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Published: February 1st 2015
"If you think adventure is dangerous - try routine, it's lethal" ~ So we booked our extreme canopy zipline tour and we were off on our adventure by 7:30 Sat am. We met the van and they were right on time. There were 6 people in the van already, and then they picked up 2 more people. (PS these pics are professionally taken by the tour operator and they are SO cool. Don't let the images fool you, we darn near were high enough to grab the tale end of a plane).
Bear with me as I back up the story a bit.
My brother Bill as many of you know was booked to go to the Blue Esmerelda Resort in Playa del Carmen 5 days after he died. I have to admit, every time I see the sign for the resort on the way to Playa, I look away. Just a painful reminder of loss. Well I had no choice Sat. as the two people left to be picked up were staying at...you guessed it, the Blue Esmerelda. (Blech) I thought to myself, is this a bad omen? How weird is this, with all the resorts in
the area we have to stop here today. Grimace.
On another note, after much research, Al & I thought the zip lining would be quite an adventure as a family. And boy oh boy we weren't wrong on this account.
Frankly I am not a big fan of heights and I normally don't freak out, yet I knew today this adventure was going to be completely out of my comfort zone & I'd have to dig deep. I like to be in control (really you ask?) and being almost 60 feet above the tree tops of the jungle is not my idea of being in control.
First, this place is quite spectacular. Just being in the jungle alone is jaw dropping. The huge trees, the beautiful dark green color, the sun shining through in all its glory, and the sound of monkeys in the distance. And to top it off, the staff are THE nicest people you could ever come across and they really are completely interested in your safety, first and foremost. They are all a bunch of jokers, while at the same time, very informative about safety and how things work.
The extreme canopy
zipline consists of 12 ziplines. One highter than the next, some faster than others.
After checking in, we were greeted by the wonderful staff carrying freshly made coffee and baked muffins, croissants, danish etc. A very nice touch. A girl carrying 2 parrots greeted us for a family pic (See pic). Then we were given a zipline university course. It was very well done and well explained to both children and adults. They even had a guy on a zipline about 2 feet off the ground to demonstrate what to do and more so, what not to do. I paid particular attention as I knew this is not stuff to fool around with. (I really could've just stayed on that little zipline 2 feet off the ground and would've had a grand old time).
Basically they explained how to ride a zipline. Good lord if I knew what was coming I would've stayed on the ground.
The idea is that you are hooked up by a security harness which has a pulley that attaches to the cable. You are never without being attached to a cable even if you are just climbing the stairs to your next
zipline. You wear these big work gloves so as to protect your hands, but they are an important part of your adventure in that they guide/balance you while riding the zipline. You are also required to wear a helmet. Your right hand is behind you making an O over the cable which allows you to control the speed you are going, and in order to brake you apply your glove over the cable to slow it down. Your feet should be crossed and pulled up slightly.
I will admit (and didn't to anyone else) that the first zipline was intimidating. Once you get on the first platform, you can see what's ahead of you and these darn platforms just keep going higher and higher like mountain ranges. The first zipline is your maiden voyage to figure out how to apply the brake and to get s sense of how fast you can go. (FAST.) I believe I read somewhere that you can zip up to 100KM/hour. Jaysus Mary and Joseph (and other things were said under my breath not for kids ears ;>
So off we go. By the 3rd zipline I realized that this whole thing was
NOT my cup of tea, and by the 3rd zipline the whole family decided this was THE best friggin' thing in the whole world. After the weird thing with the resort, Bill was on my mind. So guess what? We are all wearing name tags, and on the way up to that 3rd zipline, a name tag was stuck to the stairs and the name on it was "Bill". WTH? I just could not believe it. Bill are you playing games with me or are you warning me about something??? I was soon to find out.
The guides were hilarious, and teasing me and asking, "Sally do you want to go upside down on the next zip line"? My reply was there's an extra 1000 pesos is in it for you if you can zipline me right down to the bar right now. I tried to keep the eye rolling to a minimum in the sense that I was not keen on this at all, but hey you are way up in the sky with only one way to get down. The options are limited.
And then we went higher and higher and higher and well, gulp. What
bothered me most is the speed at which you go. And at one point I had a slight spin starting, (meaning you are supposed to go straight and if you spin either way, it's not ideal, but remembering their instructions I managed to slow myself down with my glove and I was just fine.) At one point they offered me a chest harness which stablizes you even more. Gracias gracias gracias (they call it the "hammock" of zip lining!) I don't care if they wanted to call it a "thingy-mabbobby", it just made me feel more stable but I still wasn't "high fiving" the whole thing.
All was going well until the 2nd last zipline. We were told it was very fast. To the point that Ava would be taken by a guide when she had been ziplining on her own up to this point. Keep in mind there are a minimum of 2 guys with you on each platform. Then one or 2 more are waiting for you on the next platform. You are always being guided, talked to, checked over and adjusted if necessary. Very professional and there's no wonder they are listed #1 on Trip Advisor.
So on ziline #11 with the adventure almost over I was almost grinning life a fool. As soon as I embarked off into the blue yonder I felt it was crazy fast on a very short zipline. The guide on the other side is waving me on which means don't apply the brake. Well I was having none of that. It was way too fast, and as I approached I realized applying my glove on the cable was not working at all. In fact, it seemed that I was going faster by applying the brake. I really pressed hard down on the brake, and with the zipline being so swift from platform to platform, it was a case of me knowing this was not going to end well.
Much like someone who knows they are about to be in a car accident and there's nothing you can do but brace yourself. That's how I felt. I yelled out to the guide "My brake is not working, please help stop me". Then it was all over but the crying. Basically he tried to adjust the line to help brake me, but with no luck. In a split second I
flew onto the platform, and braced by putting my feet up to avoid hitting the platform or tree too hard.
I felt a pain tear through my right knee. Basically, there are steel bars attached to the tree to attach the platform on which you stand which is what my knee hit full on. I can't remember pain like this with exception of child birth. The guide knew it was not good; he kept saying, "Sally what is wrong", then he looked down at my knee and it had been cut open and was bleeding. I remember looking at Rory and saying to the guide, "I'm OK", but felt dizzy and ready to vomit. The people on our tour were absolutely stunned by the turn of events. Then Al comes zip lining in right after me and obviously realizes I am hurt. He told me later the same thing happened to him that once he was on the zipline he knew it was ultra fast and he had to use both his hands to put pressure on the line to slow down. Ava and Lara were told to wait on the other side, and finally they got the all
clear to zip with the guides & by that time Lara knew that I 'd been hurt. Aw the poor kids 😞
Bottom line, my knee was bleeding, turning purple and while on the inside I was crying like a baby, on the outside I was trying to be composed (I was told later tears were streaming down my face). I really was trying not to scare the kids and stay calm. Of course when you're 10 stories up, the only way to get back down is to zipline. Please god no ! But the guides were great and personally escorted me down to the bottom. Sweet Jaysus I nearly kissed the ground.
Once down I was taken immediately to the doctor to be assessed. Frankly I should've been assessed in my thinking for even going zip lining in the first place (insert sarcasm). They were really great and extremely concerned for me. They gently cleaned my knee, and did all sorts of movements to see if my knee was broken or shattered. (Not fun). I could tell it was severely bruised and the cut was aching but I did not think there was any further significant damage.
After going through my medical history (any allergies etc.) they gave me Ibuprofen & asked what I wanted to do as the last leg (pun intended) of the tour was a swim in a cenote, followed by lunch back at the ranch. I REALLLLLY wanted to go to the cenote with the family even if I couldn't swim or jump into it given the situation. So with my knee well bandaged, I endured a military jeep ride through the jungle to the cenote grimacing in pain all the way. I was really wondering about my decision to do this, and whether I'd suffered an extra blow to the head given I was riding around in the bumpy jungle with a knee that was throbbing all the while in a military style vehicle not intended for comfort. Yes...another dose of sarcasm.
The lagoon was truly magical and beautiful to see, but by the end, I was in the throws of terrible pain & my knee was swelling. Despite it all, I really enjoyed watching the family zipline into the cenote and swim under the natural waterfalls. And the whoops of delight as they all took turns grabbing onto a
zipline and jumping into the water made the pain feel less.
By the time we took the jeep ride back, I was in agony. So they took me back to the doctor and it was determined they would take me for Xrays in Cancun. By this point I was done. I just wanted to come back to the condo, rest and reassess with the doctor we use here. Mom has got a bit of the flu, and all I could think of was how upsetting it would be for her to hear I had to be taken to the hospital in Cancun.
After more ice and pain killers, we were offered the lunch which was included in our ticket price (chicken fahitas, and a really nice cold margarita). The ice was very helpful. The staff offered every resource available to us. They as an added bonus gave us the package of pics/video for free (this is not cheap) and I gladly took it. I spoke at length to the manager about what happened, and filled out necessary paperwork. This from all I have read rarely happens. I am to follow up with them, and for the most part,
I really don't know what happened, but I am very grateful this is the worst that happened overall. (I shudder at what could've happened).
I want to reassure everybody I am feeling much better. I do not expect that this will end up being a lifelong nagging injury, but I'm only 12 hours in.
So that's the story of the extreme ziplining. (By the way, the kids and Al LOVED it).
I actually would recommend it to those that love this sort of thing, but I will tell you, this is not for me. In the words of the Taylor Swift song that I hear blaring on almost every radio channel, "We are never ever ever getting back together". (I am of course talking about me and the zipline.)
Limpy but not wimpy & still standing strong. (Oh and yes, a reminder the pics are at the bottom. Maybe when I'm not so tired & foggy I will send a few more pics.)
Sal
PS we had a lovely dinner out at Titi Panini, and it was nice running into you Debbie. Funny how we can run into each other here so very easily.
And it was rather ironic when she said to me, "I read your blog and you were going ziplining today how did it go"? I just pointed to the wrapped knee. There's always a story...
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keith
non-member comment
zip line excursion - off my bucket list
wow Sal - hope you get back to 100% - great pictures