Costa Rican Canopy Tour
Trip Start
Jul 13, 2007
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Trip End
Jul 18, 2007
Quipos,
Costa Rica
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
After breakfast we caught the van out to the forest for our canopy tour! The place was totally secluded with only indineous stores, shops and sites nearby. We first met this guy named "mono" which means "monkey." I told him that that was also my nickname! We got along like two peas in a pod. Next, we signed away our lives and applied bug repellant for the deadly mosquitos
Costa Rican Canopy
. Alex reassured me that his life was in danger only once because of a mosquito bite and not to worry! Once finished, we loaded into the van and headed for the dense forest.Upon arrival we learned of the dangers involved with zip lining in a canopy tour and that our safety was the tour's #1 priority. We arrived at our first zip line after putting on our protective harnesses. The cable extended over about 200 feet of forest. This was our "warm up" cable! Looking down from the cable, the forest did not look too inviting. In fact, if you fell, you would face certain death! Of course me being the brave (stupid) soul I am, I elected to go first. The guide strapped my clip to the cable, gave me a few instructions and kissed my butt good bye. I zipped to the next platform in record time....NOT! I was "braking" the whole way out of fear of slamming into the oncoming tree! No worries, I was practicing for my future perfection. :)
The cables got longer and longer as we went. The strategy was to let yourself slide freely down the first half of the cable and then "brake" by applying your dominant hand to the cable behind you. You will see in the video a flawless demonstration of this technique...ok so maybe not flawless!
Daniel, Alex and I in the Canopy Tour
The views from up in the canopies of the trees were absolutely breathtaking! I literally felt as if one of the free swinging animals. We even saw a snake, a multi- colored frog, and a couple of iguanas! Sweet!
The last cable brought us back to our starting point, and put my feet on firm ground. I felt good to be back but at the same time disappointed that the trip could not continue.
When returning to the house we quickly changed into our beach gear and made our second trip to the beach in 2 days. We stopped on the way for some delicious Costa Rican coffee. You may recall that Costa Rica makes most of its revenue off of its coffee and banana sales. Their coffee is world famous! I was energized for the entire week!
We got to the beach about a half and hour later to find the water choppy with consistent rain falling from the sky. If it wasn't Costa Rica, such a day would be MISERABLE beach weather. However, because the water was so warm and the surroundings so beautiful, the beach was great nonetheless. I stayed in the water for over 2 hours! I felt like a dolphin swimming in and out of the waves
Daniel, El Mono and I
. Floating provided much needed stress relief from the constant busyness of my travels. It was here that I felt a calm I have never experienced. A contentment with every part of my life. A tranquil peace that I hoped never went away. When dark approached and the rain starting coming down heavier, we decided to call it a day. We grabbed dinner at a local food shack and then caught the bus home.
Tomorrow we leave at 6 in the morning back to San Jose. Fairwell Quipos! I will never forget you!
KWAGS
