I arrived to Auckland on Sunday evening. I'd barely checked in my hostel when I received a message from two old friends from the south island; remember the Swedish Legolas and Aragorn? Cecilia and Lina had just arrived to Auckland from a trip to the north and were eager to explore NZ's biggest city. We met the next morning at the foot of Auckland's Sky Tower. This tower -built between 1994 and 1997- rises 328 meters from the ground offering stunning views of the city. It was at the top of the tower where Cecilia (or perhaps Lina) pointed at the harbour bridge and said: hey guys, did you know that people actually jump from that bridge? In a different context this comment would need further explanation, however in New Zealand everybody understands that what my friend meant was that one can bungy from the bridge. And to Cecilia and me this meant trouble. During our trip in the south we had agreed that if we ever saw each other again in NZ we would bungy together, no excuses.I guess things like this must be done quickly, avoiding much thinking, but the speed of the sequence of events that took place that Monday morning (did I ever say that I like Mondays?) compares to nothing. Five minutes after the Infamous Comment (a.I.C.) the three of us were at the activities & tours counter paying for our bungy jump. For me that meant no way back, no matter what. 15 min a.I.C. I was lost in the parking lot, desperately looking for a silver Mazda. 28 min a.I.C. somebody was giving me a full-body harness and a helmet. 42 min a.I.C. I was sitting on a metallic chair while someone tied what seemed to be an elastic rope to my ankles. Finally, 47 min a.I.C. I smiled to the camera and adopted the position of "Christ the Redeemer" before leaning forward and fall.
I had done it, I had bungyed. For a long long time the bungy had been in my ToDo list but every time I pictured myself on the edge of an imaginary bridge cold sweat run through my hands and feet. In contrast with tandem skydiving, the bungy requires remarkable balls. There is no one backing you up there, it's only you and the rope. Your mind might want to jump but your body begs you not to do it. I challenge anyone who doesn't believe me to stand up right now, close their eyes and lean forward while imagining themselves falling from a bridge. It is terrifying. Nonetheless and by looking at me in the video you couldn't tell that I was scared, and in fact I wasn't. I guess it was the dramatic pace of the events that pushed me into some sort of ecstasy that made me insensitive to what was happening around me. I woke up when I touched the ocean's water and then it was too late to worry about anything, there was only excitement and fun. I must thank Legolas and Aragorn for that, thank you girls I couldn't have done it without you!
At last I was ready to leave, I packed my bag and left for the airport. It's becoming a cliche but once again I must say that some of the things I've experienced in New Zealand will remain in my memories for the rest of my life. Awesome country! Thanks Aotearoa for keeping me safe, take good care of yourself and see you again someday!
Interesting things that I've learnt during my last weeks in NZ:
- The meaning of the Maori haka.
- That Auckland's Sky Tower is highest free-standing structure of the southern hemisphere!
- That sandals (also known as flip-flops and thongs) and called jandals in New Zealand.
- How to overcome personal fears.
- The real value of consistency and social observation as motivational techniques (I put to practice some of the social psychology theory that I learnt for my master thesis).
- That my kiwi friend Glen does NOT live anywhere near Auckland. Sadly I learnt this the hard way, sorry mate we MUST see each other again in Europe or NZ!
Tras mi salto en paracaidas en Taupo ya me daba por satisfecho con mi visita a Nueva Zelanda. Mision cumplida en las antipodas, o tal vez no? A mi llegada a Auckland aquel domingo recibi un mensaje de dos viejas amigas de la isla sur, Cecilia y Lina. Estas suecas supermajas me habian acompanado hasta Milford Sound y ahora estaban en Auckland con ganas de explorar la ciudad mas grande de Nueva Zelanda. Acordamos el encuentro a la manana siguiente, a pie de la Torre de Telecomunicaciones de Auckland. Fue en lo alto de esta torre (la mas alta del hemisferio sur) donde una de las chicas apunto al puente de la bahia y dijo: Sabeis que hay gente que salta desde aquel puente? En un contexto diferente dicho comentario requiere mas explicacion, pero en Nueva Zelanda todo el mundo presupone que a lo que se referia mi amiga no es sino a que es posible hacer puenting desde la susodicha estructura. Pero la cosa no acaba ahi. Semanas antes y tras ver a unos 'colgaos' en la isla sur, Cecilia y yo habiamos acordado que si alguna vez nos volviamos a encontrar en NZ hariamos todo lo posible por tirarnos de un puente en condiciones. Yo pense que ella no se acordaria (y no seria yo quien le refrescase la memoria) pero nada mas lejos de la realidad, 5 minutos mas tarde y desde el lobby de la torre mis amigas y yo estabamos pagando el salto. Supongo que una cosa asi solo se hace de esta manera, rapido y sin pensarlo demasiado, pero el ritmo de los acontecimientos de aquella manana es cosa de otro mundo. En apenas 20 minutos aparcamos el Mazda a orillas del puente. Acto seguido unos operarios nos pusieron los arneses y nos condujeron a la plataforma de salto. No habian pasado 50 minutos desde el comentario en lo alto de la torre cuando a pies puntillas me acercaba a la repisa de la plataforma. Salude a la camara, abri los brazos cual Cristo Redentor y me deje caer al vacio. Con dos cajones!
A juzgar por el video del salto no se podria decir que los tengo como bolas de canon, que no estaba asustado para nada. Y para mi sorpresa la verdad es que no lo estaba. Todavia no me lo consigo explicar. Durante anos habia sopesado la idea de hacer puenting, sin embargo cada vez que me imaginaba saltando de un puente las manos y los pies se me llenaban de un sudor frio de la impresion. A diferencia del salto en tandem (paracaidas), en lo alto del puente la responsabilidad de saltar es tuya y solamente tuya. Es algo irracional, tu cabeza te dice 'vamos' y tu cuerpo dice 'ni de cona'. La verdad es que aquel lunes mi cuerpo no decia ni mu, o si lo hacia yo no lo podia escuchar. La voragine que me habia transportado desde lo alto de la Torre de Telecomunicaciones hasta la plataforma de salto me impedia sentir nada. Para cuando me desperte estaba tocando el agua del oceano y para entonces ya era demasiado tarde para preocuparse de nada, solo quedaba disfrutar. Una experiencia inolvidable que se la debo principalmente a Cecilia y Lina, sin su determinacion no lo habria conseguido!
Tras tachar el puenting de mi lista ya estaba listo para abandonar Nueva Zelanda. Os sonara a topico, pero mi visita a las antipodas me ha deparado un punado de experiencias dificiles de olvidar en lo que me queda de vida. Que pasada de pais! Gracias Nueva Zelanda por los ratos que me has hecho pasar, cuidate y nos vemos de nuevo algun dia!
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