BLOG POST #15 WHY CLIFF DIVING IN MALTA WAS A BAD IDEA

Anyone in their right frame of mind would say no to their two friends and brother egging them on, “A bit higher, just that extra bit” they said. I wasn’t good with heights over water anyway. There were four of us on holiday with our families in the North West corner of Malta, A holiday resort that goes by the name of Paradise Bay. Let me tell you, Paradise it was.

 

We had been diving, running and jumping, spinning and backflipping off of the cliffs down below the resort like any other day we stayed there. You name it, we had already done it. I look back now and think we were crazy but if I was given the opportunity to do it again I would jump at it and I may even go higher next time. This must of been around 7 years ago but I remember it like it was yesterday. By the sound of what I have written so far it seems a lot worse than it actually was but read on to find out what actually happened.

Climbing the cliff to a level I thought was acceptable to jump from was the easy part, the hard work started as I enticed myself towards the edge, trying to convince myself that it wasn’t going to hurt my poor little feet. Deep down I think all four of us suffered from the same voice in our head trying to tell us not to do it but we never showed it and to be honest we never listened.

As I looked over the edge, there was a drop of around fifteen metres into the crystal clear blue sea. I could even see the fish swimming, going about their life without a care in the world unaware that what I was about to do would have a huge impact on what they would do next. It was just me and my friend Lewis left to jump, the others had already completed their death defying stunts and were waiting for us in the deep blue ocean. I took a step closer to the edge and leapt out towards the sea head first trying to wrestle myself into the diving position but it didn’t quiet go to plan. I hit the water stomach first. I couldn’t believe it, I had bellyflopped off a good fifteen metre tall cliff into the sea. The pain was excruciating. I remember trying to paddle to the shore which felt like an eternity.

As I climbed out up the ladder, the front of my body was red raw and also very sore. “That will teach you for trying to show off” one of them said, I can’t remember who. Luckily the next few hours passed and I was soon back up on the cliffs with that horrible experience in the back of my thoughts locked away in one of the deepest, darkest corners never to be talked about or remembered again, but seen as I am here writing about that experience it seems that it has once again come out to haunt me.

 

Here is a picture of the dangerous cliff we were jumping, diving and flipping off of.

P.S. Don’t try this at home.