This morning we headed off to do zip lining, something I wasn’t at all looking forward to. However, after chickening out in Guatemala I was determined to at least give this one a go. The canopy zip lining had nine different lines which went over the valley with the longest line being 700m in length. There was also an abseiling opportunity and a tarzan swing.
We kitted out in our harnesses made it to the first one and I started to chicken out again, nerves getting the better of me, however Dan was determined to get me on the zip line and wouldn’t get on the line until I had gone. I did the first short zip line (and hated every moment of it). Dan followed behind me encouraging me on. We both did the short zip line.
When we got the third zip line that was 600 metres long we had the opportunity to go together, so we did.
Poor Dan copped an earful with me screaming at him to slow down (I’m sure he pretended he couldn’t hear over the scream of the zip line itself!!) The scenery was probably very nice, I couldn’t tell you I was too terrorized to look down.
I tried one more on my own, hurt my shoulder and pulled the pin, glad that I had given it a shot, but will never do that activity again. As my luck would have it, the only way back was on a 450m line so I hooked on with a guide and zipped back with eyes tightly shut to meet the other person who also pulled the pin. Over to Dan at this point to continue on about the zip lining.
Well, I didn’t close my eyes on the 465m long zip line. You are whizzing along with quite a lot of speed and in places up to 150m above the bottom of the valley below. It’s crazy. The next zip line was another long one back across the valley. This time the wind was a bit stronger and it was a little hard to control with your body at an angle to the zip line to prevent you spinning. This time, a rainbow appeared in the valley.
After a few more zip lines the group did a 30m rappel but it was a bit lame as the guide controlled the ascent. While on the platform I got to see some of the group do the 45m long Tarzan swing. Essentially you are attached to a rope and you fall off a platform and swing through the air and then they catch you.
I got to the swing and the guy asked me if I was an adrenalin junkie. I replied with a “Not really”. He said the best buzz out of this is if you go backwards. Here I was standing holding onto the rope with me toes hanging on the end of the platform. I wasn’t really ready when I started falling off the platform. It was a little scary but then I realized I couldn’t stop so I embraced it. The fall was quite a long way and quick too. Once you got into the pendulum motion it was okay. I pumped the first time and then started flying with legs spread. It was a lots of fun. Check out the video (to follow).
Oh yeah. Lucky I packed my hoodie. We both thought Costa Rica was going to be warm. How wrong were we!!
The final zip line was 750m long and it took some time to get to the other side. You couldn’t use your brake until the very end otherwise you would be stuck way out on the wire. No problems as I zipped along to meet up with Tan, a little less shaken than when I last saw her.
We got back to town to turn around again to go to Selvatura Park. It is marketed as a “Cloud Forest experience”. We got there hungry and late with only an hour to spare. Paul, Wendy, Elaine, Tan and I got some sangers and headed out on the canopy walk.
We crossed eight suspension bridges and it was cloudy and drizzly. Wildlife was next to absent except for a few birds and there were lots of trees. The walk itself was nice but it wasn’t as good as the morning before with Maria and the quetzals.
By the way, Wendy didn’t like the suspension bridges due to the height but Tan had no problems. Go figure.
We caught the last shuttle out of there, somewhat rushed and disappointed. Back at the hotel, I convinced everyone to go to the Frogasuem or Frog Ponds or something like that. We had a guide take us around on dusk who was frog mad. Our jokes, which Tan and I thought were funny, went over his head mostly. We saw lots of frogs and the ugly Cane Toad. The highlight was seeing some of the frogs that are on postcards and guide books for Costa Rica. This included the Blue Jeans Red Frog and highlight, the Gaudy Tree frog. The latter is a star on the cover of the Lonely Planet guide book. It might sound a bit lame going to see frogs but it was actually really good.
One thing we weren’t expecting to see was a scorpion on the way out.
We had dinner in the hotel (named Poco a Poco or little by little) where Sal showed his best WA Salvage Luigi impersonation and backed it up with his ultra-cool dude rag.
We kitted out in our harnesses made it to the first one and I started to chicken out again, nerves getting the better of me, however Dan was determined to get me on the zip line and wouldn’t get on the line until I had gone. I did the first short zip line (and hated every moment of it). Dan followed behind me encouraging me on. We both did the short zip line.
When we got the third zip line that was 600 metres long we had the opportunity to go together, so we did.Poor Dan copped an earful with me screaming at him to slow down (I’m sure he pretended he couldn’t hear over the scream of the zip line itself!!) The scenery was probably very nice, I couldn’t tell you I was too terrorized to look down.
I tried one more on my own, hurt my shoulder and pulled the pin, glad that I had given it a shot, but will never do that activity again. As my luck would have it, the only way back was on a 450m line so I hooked on with a guide and zipped back with eyes tightly shut to meet the other person who also pulled the pin. Over to Dan at this point to continue on about the zip lining.Well, I didn’t close my eyes on the 465m long zip line. You are whizzing along with quite a lot of speed and in places up to 150m above the bottom of the valley below. It’s crazy. The next zip line was another long one back across the valley. This time the wind was a bit stronger and it was a little hard to control with your body at an angle to the zip line to prevent you spinning. This time, a rainbow appeared in the valley.
After a few more zip lines the group did a 30m rappel but it was a bit lame as the guide controlled the ascent. While on the platform I got to see some of the group do the 45m long Tarzan swing. Essentially you are attached to a rope and you fall off a platform and swing through the air and then they catch you.I got to the swing and the guy asked me if I was an adrenalin junkie. I replied with a “Not really”. He said the best buzz out of this is if you go backwards. Here I was standing holding onto the rope with me toes hanging on the end of the platform. I wasn’t really ready when I started falling off the platform. It was a little scary but then I realized I couldn’t stop so I embraced it. The fall was quite a long way and quick too. Once you got into the pendulum motion it was okay. I pumped the first time and then started flying with legs spread. It was a lots of fun. Check out the video (to follow).
Oh yeah. Lucky I packed my hoodie. We both thought Costa Rica was going to be warm. How wrong were we!!The final zip line was 750m long and it took some time to get to the other side. You couldn’t use your brake until the very end otherwise you would be stuck way out on the wire. No problems as I zipped along to meet up with Tan, a little less shaken than when I last saw her.
We got back to town to turn around again to go to Selvatura Park. It is marketed as a “Cloud Forest experience”. We got there hungry and late with only an hour to spare. Paul, Wendy, Elaine, Tan and I got some sangers and headed out on the canopy walk.
We crossed eight suspension bridges and it was cloudy and drizzly. Wildlife was next to absent except for a few birds and there were lots of trees. The walk itself was nice but it wasn’t as good as the morning before with Maria and the quetzals.By the way, Wendy didn’t like the suspension bridges due to the height but Tan had no problems. Go figure.
We caught the last shuttle out of there, somewhat rushed and disappointed. Back at the hotel, I convinced everyone to go to the Frogasuem or Frog Ponds or something like that. We had a guide take us around on dusk who was frog mad. Our jokes, which Tan and I thought were funny, went over his head mostly. We saw lots of frogs and the ugly Cane Toad. The highlight was seeing some of the frogs that are on postcards and guide books for Costa Rica. This included the Blue Jeans Red Frog and highlight, the Gaudy Tree frog. The latter is a star on the cover of the Lonely Planet guide book. It might sound a bit lame going to see frogs but it was actually really good.
One thing we weren’t expecting to see was a scorpion on the way out.
We had dinner in the hotel (named Poco a Poco or little by little) where Sal showed his best WA Salvage Luigi impersonation and backed it up with his ultra-cool dude rag.
After an hour of zip lining we met our local guide who showed us around the ruins of Tikal. Our guide was locally known as “The Bird Man”. He was an A1 twitcher which made our experience so much more worth while. He could spot a bird or a monkey from miles away and know exactly what they were (alarmingly he did carry a bird identification book too). He also was able to call to the monkies – much better than Dan’s dodgy effort of a Howler Monkey!!
The ruins are located in thick jungle and only 20% of the buildings are uncovered. Towering piles of rock completely covered in undergrowth and large trees dot the site.
If you didn’t know you would mistake these buildings for just another hill. Tikal is also a UNESCO site (tick another one off the list).
In the grand plaza we climbed Temple Two which overlooked a grassy flat and Temple One in the background. After sucking in the views and listening to this really cool bird that sounded like a robot we strolled to Temple Four.
Temple Five is 58 metres high and has only been recently restored. Due to the steepness of the Temple stairs, you are required to climb an almost vertical ladder that appears to be rather unsafe. Now this was steep!! We made it to the top, with a narrow ledge and no guards to stop us toppling to the ground. The views of the jungle canopy were fantastic and we could see monkeys swinging in the nearby trees. We sat and enjoyed it for a while and then made the slow climb back down. 
Another walk through the jungle stopping to see Toucans led us to Temple Four which we climbed the stairs to sit and watch the sun set in the distance. 
With the jungle alive with the sounds of the animals it was breathtaking (chaperoned with a man with a big gun). Sunset was fantastic, and our third and final visit to ruins on this trip had been our favourite. 
We walked back through the jungle in the dark via torchlight. Our birdman spotting all sorts of animals and even a Tarantula on the side of the path. Eww. Dan got a little too close for comfort for this shot.
