MLL #24 Go Parasailing

Everytime I think of parasailing I think of that Jurassic Park movie. You know the one, where the boy is parasailing over the island and the harness comes loose and he goes flying off and gets lost on the island. Well, I added “Go Parasailing” to my life list anyway. Despite the disaster of it, it still looked fun.

June 2009 I was in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with two friends, Jessica and Sherre when we decided to go parasailing. I wasn’t afraid; I thought it was going to be a blast. I couldn’t wait to feel the wind in my hair. I remembered a banana boat ride I had taken in Freeport, Bahamas back in 2003. That banana boat had been the most fun I had ever had and I was sure parasailing was going to top it. We sat in the speed boat putting on our life jackets as we raced towards the middle of the crystal blue ocean. Soon we were strapped into harnesses, all three of us. Jessica and I side by side and Sherre, being the smallest, in the front. Then little by little we were raised into the air.

Looking down it seemed as though the boat had stopped. It didn’t appear to be moving and we sat suspended in the air almost still, only moving with the wind. Had the boat been moving I think I would’ve had the speed to excite me. But sitting practically still I had the feeling that we were going to drop at any second. So I kept looking down at the surface of the water. It was a long way down. I saw patches of seaweed that my mind tricked me into thinking were shark silhouettes. So first I’m thinking how bad it’ll hurt when we plunge and hit the surface of the water, then how I’m gonna defend myself against a deadly shark. After about 5 minutes of “Oooohing” and “Aaahhhing” at the beautiful view of the resort in the distance, I turned my attention and energy to trying not to shit myself.

Once I was safely back in the speed boat I concluded that the banana boat in the Bahamas was still the most fun I had ever had in my life.