Leap of Courage: Cliff Diving in Italy

The Fiord Jump

I'm not afraid of heights, but I think it would take anyone a lot of courage to jump off a 50 foot cliff. This jump became my ultimate challenge last summer. It was a sunny day on the Amalfi Coast of Southern Italy, which is located about 45 minutes north of the town of Amalfi, and about 45 minutes south of the town of Positano. I was at Furore, a beach in a canyon formed from a fiord.

“Oh my gosh, is that guy going to dive off the side of the pathway?” I exclaimed to my parents as we were hiking down the 100 steps to the beach.

“That dive is insane,” uttered my mom.

“Hell no,” my dad said as we watched the guy plunge into the crystal clear water. There were various spots to plunge off the ledge of the pathway into

On first impression you would think it’s a breeze, but when you go up and stand off the jumping spot, you get butterflies in your stomach. Some people that were confident did not hesitate rushingoff the rock, and some even dived, and did frontflips! Then there were typical tourists who waited about fifteen minutes, and I am not exaggerating, just to step off. One person took close to half an hour, and he kept getting up and then he would step down, while other people went ahead of him, and hopped off like it was a piece of

My dad then got up and just vaulted off. He made it look easy. Now there was more pressure on me, so I climbed up on the ledge and looked down to see how far it was to the water. I could only hear myself breathing and my heart was beating like a jackhammer. I felt the scorching sun burning my arms and I hesitated again. I knew I needed to jump quickly because the people watching on the beach would think I was a wuss.

I was getting a head rush and I started to feel dizzy so I jumped! The adrenaline surge as I soared off that 50 foot wall felt exhilarating. I was going so fast and I smacked the water hard. I forgot to point my toes and it hurt because my feet were flat and it was like a belly flop on my feet. I came up and took a breath and felt terrific. I was proud of myself for finally jumping.

It was so thrilling that I decided to do it again before I thought too much about it. I got out of the water, climbed up the steps and jumped one more time. This time it only took me a split second. I pointed my toes like a torpedo and I went deeper into the water. I had fulfilled myself and was done for the