Picture: Snapshot of the Canopy Adventura flyer showing the butt-quivering drop
We had a great meal at a little place down the street called Salvadita Typical Food last night. Let me tell you that the food and price was way better than reasonable. We all tried something different and enjoyed sampling each other’s plate. The kids’ eyes kept straying to the little TV on the wall playing Los Simpsons in Spanish. I couldn’t seem to prevent it from happening, so I contented myself with the thought that at least the kids were absorbing more Spanish…Made it home before the evening downpour and thunderstorm got into high tempest gear.
Today we went on a zipline tour. Liam had seen the pictures and was a little unsure if he was going to do it all or not. As it turned out, he confronted his fears and did the first 6 drops which were not the extreme ones. I actually enjoyed these as I was more interested in enjoying the forest than getting a real adrenaline burst. The lines were all good, and the harnesses and safety equipment seemed well maintained. I also appreciated the short instruction at the start point in which the guides went over what to do and not to do, especially with regards to braking and where to put your hands. I learned that it is not advisable to hold the cable in front of the rollers as you will lose all your fingers. The correct hand placement for the drops that required self-braking was behind the rollers on the cable. It was enjoyable to be amongst the tress moving so quickly. When Liam stopped after the sixth drop, I decided to stop too as he would have to make his own way back to the center and wait for us. I’m glad I did: Robyn and Meggie decided to carry on and do the whole thing including a huge 134 foot bungie cord freefall starting from 295 feet high. I guess they were surprised by this as the actual drop was kind of hidden away at the end of a rope bridge until it was their turn and thus too late to chicken out. Robyn was still shaking 45 minutes after she made it back to earth safely. Meggie just had a blast. This was the grand finale of the tour (not sure if they could have dealt with anymore 😉
Note: if you have any issues with heights or with nausea/motion sickness, I would recommend either not taking this tour or bailing out after the first 6 as Liam and I did. That way you can at least experience what it is like without the unpleasantness. Robyn’s constitution was a little shaken up for an hour or two afterwards. Also, if you are bringing children, even teens, if they are on the small side you should be aware that the guides will attach them either to an adult or even another kid. On one long drop, Meggie found herself attached to a teenage boy which made Robyn feel a little uncomfortable as it looked a tad awkward. I would also recommend taking a walking tour first as you really get to see the plant life in the canopy at a pace that allows viewing plant and animal life rather than just viewing a green blur.
Back at the B&B, we looked some more at the map to plan out the next few stages of the trip. We all agreed that the Caribbean Coast to the west, and the Osa Peninsula to the extreme south would be favorite places to explore. However, due to the long distances between each location, we have to include 3-4 extra stops to keep our sanity (no offence, Raul!) The good news is that all these stops have something good to see and that we will still have a solid week on the Caribbean coast (not including Tortuguerro) as well as almost a couple of weeks down on the south coast. I’m looking forward to running on the beach and swimming in the warm ocean. Did you notice the keyword, “warm” with regards to the ocean? Being up in higher elevations with so much rain has actually left us feeling chilled quite often. Tomorrow is our last full day in Monte Verde, and I think that we are all ready to move on. It’s good though as we now know that 3 days is really the max to spend at a place this size unless you have deep pockets and want to try multiple ziplines, night tours, etc.