now in an upside down hanging position, which was not in the best state of equilibrium. Then my legs started to fall back and my body twisted into the right side up position again, except having made one round around the globe. My body weight landed on my groin on the harness which felt a little pain for a split second.
The rope was tangled up. This was even more embarassing. When I got down, I got a little lecture about safety being more important and all and that backflip thing was not a very wise move and stuff like that.
I was given 10 minutes to climb it, yet I flunked it in a minute through haste.
I could not get over it for the whole day. But if there is one thing I have learnt, it would be to take your time if you want to succeed. (Of course if time is running short then you would have to choose between whether you want to get it good or get it done.)
So far, the heat was winning the battle. I was having headache even as we walked out of the sun. Was I starting to get a fever? If so, it felt wasted to have gone through the past 3 days and got sent home then.
To be continued...
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