Day 48: Ziplining. 'Nuff said.

Not happy about suiting up.

The group - with the least compassionate guide on the left.

Matt, mid turn (you aren't supposed to do that.)

Mike, happily flying in.

Check out the broken rail on the platform behind us.
Matt almost leaned on the missing piece and the other one fell off when we walked away.

Finally smiling during flight.

Mike's Tarzan Swing (he's screaming here).

Superman.

I resisted the urge to google "zipline accidents" last night. Matt also gave me survival tips in the event of an incident - such as hang on as best you can if the cable or harness snaps, and also felt confident death wasn't immenent since the rainforest could slow the fall. I wasn't buying it, but saved the techniques to memory just in case.

I was really hoping the start of my day wouldn't set the tone for the rest of it seeing as I dumped practically an entire glass container of sugar (the ones you see at diners with the silver lid with the flip door that lets the sugar out).  Apparently, someone didn't screw the cap on properly and seeing as the owner charged me for another coffee - even though she clearly saw it was the sugar's fault - I'm thinking that's how she makes a few extra bucks. I just hoped that was the extent of today's bad luck since ziplining was next on our list.


The weather wasn’t great. It had already rained steadily and even though it stopped, the clouds hadn’t cleared. We thought about cancelling and trying again at another place some other time but we had already built up the cajones to do it, so figured we'd suck it up. We got picked up by Extremo Adventures bus with two other tourists in tow. I had the same feeling in my stomach as I did when I was twelve waiting in long lines at Six Flags. A half hour later we were suiting up with butt and chest harnesses, garden gloves with leather palms as thick as two belts and plastic helmets (which were stinky by the way).

While they strapped us in, I thought it was a good idea to tell them I was nervous. Here's how well those conversations went:


Me: I’m scared.
Guide 1: Me too.

Me: I’m scared.
Guide 2: Don’t be scared. This is 100% safe. Sometimes.

Funny guys. Just what I needed. But really, it was. They lightened the mood and downplayed any anxieties by making you just let go.

After a few key instructions on how to properly ride a zipline, we walked the metal staircase to our first line for practice. I went first. Even though I was scared that I was going to land on the next platform with a load in my pants, standing on those small rickety platforms not connected to anything scared me more so I opted to get off as quickly as possible. Even if I was the first on the next platform, I was distracted by the ride and watching Mike and Matt fly in. I survived the first glide to the other side and have to say it wasn’t all that bad. The next, a little better, the one after that – a little longer – and way more of a rush. But at no point did my anxiety or fear subside.

I had thought that rappelling was an optional adrenaline rush but apparently, it was the only way down to the next area. Again, I went first. Half by choice, and more by the pushy guide who strapped me in while I objected and expressed my dislike for it. To my surprise, it was easier and less scary than zipping. And just so you know, Matt protested having to do this one more than me.

My favorite example of our guides' lack of empathy was when we got to our second “activity” - the Tarzan Swing. You freefall 126 feet from the tower attached to a rope and swing through the trees (kind of like bungy jumping without the bungee). Matt and I had already decided that rappelling was enough adventure for us. Mike followed our guide, the least compassionate one, to the edge of the platform and watched him tie ropes and fix carabineers - just out of curiousity. Mike assumed the guide was going first, as they had been doing for each zipline. So he was completely thrown off when the hook got attached to his waist with no conversation other than "hold here" and he was shoved off the platform.
You guys know Mike, he's not a big reaction guy. Pretty mellow, calm in all situations, even stressful ones. So I was equally as surprised when I heard a gargled, extremely loud, “oh my God” dragged out from his gut through clenched teeth. Even though I got my adrenaline rush by watching my husband get tossed off a treetop, I also found the uncontrollable noise that came out of him hilarious. I recorded it to memory and get a chuckle every time I replay it in my mind. After seeing what happened to Mike, Matt and I hid behind a tree far, far away from the guide.

The guides were a little more understanding about my decision to not be insane but they were a bit harder on Matt. They pressured him but he wouldn’t waiver. So they nicknamed him "Chicken" or the Spanish version "Pollo" for the rest of the hike and bawked at him every two minutes. 

To make up for his failure to jump, he went first on the Superman. It was kind of optional, but you had to make up your mind before hiking there and seeing as I was managing the ziplining ok, I hadn’t tossed out idea. It was the longest line (1 full kilometer) and you didn’t have to do any work - no leaning back, no legs crossed, no braking. Just lay face down, legs in strapped to keep your entire body straight and parallel to the zipline, and keep your arms out to the sides while the guides do the rest. I don't know what's more amazing - the views, the ride, or the amount of trust we have in strangers and a single cable and hook.

In the end, we all did it and survived. At times we could see the views above trees and forests.  Most other times, it was like someone standing three feet in front of you with a fog machine aimed at your face. I personally think it may have helped to not see how high up we were. Either way, it was still pretty cool to be flying in the clouds and pelted by mist. It was the craziest experience of my life. Call me crazy but I can’t say I wouldn’t do it again.


The hikes in between the platforms made the rides on the zipline welcomed though. It was like climbing several steep mulch and leaf covered stairways and when I wasn’t afraid of slipping on a wet leaf and rolling down the mountain, I was busy catching my breath before taking flight again. I was doing alright though and didn’t put up much of a fight until we hit the rappelling area.