Waterwheel on my Mind

As I am blanketed with e-mails regarding the upcoming Waterwheel party in Amakusa, Kumamoto, I think back on all the great jumps I made from the bridge at the hallowed site. Whether it was an early morning plunge or a late night/mid-thunderstorm suicide jump, I always enjoyed it. So when I arrived yesterday on Ko Phi Phi island in Southern Thailand and saw a sign for cliff jumping, well, I was delighted to say the least.

I met my guide Roy at about 10:30 am and was happy to learn no one else would be joining us. No one else to get in the way of Roy's cliff jumping expertise and my willingness to absorb his tutelage. We headed out on a small boat in the intense sunshine to some cliffs overlooking the center strip of the I shaped island. Roy gave me some substantial rubber shoes and rubber gloves and I was quite happy he did as we climbed up razor-sharp limestome formations. Over the next hour and a half, I attempted six jumps.

#1 - 8 meters (Hey Americans, 1 meter ~ 3 ft [Got Metric?])
#2 - 12 meters from a tree branch
#3 - 20 meters and 2 lungs full or water
#4 - 12 meters from the rocks
#5 - 20 meters on video and significantly less water in the lungs
#6 - A dive from 8 meters and a sore scalp

Standing on the ledge looking down at the ocean 20 meters below, I felt pretty nervous as you could imagine. However, I have been trained well and honed my skills over the cornucopia of waterfalls of Southern Japan.

It was an intense experience no doubt, but I had a nice chat with my man Roy between jumps and he told me all about his experience and the terrible tsunami of last year. I don't know the death toll form this small island, but it was significant. All over the island are signs of damage, abandoned hotels, eerily green hotel pools, random bricks everywhere; a sense of devastation nearly overcome. Roy's family all survived, but he lost many friends. I have been very lucky to avoid the plethora of natural disasters that have seem to have become very common recently and hopefully will continue to miss them.

As I took a walk this morning, I saw a group of foreigners who looked as if they should have been fast asleep recovering from a night of buckets, but they weren't. They were working on a massive garden just behind the beach, others picking up trash and junk that has become pretty much an endless job here. I think I may join them tomorrow.