Oxygen grows thin as mountain tops find themselves tucked in clouds. People’s heads seem to grow dizzy with a sense of reckless abandon as they breathe the thin air. It feels like they’re on top of the world. They’re invincible. It’s almost like they could scoop up their childhood fantasies rushing back in vivid clarity, take a step, and fly.
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Someone in Ecuador decided to bring youthful imagination to a reality. After all, when you’re on top of the world, who’s to tell you otherwise? The invention hangs from Casa del Arbol, or “The Treehouse” (Atlas Obscura). The endearing structure is perched in the boughs of a tree ‘living on the edge’. It holds onto the mountain with deeply embedded roots, daring the wind to shake it even in the slightest.
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Simple ropes clutch at a protruding pole, drifting down plainly to provide a board attached for a seat. It invites with a gentle sway. Take a seat, it says. One sits, hands clutching the rope, and the swing continues its lull, a gentle shush, a rock and a tip; breathing calm air into hungry lungs.
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Dangling feet begin dancing kicks, impatience rising, beckoning movement, seeking motion. Fingers begin to hold the cord with more vigor as the swing begins to move, slowly at first, then faster as legs unfurl and begin to pump in eager excitement. Within minutes, moments, the fussy rock and turned into a sailboat on a frolicking ocean. It jumps about with liveliness.
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Held suspended, with whitening hands, two life lines on a simple plank, the bumpy start is over and you realize you’re flying,... and it’s like you’ve reached the end of the world. It’s a fluid motion of in and out; a pulse, a throb you’ll feel long after you’re gone. Feet glide over tousled grass, and sweep out above a drop. It feels like one of those square globes, as if you could let go and fall in a thrilling leap. Heading down, down, down, just to pop back up into the vast blue sky.
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Clumpy green grass hugs the mountainside, sticking up like restless hair on the crown of a person with their head in the clouds. Across the drop, billowing clouds kiss the top of the volcanic mountain, sliding the kisses down his face with the slinking fog. It is a gentle caress, diffusing the idea of dangerous heat into misty wisps. The sky is a soft blanket of blue cotton, tucking fussy children safely into a place where dreams take flight.
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The experience encapsulated in a few words would be:
Exhilarating,
Thrilling,
Finally, feet touch reality again, head spinning with wonder. All the cares in the world have taken flight and flown away while sitting on the swing at the edge of the world.
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References:
"Swing at the End of the World." Atlas Obscura. Web. 7 Dec. 2015. <http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/swing-at-the-end-of-the-world>.
I read these others to get a feel for the place, but can’t really cite them specifically. They’re here for credit though as they were still very helpful:
Morton, Ella. "The Swing at the End of the World." Web. 9 Dec. 2015. <http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2013/11/27/the_swing_at_the_end_of_the_world.html>.
"The Crazy Swing at Casa Del Arbol in Ecuador | Oddity Central - Collecting Oddities." Oddity Central Collecting Oddities. 4 July 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2015. <http://www.odditycentral.com/travel/riding-a-swing-on-the-edge-of-a-cliff-in-ecuador.html>.
"The Swing at the End of the World." EMORFES. 14 Sept. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2015. <http://emorfes.com/2013/09/14/the-swing-at-the-end-of-the-world/>.
"A Thrilling Swing That Sits At The 'End' Of The World." A Thrilling Swing That Sits At The 'End' Of The World. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. <http://designtaxi.com/news/359055/A-Thrilling-Swing-That-Sits-At-The-End-Of-The-World/>.
