Friday, July 31, 2009

and speaking of weird things tourists do...






We paid 30 KM (about $24 with the weak dollar) for 10 minutes inside these giant plastic beach balls. 

Waterballs contain about two hours worth of air and from advertisements you get the distinct idea, as I did, that you can stand in them and walk across the water. In truth, standing is impossible, I discovered, and even trying to move the ball along by crawling on all fours like a hamster is pretty impossible. The vendors told us -- afterward -- that the record is 45 steps. But if you keep trying you can use up as many calories in 10 minutes as a two-hour workout. 
Phyllis said she saw me and Miranda fighting to get to our feet or move our balls in vain and so decided to relax. She reclined on the bottom which was surprisingly cool atop the Adriatic

I tried screaming to her and Miranda and while inside the ball the sound was enormous, the plastic seals in noise as effectively as it seals out water. So that got me thinking about how I was trapped inside this stupid thing -- which is tethered to the dock -- and what if the vendors decided to leave us or it got unattached and drifted off. How would I get out? I tried kicking and punching the plastic. I tried biting. It all made me pretty claustrophobic. If I ever do this again I'm putting a pen knife in my pocket.

(PS: For those of you who asked how you get IN the ball, here's the answer. The balls are deflated and unzipped when you begin. You get inside and the vendors stick a big leaf-blower thing in that fills the ball with air. Then they tape the zipper shut and push you off into the water.)

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