So I'm back after my Alaskan adventure. I thought I'd be really depressed when it was over but I'm not. I had been looking forward to it for such a long time that I was sure the aftermath would be sad cause it was over. What I've realized is that my life is so full of other things and so many wonderful people I don't have time to be sad that my amazing vacation is over.
The trip was fabulous. I soaked up every moment that I was there. There were so many moments when I was just sitting with my friends and this feeling of pure joy just filled me. It was everything I had hoped it would be.
The Hubbard Glacier was AMAZING! I look at some of the photos I have and they look fake. They seem to incredible to be real. Until you've seen a glacier in person all photos pale in comparison. It's almost difficult to grasp exactly how big it really is. I have this one photo of another cruise ship just pulling away from the glacier and it really gives you a sense of size. It's MASSIVE!
As our ship pulled into
We saw seals sitting on the ice floes that filled the bay. They just lay there quietly sunning themselves paying us no mind.
The whole experience seemed rather unbelievable. It was hard to believe I was seeing something so majestic with my own two eyes. Nature is a powerful force for certain.
Our group got on really well on the cruise. A couple of us didn't know each other before going on that trip and now I can say everyone knows each other quite well. There is nothing like a rainforest canopy tour to bond people together.
The canopy zipline was truly one of the most frightening experiences of my life. We were 130 feet above the forest floor up in big
The longest zipline between two tree platforms was 850 feet. For someone who is terrified of heights it was too long. On my zip across that line I hit a cross-wind and started spinning. In the process my arm touched the line and it burned through my raincoat and into my arm. That probably sounds worse than it really was cause I actually didn't notice the burn till I was back on the platform. What was slightly trying was the fact that in order to stop the spinning I braked which meant I came up a few feet short of the platform. So here I was hanging 130 feet in the air five feet from the platform. This required me to pull myself hand over hand back to the platform.
After having dealt with the worst case scenario on that zipline I managed to do ok on the rest of them. My best was probably the last zipline and that was probably because I knew it was over. I can't say I'm particularly proud of myself for doing it. I would have been prouder had I not made mistakes and had managed to keep myself calm enough to enjoy it or take photos. In my eyes I was a failure at it but according to my friends and our guides I did well. If you look at it from the perspective that I didn't ask to be taken down from the trees as being the factor determining success then I guess I did ok.
The only thing I managed to prove to myself is that in situations where I am absolutely terrified I still manage to think and do what I need to. I suppose that is something.
My lunch is over so I have to get back to work. I'll write more about the trip next entry. By then I may have my pictures sorted out.
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