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Published: July 21st 2007
Learning to fly
Here we are just before taking off on the zip-line tour. We just got back from a 2 city trip that included going to Monteverde and La Fortuna and this may have been the best trip yet. We spent a little bit of time trying to decide if we were going to go to Puerto Viejo or Monteverde-La Fortuna. Puerto Viejo would have been a very relaxing trip as it is a beach town on the Carribbean. In the end we took a chance and decided on the adventure type trip of Monteverde-La Fortuna. When we were heading back yesterday all four of us agreed that we made the right decision . . . a trip of a lifetime.
We left for Monteverde at 6:30 am on Friday morning and even though it is only about 120 miles from San Jose it took 5 hours to arrive. Part of the reason it took so long was because we stopped about every 5 minutes to pick more people up. Just when the bus was almost full and we thought we'd be done stopping to pick people up, we started stopping to drop people off! During almost the whole ride there were people standing in the isles. Another reason it took so
Two thumbs up
These are some hard core gloves! long to get there was because the final 12 miles were on a road that provides a new meaning to the word rustic. We wound up and down this one way dirt road as the driver had to move to the left and right to avoid huge pot holes. We also went up and down hills that you would never think a deluxe size bus would be able to go up. The views were amazing and we were able to enjoy it thanks to the motion sickness pill dramamine! When you look at the pictures you will be able to see the terrian that we traversed.
We finally got to Monteverde at about 11:30 and checked into our hotel and we had no time to rest becuse we were heading off on a shuttle bus to the park Selventura at 12:30. There were 2 things that drew us to Selventura, zipline canopy tours and the treetop walk. When we got to the park, which was about 8 miles outside of Monteverde, we got fitted for our equipment then went to a practice course where we were trained to use the zipline. The course we went on had 16 different
And away she goes
This was one of the longer zip lines . . . there were 16 total platforms. zipline platforms (ie places where you connect to a differnt zipline) and a tarzan swing. We went slow on the first few ziplines as we were feeling out the process . . . but shortly after that it was obvious that ziplining is pretty easy and we were able to fly about the canopy of the rainforest at high speeds. It is tough to estimate how fast we were going but I know that one cable was over 2,200 feet and I never broke until the very end so you can imagine how fast that would be!
We also had a fun group of tour guides that we zip lined with . . . they were all costa ricans about our age and were joking around with us the whole time.
The Tarzan was also real sweet. Basically we jumped from a platform about 30 feet in the air and swung like . . . um . . . Tarzan. I (this is Andy writing this one) wanted to yell like Tarzan but I found out that it is very hard to muster a deep holler when your body is plumiting straight down. What I wanted to sound like
From the starting gates
As you can see there is no fear of falling as much as they have you tied in. a manly roar came out more like a little girl yelling ¨yay.¨ I guess I know for next time! Flying through the rainforest at the perspective that we were at was somthing I will never forget. Hopefully the pictures can capture a little of what that was like.
When we were done with the zipline canopy tour we did a tree-top walk. This is basically a walk through Monteverde´s rain forest but with occasional points that you had to walk on a small metal bridge about 5 feet wide. I would liken it to what Indiana Jones fought his final battle on in the movie Temple of Doom . . . except it was of course much more sturdy than that. This was kind of like doing the ziplines in slow motion . . . so that you could stop in the middle and take pictures. We only stayed in Monteverde for one day but it was amazing. Check out the next blog for details on our trip to La Fortuna and the Volcano Areal.
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jess cat
non-member comment
r u flying in?
andy and sj - are you guys flying into wisco for the mardi gras? i believe we agreed you'd land your plane on the flambeau river. i'll meet you there around 10 p.m. tomorrow. see you then!