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| See and imagine the sound of atlantic |
'Where the land ends and sea begins'
and I got caught in between’
Where it all happened:
"Breathe, take a deep one and come
up. You can either come or get lost here. There's no other way around. ",
compassionate or not, those words were the only flicker of hope for me when I
was stuck at the bottom of the cliff at the western most tip of Europe,Cabo Da Roca, in Lisbon,
Portugal.
Commotion in my mind:
Because apart from those words, there was
no hint of living beings (or perhaps there were a few in the North
Atlantic Ocean , had I waited and stuck around for a meeting). And
the water was lashing out loud against the shores. But
it didn't sound life threatening when I had climbed down there. It
was one of the most exotic natural settings I had seen. I closed my eyes and
told my friend to shut up. My mind spoke out loud inside me at that
instant, “You have to live a long life to see such miracles of the world again
and again. This is no big feat.” Believe me, for the fat me, it was. It's a
different thing to tuck your tummy in and not breathe for a few seconds when
you get photographed. Yes, even then one thinks of the life ahead and the
pictures you have to live with and answer for. But this one was different; I
wanted to live to see more of life.
Backdrop:
The thought of why the hell did I follow
my friend down there. He was lean and agile, things I can totally not relate
to. Everybody else had stayed up the cliff, taking in the serenity of
the scenery around them. What madness had wrecked my mind? After
every 10 steps I climbed down, I was sure I couldn't do it further. In a rotten
and fearful tone, I used to lash out at him every time, “I CANT DO THIS!”,
and he retorted, "Tum fattu ho, world's biggest one" (In a humble
translation, it would mean: I am a loser, big time). I sincerely believe
you shouldn't take such mockery seriously like I do.
But I did and invited all the misery that
followed.
An hour ago: Ranting and bickering, I had climbed
down real close to the shore. I could hear the sound of the cascading spring by
the side, but couldn't see it. The view, curtained up by the rocks around, was
playing with my curiosity. I had to make a final dash down to the bottom. When
you re that close, you do get enticed into taking another leap. But this one
was tricky, I could have managed to jump down but coming up from the shore
leading to the narrow opening beside the spring was surely going to be a pain
for me, I knew it. And yes, that was where I was stuck for that moment: An hour later.
Right in the moment:
Back to the deep breath: I kept my eyes
closed, didn't look up or down. Sized up the distance I had to hop and latch
onto the next rock. Tucked in my tummy (while not being photographed, this time
around). With a countdown in my head, in those dark, blacked out seconds, I was
there, latched onto the next rock, still precarious, yet happy to have made the
move. Life seemed simpler in that moment. Even though my favorite kohl and what
not dropped out of my bag, while I was avoiding to see anything and care for
anything in that one- make it or miss it moment- of hop!(Yes, I cared for
carrying a side bag full of belongings for a trek. I am just
amazing).
That one hop buzzed in Neil Armstrong’s
words loud in my ears (adapted to my situation): One single hop for me, was one
giant leap to live on for the next many years!
However it went, thanks to the experience,
I got to see the best ever place I have been to. Thinking of those gushes of
water pounding at the shores, making roars and escaping out from the arch of
the rock in the midst of the ocean, I feel Wow! I have the answer to the most
adventurous thing I have done till now.
P.S. On climbing up, which I did a lot
faster than climbing down, I found out that I had seen something down there,
about which I hadn’t enquired about at that time. I was too busy scrambling for
my life. It was a stick tied down to the rocks with a message floating in the
air. Later a localite informed me that it was in the memory of a Norwegian
pianist who had perhaps slipped and died there in Cabo Da Roca last year. Bless
his soul. Numb yet taken aback, I felt lucky to have escaped that fate.
Sharing with you a few of those moments
captured on a phone cam:
This is a step away from where I got
stuck.
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