Are you sure this is safe? Cause I Don’t Think So

When I was 15 years old, my parents let me go parasailing in Myrtle Beach.  I was so excited, it was something I had wanted to do for a while.  So after my parents signed a lot of waivers, off I went.  Parasailing was so easy.  After being hooked up to all the lines and harness, I was unreeled like a fish on a line and floated 600 feet in the air.  It was a breathtaking view of the ocean and the beach and it was super cool thing to do as a teenager and tell all your friends!

Fast forward 20 years and I’m in Hammamet, Tunisia.  This seaside town on the Mediterranean was quite a distance from the typical sightseeing places.  Given that we only had a short amount of free time between conference events, our options for fun were limited.  So after riding a camel around the market place, my friend, John and I decided to go parasailing.  What could possibly go wrong?

Well, let’s just say, lots.  First of all, there were no waivers to sign.  I guess that did not matter, since I probably wouldn’t be able to read it anyways in Arabic.   After approximately 2 minutes of instruction, it was time to go!

To start, we find out that we will start and end from the beach.  No fish line reel out here.  You need to run to take-off – pictures two people harnessed together, running down the beach.  Did I forget to mention that this is tandem parasailing?  

Now, we are in the air!  It was a beautiful view, so peaceful and so colorful.  The actual sail was magnificent!  But the descent was another thing!  We needed to steer ourselves into beach to land.  That was great until we descended too quickly and almost did a landing on the highway that hugs the beach.  After some screaming and some maneuvering, we made it to the beach and a less than graceful landing.  Luckily, no broken bones, lots of laughs and a good story to share!