Tuesday 1 May 2012

The 5 Most Daring Things I've Done So Far... dum dum dum!

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. I've been training my cat for car travel and it's taking longer than expected. Bloody cat.

Anyhoo. Whilst I have travel on the brain, I have exciting news!

No, I am NOT pregnant!

We're doing a charity skydive at work. Not at work technically, that would be the lamest skydive ever. No, the drop location is yet to be announced but we're all throwing ourselves out of a plane in the next few months. Scary hey?

It got me thinking that I've done some scary/daring stuff already in my life, am I tempting fate by signing myself up for yet another risky activity?

I figure life's too short to spend it hiding away 'just in case'... it's better to live it than worry about it!

So in no particular order, but starting with the scariest first, I give you my list:

1. Camping in the Serengeti, Tanzania


Ain't no lions getting in my tent!

Woah. Poopantsville this one. It was one of those moments I thought to myself 'What the hell are you doing spending the night in the Serengeti in a tent?!!!' and I honestly didn't think I'd last the night but it was reassuringly uneventful. The camp was completely open and there were zebra all around us but no sign of any KatieEaters. We sat around the campfire hearing stories about tour guides waking up in the night to find lions around the fire... gulp. My recipe for surviving a night in the Serengeti? 1 beer, 2 sleeping pills and some sturdy earplugs. You'll soon wake up to sunrise feeling like a hero.

It wasn't until the next night where we camped at the Ngorogoro Crater and a fully grown elephant appeared a few feet away from our truck that it sank in just how cool this was. TIP - If you ever find yourself being chased by an elephant, just run in diagonal lines and you'll soon lose them. Or is that a rhino?

2. Flying solo across the world

Sadly not like Amelia Earhart, I was just a passenger, this time. No, I flew to Honduras a few years ago, and not only was it my first flight alone but I had THREE flights to catch (SIX if you think about the return journey as well mmm hmmmm) 19 hours and THREE planes later I was feeling mighty proud of myself let me tell you.

Two main horror stories were the guy who I sat next to asking me if I wanted to watch Air Crash Investigation with him on his laptop (true story) and the final flight after two long previous flights turned out to be the equivalent of a paper airplane, it was the size of a private jet on a windy night. My nerves were shot to shit after that long journey, but I calmed down pretty quickly with a glass of wine in my paw.

3. Zip Lining in Honduras


While I'm talking about Honduras, I'll drop in the absolutely insane and completely unsafe amazing zip line/canopy tour I did in Copan. I hear you guffawing 'that's not daring!' but if you'd care to watch my video and stay tuned until the camera pans around, I suspect you might think otherwise. Especially when you get to the end of the line and note that the wire that is the difference between life and death has been wrapped around a DEAD TREE. Don't tell my Mum.

One guy we were with got wire burns because they let him do the course in the dark and he didn't see the end of the wire and slammed full speed in to the tree. They made him finish the course because there was no other way down. Ouchville.

4. Still with me? Impressed at all? How about visiting a Mexican Doctor who used Google Translate to treat me?

This one is SO weird. I got an infection on my leg from a open scar (quick sick story that still makes me retch...I was sunbathing and looked down to see A FLY SITTING RIGHT ON THE OPEN WOUND!) Anyway, I needed antibiotics and quick, and found a Mexican doctor. My Spanish is fine if I need to order a cerveza or get the bill, but explaining the situation to the Doc was going to be tricky.

Luckily for me, he had an iPhone! We conversed through Google Translate for a while, I got my pills (to this day I don't know if they were antibiotics) and as I was about to leave, he called me back for one more translation which was 'Don't eat pig during the healing process' ... *blank look from me* 'sorry, pig?' nodding from the Doctor. I checked with a doctor when I got home and in his many years of practicing medicine, he has not come across this seemingly Pig-ist reaction. But I'm open to any comments from anyone in the medical profession!

5. I got married.



Collective puking from readers! Whatever.

I still maintain that buying a house is more of a commitment than getting married, but it's the most intense and full on day of my entire life, no regrets as yet my friends! Married life is NO different to life before, but with this weekend comes wedding anniversary #1 and it's been a fab year. Thank you for bearing with me, I kept it short on purpose.

So, I'll leave it on that note. I'd LOVE to hear what your most daring moments are and I'll let you know how the parachute jump goes. I REALLY hope I don't get the work experience guy rolling up my parachute...