JAMES BOND BUNGEE JUMP

Sorry we haven't posted anything in a long time.........we still want to finish the blog so we have it for our memories and keepsakes even if nobody looks at it now and if it takes us years! I typed this post when we were still in Switzerland so it will seem like we are still there. Sorry to confuse anyone.........we are for sure still back in Canada now!


BUNGEE JUMPING IN SWITZERLAND

I know a lot of you think we're crazy for doing this...........but it was PRETTY SWEET!

For those of you who have seen the James Bond Golden Eye movie then you know more than you think. The Bungee Jump that James Bond does is located in Switzerland. Basically he jumps off a HUGE dam in a suit. This is in the Locarno area in the Italian part way down south.

ANYONE is able to book a jump there on the weekends so.........

Brian and I went with 4 of our friends to attempt this jump.

Our friends Paul, Mike, Matt, and Guilherme all decided it would be a lot of fun to do this. Paul had already jumped it in the summer when we arrived in Switzerland so it was a piece of cake for him! haha For the rest of us, we just pretended not to be afraid. We took the train and then a bus to get to the Dam, like everywhere else we go.

It was WAY bigger than I even imagined! But I stayed calm and tried not to show the guys I was scared! ha It was nerve-racking for everyone though; I'm sure of it! When we got off the bus we walked over to the edge and looked over (maybe not the best tactic). It was insane how BIG and FAR down it was! First we all signed our lives away and paid our debt. Then picked our order to jump. Mike jumped first. He was stoked. Honestly his energy became my energy; that is the only way I stayed calm and pumped about it.


Before they let you jump you have to practice attaching your harness to the other bungee cord sent down to get you, just like in the real jump. If you are unable to do this you can't jump. Fair enough.



So during the practice you lay on this cot where they attach the harness to your ankles and then onto your whole body. It was really secure and really no way it could come off of you. When you are lying down they hoist you up into the air by the same harness and bungee cord they use in the jump. After you're hanging there you have to pull your body up with the rope into a sitting position. This is actually really hard! But we were all able to do it so we all qualified...

The order was:

Mike, Guilherme, ME, BRIAN, Matt, and then Paul.

Mike did awesome! He loved it so much and just got everyone pumped.

Gui screamed the whole way but had the biggest rush.

THEN IT WAS MY TURN....

Honestly I have never been so scared in my entire life. At first when I was getting all strapped in and even when I got up to the platform I was fine. I was so excited since the first two loved it, I couldn't wait for my turn. And then I looked over the edge......

It was SO FAR DOWN and not much to stand on. Plus they say not to look down...but to get onto the part of the platform you jump off YOU HAVE TO LOOK DOWN! If you don't you'll just fall off the edge, it was so small!

Finally after holding onto the railing for a while the guys convinced me I could do it. So I let go of the bar I was now attached to and took the last step out on the platform. The guys in charge said they would count to 3 and then I should jump or I probably won't. So they started counting, and when they said 3 I just jumped!

It was honestly the scariest thing I have ever even thought about! Unfortunately for me when the bungee yanked me back up into the air after the initial jump it pulled on my knee so hard that it really hurt during the whole thing. So of coarse the guys working the Bungee jump took me to the hospital to get it checked out. I was on crutches for a week or so but was totally fine after that. The problem was that if you have an injury to your body when you jump that weakened area is more prone to getting hurt. They told us that the only injuries they've had at their bungee site are knee injuries. Typically if a person has a bad knee already then they are more susceptible to hurting it during the jump because the strain on it is too much. If I knew about this beforehand I may have reconsidered jumping in the first place but oh well. Apparently they only have about 1 injury per year, lucky me!

Really unfortunately I missed Brian's jump because I was in so much pain and everyone was looking at my knee. :( Good thing we video taped the jumps!

Brian just stepped out onto the platform right away and when they said he could jump at any time he just did it! If you blinked you would have missed it! Crazy guy! Then after Brian's jump Brian came with me to the hospital and we missed Matt and Paul's jump. But we also watched those on video too so it wasn't so bad, I guess.

It was sweet to be there though. Even though I hurt myself, like usual, I am still glad I did it. I wouldn't want to take it back, the rest of it was fun.
It was such a rush and SO INTENSE!

Just in case me describing the jumps wasn't enough we have attached the video's of Brian's and my jump for you all to watch and enjoy. The angle of Brian's isn't the best but you still get the idea!

Let us know what you think! Even if you think we're insane!

Also for some reason if the link doesn't work just go to www.youtube.com and type "Louise's bungee jump" and/or "Brian's bungee jump".