Zip Lining and Night Creatures in Monteverde

February 5^th, 2015

On the second full day in Monteverde we signed up for two activities, Aventura Park for zip lining and a night hike to check out the nocturnal animals.  My only previous zip lining was a little more than a month earlier with my family at Christmas time with my family in the north of the country but this was going to be a bit different as this place boasts the longest zip line in Latin America and the third longest in the world at 1590 meters!  You also have the option to do this one in the “Superman” position, head first lying on your stomach.  After getting geared up and our security briefing the group of about 35 people started on the beginner zip lines, eventually progressing to faster and longer ones.  There was even a little rappel down from a tree, just for grins as you then walked stairs back up to the same platform to zip off on another line.

Ready to zip:

So is Taylor:

Taylor flying in:

Now Taylor rappelling:

The long Superman line was pretty cool, super nice views from up there.  But the highlight for me was the finishing, optional, ride, the Tarzan Swing.  I’d never done one of these before and I got to admit that it was quite a rush.  There was a precarious bridge extending out from the hillside and only the two operators and one tourist performing the swing were allowed on it at any given time.  I was the last one of the whole group to go so I never actually got to see what it was like before stepping out there.  Taylor was before me and she let out a shriek as she plunged off the bridge but the older French guy before had yells that half made you laugh, half made you distraught.  I, considering myself a bit of an adrenaline junkie, didn’t think I would be scream but as soon as they opened the gate, told me to bend my knees and I dropped off the platform, the second or two of free fall sucked a guttural noise out of me that I’ve rarely heard emanate from my body.  This was quickly replaced with shouts of glee…what a rush!

Wait for it...a little superman will fly by:

It's time for the one mile Superman ride:

These two cables disappear across to the other side of the valley...one mile in length!  If you look carefully there is someone just below the ridge line on the right line.

Some people found it a bit scary:

Taylor and Peter getting ready:

It's a bird, it's a plane...it's Daverman!

Okay, I couldn't pull the camera far enough away for a proper selfie (note the camera strap to my helmet)...but the smile says it all:

The view from the Superman flight:

The next Superman ride:

Look what's next!

This is the rickety bridge you have to walk out on...

Taylor walking out:

Off she goes:

Walking out...to the point of no return:

My turn.  Okay, not the best camera work but it turned out alright considering the camera was just dangling from my chin strap...and at least it didn't hit me in the face!

This makes me giggle...how the scream goes from terrified to elated:

We headed out for our night hike at 8:30pm with a company called Kinkajou, after that cute little mammal we saw dead on the road a couple days earlier.  The first creature we saw was an active sloth high up in a tree having some dinner, chewing on some kind of foliage.  This was followed by a variety of insects including a tarantula, small frogs (one even called a “pygmy frog”), sleeping birds some of whom looked like a feathered ball the size of an orange, a green viper snake on some branches not too high above us and finished off with a kinkajou moving around in a tree back near the tour company’s office.  It was a nice way to finish off Monteverde.

 A tarantula in his home:

Cute frog:

In the center you can just make out the sleeping puff ball of a bird, he's so puffy it looks like the branch is stuck right through him:

That's a poisonous green viper snake up in a tree...so we did the wise thing and stood underneath it for a few photos...

This is a big soldier ant.  The guide got him to chomp down on this big twig...

In order to show his strength...the ant is holding the stick by himself!

And here we have a scorpion eating a nice spider dinner:

While I was back in La Fortuna I spent almost an entire day researching about sailing from Panama to Colombia, a common option utilized by backpackers to bypass the Darien Gap, the dangerous section of jungle that separates the two countries.  The other option is to fly but why would you do that when you could spent 5 days on a boat including 3 days in the gorgeous San Blas Islands.  The trip can be amazing or downright scary depending on your captain and the boat and I have finally settled on a Swedish captain in his fifties on a 64 foot boat that he custom built.  I received confirmation of the trip while in Monteverde and my departure date is February 23^rd so it’s almost time to leave Costa Rica and check out some of Panama before sailing off into the sunset.  Time to head off to Turrialba to raft down the Pacuare River…