Thailand Summer Program - Mission Impossible

The bead of sweat forms behind my left ear. It travels slowly down my neck
to my collar bone. From there it picks up speed racing down my tricep, past
my elbow, my forearm and then pauses on my pinkie. It sits there and time
slows as gravity slowly overwhelms its attraction to my skin. And then it
falls, racing down the 30 metre (90 foot) cliff I have just climbed. My
arms ache. My breathing is short, sharp and shallow. I am stuck on the most
difficult section of the climb. I have both hands slipped underneath a
rock, my left foot on a tiny foot hold and my left foot at the same level
as my head. I have tried and failed this move twice already, and, if not
for the rope capable of holding two metric tons tied to my harness, I
would be little more than a pile of mushed David smeared on the cliff side.
Adrenaline rushes through my veins opening new possibilities as my senses
and physical ability peaks. I lunge, kicking up with my right leg, throwing
myself in the air. My right arm shoots towards the ever elusive hand hold
but this time it’s different. Instead of falling into the embrace of my
supportive harness I somehow latch on to the cliff face. My arm screams in
protest as I haul myself up to the ledge. I lie there absorbing the moment,
my limbs shaking with exhaustion, my blood pumping, and the small but sweet
taste of victory sweet on my tongue.

Welcome to ‘Crazy Horse’. The Pacific Discovery Crew spent two days
climbing and caving, pushing their physical and mental limits and finding
out what they are truly made of. Some of us cried, some tried to hide, but
all of us tried some of the activities. I have clumsily attempted to
capture a highlight of the trip so the avid readers of this blog could
taste the flavour of ‘Crazy Horse’. My highlight was the rock climbing but
others really enjoyed the beauty hidden in the caves buried below the
cliffs. The stunning stalactites and stalagmites that glittered with the
beauty of a thousand diamonds was any geologist dream. The cavernous depths
filled with the cries of bats simply took one’s breath away. One other
notable moment was the zip line, which carried us over a 60 metre (whatever
that is in feet :P) drop to the mid-air repel . This repel could easily
have been taken out of a mission impossible film and as I lowered myself, I
couldn’t help whistling the mission impossible theme song and reaching for
my non-existent pistol.
All in all the PD crew drove away from ‘Crazy Horse’ as a closer group as
we had shared hardship and grown both individually and as a group. As I sit
in the luxury Sanctuary Beach resort reflecting on ‘Crazy Horse’ I feel as
though the great experiences far outweighed what some of the girls
described as the ‘gross’ side of the accommodation. It brings a smile to my
lips and a twinkle to my eye as I remember reactions to ‘bucket showers’
and ‘squat toilets’.

So there’s ‘Crazy Horse’ in an half an hour of rushed writing. I hope you
have gained a glimmer of my experience. I’m off to hit the beach!
David