Go Big Or Go Home

Greece the birthplace of the democracy and the Olympic games, where Greek mythology and human history sit hand in hand. Where I come from we have a town hall that has pillars the emulate the Parthenon, except ours is barely 100 years old and falling apart while the Parthenon still stands over 2000 years later. To say I was in owe of this country and its history is a gross understatement. Walking the streets of Athens where history flows from every building, people speak in foreign tongues and drink too much ouzo was truly breathtaking.
I had made my way down the incredible coastline to the Mani Peninsula. Where it is to believed the gates to the underworld, the entrance to Hades is situated. Stories that have stood the test of time, that have reached to the farthest corners of the world have originated in this spot.
What does one do when standing at such a sacred and influential spot? Do as the locals do I guess? In the distance I see local Greek boys jumping from the cliff faces and rock edges of the cave. Not one to let any opportunities pass me by, I make my way up the cliff face, past the boys and to the top of a towering 16 metre drop into the gate of hades below. We have a saying here in New Zealand. “Go big or go home”. Simple, yet motivating. It pops into my head now and again non-more so than at that moment, standing on that cliff face.
Why must we act differently in other countries? What gives the noble traveller more courage and experimentation to try new things when they don’t have the comforts of home?I pondered these thoughts while looking towards what could be my watery grave. With the jeers and taunts of the locals, I closed my eyes. How did a boy from New Zealand end up standing here? This was a once in a lifetime moment and its these times that defined me and who I am. As I leapt from the cliff side and heard the jeers turn into cheers and clapping, I screamed. Screamed so loud that my mother could hear me back home. I was flying! I crashed into the warm waters with a huge sense of pride and achievement.
Underwater I could see the dark and empty space within the cave, the entrance to the underworld. Not this time I thought, as I swam towards the light of the surface.
I may have cheated death during my travels. But as our bus left these beautiful shores, I smiled. Hades doesn’t own my soul quite yet but I knew that Greece had touched mine. And that’s something that will stay with me forever.