Title: Zipping through the jungle, flying through the night
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Of the months I'd been dreaming about my trip to Costa Rica, I'd never expected to be standing on a four-foot wide wooden platform 150 feet up a tree in the pitch black of a rainy cloud forest.
I never expected to be flying above the jungles on a zip line during a rainstorm in the jungle at night, but here I was, with my best friend Darien, doing just that. I think that's the best thing about traveling and not really having a plan - you end up in the most unexpected places doing the most outrageous things. If you're not trapped by schedules, pre-arranged accommodations or American-booked tours, then your planned hike during the day can end up being an adventure in zip lining through the Monteverde, Costa Rica cloud forests.
Costa Rica is stunning, with its active volcanos, cloud-frosted and dark mountain rainforests, sandy beaches and lowland jungles. The absolute best part of Costa Rica, however, are the Ticos. Ticos are the locals of the country, with Ticas being the women.
The country is famous for its hospitality and friendliness, and Darien and I saw no shortage of either. On the flip side, the Ticas sometimes didn't care for us, especially for Darien, who is tall and blonde, the exact opposite of most the people of Costa Rica. Sometimes, we get the ol' stink eye hard from a few of the ladies.
Nevertheless, the friendliness is astonishing. The Ticos here have a saying, and it's a saying that's only used in Costa Rica: "Pura Vida!" It literally translates to "Pure Life," but is used loosely as "All is perfect!" I've come to adore that saying, the way the "r's" roll off the Tico tongue and the big, rakish grins that accompany the words.
Darien and I, a couple of ladies in our late 30s, came to Costa Rica for a bit of adventure, and we got it. After spending two nights in La Fortuna, near the active Arenal Volcano, we met a Californian named Erick, who lived in Monteverde. We grabbed him and his Tica girlfriend and made the wild and horrifying trip to Monteverde.
The road up to the small mountain town has the dubius title of one of the worst roads in Central America, which is saying quite a bit. For one, most of the "highways" in Costa Rica are hard packed dirt roads full of potholes, crumbling sides and the craziest drivers you ever care to meet.
After bumping, sliding and laughing our way up the road, we arrived to Monteverde. Thank God for Erick, a jolly Hispanic fellow who worked in the town booking tours. He was on vacation too, so he basically became our own personal tour guide, friend and drinking buddy.
He was the one who recommended our first day canopy tour.
I guess I should explain that both Darien and I are a bit - okay, QUITE a bit - scared of heights, so the idea of zipping on a metal line through the jungles hundreds of feet in the air can be a little unnerving. All you do is hang from the line on a small hook and harness and trust that the tour guides hooked you in correctly (which they always do).
But the first time you let go of that fear and just speed across hundreds of feet of canopy, you are more alive and more happy to be alive than any other moment!
The Tico guides were a joy. Turns out I have an affection for the young Tico men here with their flirty eyes and big smiles. As Darien and I inched across a swinging hanging bridge, they jumped up and down to shake the bridge and scare us, paralyzing us both with laughter.
Darien and I laugh a lot. So much so, that the other tour go-ers began laughing at us, those who had a sense of humor. Amazing to me, some were stony faced and serious, almost disdainful of the adventure they were on.
Twelve zip lines and one 30-foot jump on a tarzan swing later, we faced the highlight of that particular tour - the Superman.
It's named The Superman due to the fact that you hang facedown from the zip line, hooked on your back as opposed to the traditional "sitting" position. Not only do you hang facing down, this particular zip line is more than 700 meters long that stretches between two mountain tops and flies you at at least 500 feet above the jungle canopy!
So, yeah, we were a little nervous again. Darien and I are the last to do the line, and she flashed a grin and went, flying with arms wide across an astonishing view of the jungle below and mountains all around.
As the last one, I get hooked in, and because I was hanging from a harness around the chest, my breath caught in my ribs.
"Ready?" Jody, one of our Tico guides asked.
"Um... yeah. Let's just go for it," I replied, gathering up more gusto than I actually felt.
He pushes my legs up and off I went, speeding across the valley, feeling the wind brush my face. I kept my eyes open, and the view made me want to weep. At the back of my mind, though, was the repeating prayer that nothing would go wrong.
As I sped across the line (40 seconds for most of us), it suddenly occurred to me that I was not going to make it all the way across. And, yup, sure enough, I stop about 200 meters from the end.
It is hard to explain the feeling of hanging that high up with no way to move. Because I was hanging face down, I could not reach up and pull myself in like with the normal zip lines. So I just hung there.
I remember distinctly saying aloud, "Well... here I am."
Whoosh - Jody flew by me on the parallel zip line, throwing a curious look as he zipped by. I waved cheerfully, hoping that someone would come fetch me.
Poor Darien on the other side said she saw the tiniest of the Ticos hook up and said, "Why is he hooking up? Where's Heide? Oh my God, she's stuck!"
"She's stuck???" the other tour passengers exclaimed, rushing over to stare at me as I hung helplessly along the zip line.
I just waved and started to laugh. The tiny Tico, handsome as they tend to be, scooted out to me, I couldn't stop laughing. Poor fellow had to tow me in.
After that little adventure, we had to do the night-time tour. Zip lining like that at night is even more adrenaline-pumped, but a bit less since you can't see the view or how high up you are. In a few of the higher platforms, that might have been a good thing.
Darien and I and our new friend Erick braved the cold wet rain, the slick zip lines and the darkness with the help our our excellent guide, Olman, and flew in the jungles at night.
The Imperial (the local beer in Costa Rica) we drank that night never tasted better, and days later, the thrill remains.
