15 days
one continent
4 countries
thousands of miles
the iconic closer
the iconic closer
of the Amazing Race
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_Race_(American_TV_series)
If you don't know what I am talking about or need a refresher, check out the prior blog story which lays it all out for you
I traveled to Europe
10/2/19-10/16/19
and on my bucket list to handle, conquer, obliterate
is
my
Acrophobia
and here is a bit of an explanation
Causes of Acrophobia
A fear of heights may stem from our natural fear of falling and being
injured. Dwelling on the pain that might be inflicted from a fall from a
high place also could contribute to the development of acrophobia. It’s
normal for people to have some reluctance about being in high places
but for those with acrophobia, the fear is unrealistic and excessive.
Acrophobia, like all phobias, appears to be a hyper-reaction of the
normal fear response. Some experts believe that this may be a learned
response to either a previous fall or to a parent’s nervous reaction to
heights.
this sentence from above paragraph
It’s
normal for people to have some reluctance about being in high places
but for those with acrophobia, the fear is unrealistic and excessive
Unrealistic and excessive, really?
to feel terror at the edge of the Grand Canyon
or climbing Diamond Head
or the top of the lighthouse in Bermuda
oh no
disagree
because if one falls
death will surely happen
being on the edge of a cliff with no railing, going down stairs from heights with open views, swinging in rickety cable cars
these type of experiences set me off
Unrealistic and excessive, really?
to feel terror at the edge of the Grand Canyon
or climbing Diamond Head
or the top of the lighthouse in Bermuda
oh no
disagree
because if one falls
death will surely happen
being on the edge of a cliff with no railing, going down stairs from heights with open views, swinging in rickety cable cars
these type of experiences set me off
Do you have it?
I don't have it full fledged...no fear pf plane travel, of hanging my head over my cruise ship's room balcony drying my hair in every sea we sliced through, sitting up top on ferries and Ferris wheel rides
all okay
all okay
another read
to further expand and stretch your brain on acrophobia
the following three photos show the heights managed on the trip
first upper top deck of ship Corfu top of mountain Santorini the white village top
and Kefalonia...I kinda took a few steps as is recommended in the acrophobia treatment...feasted on the view...stayed away from others on the tour so as not to be jostled...then sat with back to the beach...I was able to sneak a glance and it was okay...Imagine the girl who could not climb Diamond Head is up here
 |
| MYRTOS BEACH, KEFALONIA |
I did them all with small steps
focusing on walking
looking ahead
looking ahead
the ultimate challenge would be Dubrovnik, Croatia where I was to traverse and climb and cling to the City Walls at Kings Landing
Our Croatian guide, Darko, started us off with this quote
“Freedom is not to be sold for all the treasures of the world”
An old Dubrovnik motto
This tour is entitled Game of Thrones... not necessary to have watched to understand what happens here to me
I thank my friends Carol Hohowski and Jim McGrath for doing this with
me. They did not watch GoT yet generously signed up for the tour. As
they say in the north “the lone wolf dies but the pack survives” and I
did survive today because of my pack
As I climb to the top of the tower, I keep repeating GoT sayings for strength and comfort
“What do you say to the god of death, Not Today”
“What do you say to the god of death, Not Today”
“I drink and I know things”
I know a lot
“Dracarys” dragonfire
Mother of Dragons
explained in prior post
see link below
https://liamlicks.blogspot.com/2019_08_25_archive.html
This was a supreme chilling sublime terror-filled magical experience of climbing and descending
I bent the knee a few times
recovered and continued
I
channel Cersei when clueless tour members brush close to me...I
hold up my hand to warn them away...I have the wall...it is mine to hug
and use to steady myself...no one is getting between me and the castle wall...
 |
| I CHANNELED CERSEI |
Only one arm available as the other is holding in the earpiece for the audio tour. I am not losing my guide, Darko...this climb involves removing my hearing aid to hear our guide and thereby creating an oxymoronic situation...hearing aid helps me hear...removal lessens my acuity...insertion of hearing pod gives me the tour talk
At a landing midway up, I announce I have acrophobia...directed at one
particularly floppy space-hogging person...possibly she thinks it a
disease...she hangs back ...she who wears heels on a tour of city
walls...
 |
| TYRION STOOD HERE |
And don’t get me started on the couples who have to hold hands walking up...thereby using all the horizontal space...Cersei comes out again. I glare...
I tell a fellow climber of my height fear, I am not sure if he understands English...He nods and seems sympathetic and I stay near him all the way...
 | |
| FROM THE TOP JOFFREY LOOKED DOWN ON THE CROWD |
I took this following photo by holding up my iPhone, eyes closed,
Trusting in Apple technology
my aim
balance
honed in yoga class
did not fall once on the City Walls tour
Not over cobblestones
uneven grates
craterous holes
windingly
dizzying
stairs with
too tiny steps for modern feet
uneven grates
craterous holes
windingly
dizzying
stairs with
too tiny steps for modern feet
 | ||
| KINGS LANDING, DUBROVNIK, CROATIA |
I did it.
still half way up
thank you Carol for taking this shot
thank you Carol for taking this shot
there are episodes in GoT where Arya Stark is training as an assassin and is asked who she is repeatedly
her answer must be
a girl has no name
why?
'A girl is no one. Being "no one" simply means that you no longer fear death. ... If a girl is truly no one, she has nothing to fear. That line earlier this season wasn't saying that "no one" could drink from the well without it causing harm'her answer must be
a girl has no name
why?
when we gather at the bus depot to return to the ship, the man to whom I had whispered my fear...asked how I felt...he had understood...I reply "proud"
He then said "the girl has a name, conqueror of heights"
I am moved
photo on left
climbed the tower on the upper right
climbed the tower on the upper right
where Cersei, Sansa, Joffrey, Jaime
Arya, Tyrion, Jon Snow and more
hung out at various times
I am pointing to my tattoo
and standing over Blackwater Bay
feeling on top of the world
next episode
how the boys fared without me
woof, woof
