hindsight is just hindsight.

Good evening. I'm currently perched on the top bunk of my very pink dorm room located on the 6th floor of a building in...Cape Town. yep. we made it.

quite a lot has happened the last few days so I'll go in order of time and not importance. I'm pretty drugged up right now, so I'm hoping that all this will be as coherent as possible.

the day after my cliff jumping expedition I woke up early and opted to try my 10km hike to the 'hole in the wall' which is a beautiful rock island with a hole in it just hanging out off the coast a bit. unfortunately I was incredibly sick and could hardly breathe, so less than a km in I turned back. a few guys at the hostel had a car and were going anyways that afternoon so they offered me a ride and I gratefully accepted. as it turns out they're travel journalists for different magazines and I got the 411 on writing, researching and having fun while traveling and capturing the adventures on virtual film and paper. we explored little villages, I chased baby pigs around a field while they clicked pictures, we stopped all along the cliffs and eventually made it to hole in the wall where we made sandwiches and hiked down the hill to the water and met up with my previously abandoned hiking group. I was feeling a bit better so I decided to swim out to the hole in the wall with a few people from the group, climb it and naturally...jump off it into the water below. yay. it was a lot of fun and I'm glad I saved my energy for that instead of huffing and puffing my way just to get there and not having the energy to swim out and enjoy a good jump.
I caught a ride back after a few more photoshoots and got changed. the guys bought me a drink and we suddenly noticed that the sun was about to set. they quickly swooped me up and we all hopped back in the 4x4 and sped to some nearby cliffs to get some sunset pictures. after clouds had obscured the view we started to drive back and noticed some village boys playing soccer...pardon me. football. haha. we asked to join and got quickly accepted into the ranks when we provided a brand new ball to play with. almost forgetting that I was sick I ran around and played my heart our for almost two hours until it really was too dark to see and we were all starving. I couldn't have enjoyed it more.
we got back, got changed and all went out for local pizza and live entertainment. a few people from the hostel joined us and made our small party into a large fun group. the pizza was delicious, I got to watch and learn about cricket (and scream every time SA scored against Australia) and eventually some live bands came on...starting with local drums and music and eventually turning into a really bad form of karaoke where no one knew how to play the music and NO ONE knew how to sing. it was hilarious but eventually became too much. we bailed and went to the hostel bar. soon the bar closed so we trooped it across the dirt street and into the backpackers there in search of a bar. a few springboks, beers and mixed drinks later we all decided to go for a swim. bad idea. haha.
the ocean had come in so far that we were just stumbling across rocks for what seemed like forever before we realized we would never make it to the beach. the water had just come in too far and it was too dark. we turned around and hit the sheets. all in all a good night...especially since it ended at half past 4. =D
so we left beautiful Coffee Bay the next day and made our way down the coast to Port Elizabeth. sadly the Baz Bus didn't get in until almost midnight and we needed to catch the next bus down to Wilderness at 6am. I found some free wifi, uploaded those pics (more on my facebook for people who didn't see them) and went to bed around 1am.
we got into Wilderness in the early evening and met the people there. I made a few phone calls and eventually a group of 5 of us went out to a realy nice dinner. I had ostrich for the first time...it was pretty good. we all just shared a few bottles of wine, enjoyed some very good food and chatted the night away. we got back, sat around the fire at the backpackers and eventually went to bed. mellow day but very nice.
the next day (yesterday) was more of an adventure...and even more so than I had planned. a girl from the night before, Dianna, and I had decided to go kloofing (SA canyoning) so we woke up early and got ready for the adventure. for people who don't know it's prettymuch hiking in (you have wetsuits and lifevests on) wading/swimming downstream, jumping off waterfalls, rock scrambling, absailing (repelling), rock climbing and anything else that keeps you moving downriver to the end destination. now, the cool thing about this is that once you make the first jump or absail there's no going back. the bad thing is that if you get hurt...you can't go back. you must continue or get a helecopter out. now don't get freaked. I'm okay. I'll be okay. I didn't need a helecopter. here's the story.
we hiked in for maybe half an hour and eventually made it to the river. the scenery was beautiful. it was a bit breezy, but all in all a beautiful day. it was just the two of us and the guide so it was a very personal experience compared to the usual group size of 12 or more. we zipped into our wetuits and started swimming down the river. we made it to our first jump (about 10meters) and jumped down. perfect. I hated how the lifevest pulled up around my neck when I jumped so I tightened it as much as I could to try and keep it down. very quickly there was a second jump. this one was lower, but when I jumped it still pulled up over my head. it was just too big. we had the opportunity to climb back up the side of the falls and jump again so I went for it. this time I held the lifevest down by crossing my arms and pulling down as I jumped. it helped but it made me fall sideways a bit because I didn't have my arms out to stabelize. it was fine, but I didn't realize that it might potentially be bad. we kept swimming and the canyon sterted getting narrower, taller and more beautiful. we were surrounded by red rocks, green hanging gardens and dark water. if I had a waterproof camera I would have used up an entire memory card by this point. it was just breathtaking. the water was so clean that the guide didn't pack us any water and just insisted that we drink the water as we swim. it was amazing.
we got to the next jump...a pretty big one. about 14 meters. I hesitated a bit but still decided to go right after the guide since Dianna was super scared of the jump. this would be our tallest jump of the day so I might as well get it under my belt. right? well...I crossed my arms like last time, counted to three and jumped. again, I went sideways. this time, however, when my head hit it was tilted to one side and it created either incredible suction or incredible pressure on my eardrum and immedietly I knew something was wrong. I opeded my eyes underwater (which I never do) and tried to find up. I felt incredibly disoriented and was in so much pain I thought I might throw up. I couldn't hear anything out of my right ear. I was pretty sure I had ruptured my eardrum. I swam and scrambled to the side of the rocks and layed there for a minute in so much pain I could hardly breathe. when you have that much pain in your head it's hard to function. eventually the pain became manageable and I realized Dianna knew I was hurt and didn't want to jump. there was no going back for any of us and so she eventually jumped and was absolutely fine. we needed to keep moving, so I played it down a bit and told them I was okay and just hurt my eardrum and would probably be fine in a few minutes. the guide thought I just had water in my ear so he had me try and clear it out but it just hurt like hell and nothing happened. we kept moving. swimming, hiking, scrambling...then a jump. I knew if I jumped I would just hurt my ear more so I was forced to downclimb. the guide didn't think it was practical but I managed to pull it off. and again...and again. luckily they were all pretty short and I could jump the last 2-3 meters and still keep my head afloat because of the wetsuit and lifevest. I must say...the only thing that kept me going was the beautiful canyon. it was worth it to just get to swim through km's of beautiful canyon. there's nothing like it. we stopped for a snack and the pain was getting worse. it had been about 2 hours by this point and I had decided that if it didn't get better by the next day then I was going to the doctors.
we kept moving...more swimming now than anything...and after another 2 1/2 hours we made it to the end. by the last half hour I was forcing myself to stay calm. it felt as if the whole right side of my face was swollen and a bit tingly, my nose was running and my ear hurt worse than ever. I was going to the doctors immedietly. I told the guide and he agreed. he said he noticed my balance going but knew that I needed to make it out and didn't want to worry me. he looked pretty concerned. I think thats what made me the most worried...realizing that he was freaked. we hiked out and eventually met up with our ride at the checkpoint. we stripped out of the wetsuits, got dried off, got dressed and went straight to the local doctor/surgeon. they offered me painkillers but I wasn't sure if I would need any work done on my ear so I declined. it was a tough 45 minute drive.
she took me in right away and started asking questions. she checked my ear and got a bit worried. I hadn't ruptured my eardrum, but it was so inflamed that there was the chance I still might. also I guess because all of the pressure in my head my sinuses were swelling as well. great. she immedietly told me she was going to give me a shot to make the swelling go down and also one for the pain. I sterted to pull off my sweater and she just shook her head. yep. I got my first shot EVER in my butt. haha. what a day, huh? the pain started to go away within a few minutes and she gave me a rundown of what I was to do. she wrote me a few perscriptions...an anti-inflamatory, an antibiotic, painkillers and a nasal spray. the point was to get the swelling down as much and as fast as possible. she told me that if the swelling didn't go down substantially overnight then I needed to go to an ear, nose and throught specialist a few towns over. she also told me that I should get my hearing back within a week, and that I can't fly until the swelling goes down enough to the point where I can clear my ears again. she mentioned that if it didn't go down overnight then I would probably need to get it drained the next day, but that she thought that was a bit far fetched and only a last resort.
I thanked her, paid my bill and walked barefoot (yeah...I had gone kloofing barefoot and hadnt planned to be trooping it around town) and a bit loopy to the local pharmacy for even more drugs. the funny this was that they didn't ask me for ID and the scripts were just handwritten on a plain piece of paper. it's so mellow here. haha. oh, Africa. I gathered my newly purchased pharmacy, walked across town to get my laundry that I had dropped off earlier and then caught a ride to the backpackers.
Annie, the owner of the backpackers, totally mothered me...she made me toast and juice and WATCHED me eat it...as if I wouldn't have, haha. and then she made sure I took all my pills and practically tucked me into bed. I had wanted to go to the beach but she said I couldn't because she was afraid I'd get lost or something. it was endeering but a bit much. hahaha. after she left and thought I was secure in my bed I got up and went outside and laid in a hammoc. if I had to lay down it was going to be outside! the meds started to hit me and I drifted off to sleep for a bit. I woke up to pizza night at the backpackers. I wobbily got up, ordered my choice of pizza, made a few phone calls and sat in a hammoc chair to wait for my dinner. well...I fell asleep again and the barman (really cool guy) gently woke me up and brought my pizza and a drink to me. haha. I really felt like a tool. I was so drugged up I couldn't even stay awake. I actually fell back asleep after he brought me the pizza and eventually woke up and ate half of it (small pizza) and saved the other half for lunch the next day. I hung out outside for a bit and eventually just went to bed.
today I felt a bit better in the morning. I slept in, took a long shower and just mellowed out. I talked to the doctor and told her how I was feeling and she said I didn't have to come in if I felt like the worst part of the pressure was gone. I still cant hear very well and it still hurts, but I should be able to fly soon and I should be okay. I feel incredibly lucky that it wasn't worse.
so...Marissa and I hopped on our last run of the Baz Bus and eventually made it to Cape Town safely. haha. what an adventure.
so...here I am. sitting in a pink room with pink blankets, pink pillows, pink decorations and pink art and wondering why I'm sleeping in a 7 year olds room for the night. haha =D but seriously...it's a bit pink for my taste.

so...yeah. thats my story. I'm so sorry I didn't call everyone (like my family) and tell them what happened. I figured writing it here should be good enough. I really don't feel like talking on the phone right now and all I've really been doing is sleeping anyways. this medicine makes me so dopey and groggy. so I'll keep taking my medicine, get better and remember this important lesson learned.
-> wear earplugs next time I jump from something that high.

goodnight.
I think I'm going to watch a movie in bed and then just pass out.