Zipping about in Monteverde

What a rush! It´s our first full day here in Monteverde and we booked a zipline tour yesterday when we got here in the early afternoon. 

The morning was spend on a hike about the Forest Cloud Reserve. It was pretty cool today so I had to put some layers on. I miss the sun. Haven´t seen much of it since Lima really. Our guide David was sooo knowledgeable. He knew the diff bird calls and even knew how to do the bird calls, knew the diff kinds of plants and their medicinal properties, little facts and figures here and there ... I wish I can retain stuff like that! The hike took from about 8 am to 12 pm. We saw quails, monkeys, hummingbirds, millipedes, birds, ants, etc. Seeing the spider monkeys was a treat through his telescope as we saw the baby monkey up on the trees playing and David said it was pretty rare to see them on the hikes so I felt privileged to take a peek in their world there. The hike took so long that at the end, us girls ended up sprinting the stairs - incline - cause we had to pee so bad. It was like the Inca Trail all over again but the goal was to pee.

After visiting the reserve, we walked down the road 5 minutes to the restaurant to have a speedy lunch and got our gear on for the zip lining . They had lockers for your things and I would totally recommend using it as you don't want to carry anything while zipping around the 11 diff zip lines there. They won't allow you to go a head with a little backpack etc anyways. You can carry around your camera but make sure it can be stored in a zipped pocket or somewhere safe.

We took a quick 1-2 min bus ride to the starting point where we met Elvis and his team that will be helping us go through the zip lines. They went through the safety tips and how to instructions. It's pretty simple ... pull to break, you should have one hand behind the pully to balance, make a circle with your index and thumb, etc. Still it doesn't help when you are nervous! I was so nervous about this (which was weird that I didn't feel the same with rappelling ). I went on the first run and wasn't too bad but I didn't get a chance to catch my breath before being hooked to the second one. It was just so nerve racking for me as I continued from one zip line to another ... but when I saw the 5th one ... I swear I wanted to hurl! I mean visually ... it's stunning ... you're going through the clouds ... but the thought of going through and not knowing where the end ended ... like omg! I was told after that it was about 600m in zipping and it was high above the jungle. Eva was infront of me ... and I saw her only for a few seconds and then she disappeared into the clouds ... in my head I was like sh*t! I should get a taxi (a taxi is one of the professionals to go zip with you in tandum). But I got all this way here on my own with my nerves so just do it! That's what I kept saying to myself anyways. So he hooked me up and gave me a push and all I can tell myself is don't look down (or else you'll break and they have to save your ass in the middle of this long zip line) ...just look ahead ... but all you see is the zipline on a cloud background ... and no end in sight! I had to keep it together. You don't know how happy I was when I saw the landing! LOL

The funny thing I was still nervous through all the zip lines until we reached the 3rd last one ... which was the Tarzan Swing ... they pretty much hook your legs together and you hold on and swing through the trees etc. You had to climb the stairs to a platform first. Everyone had gone except for 4 people. I wasn't going to go but it's really just a big swing so I convinced myself to do it. While Elvis and his buddy hooked me up, I was asking questions and talking hoping to delay them lol but it didn't phase them at all. I kept asking if I needed to jump off and they were like no just bend your knees. In my head I was like it doesn't make sense cause you need to leave the platform somehow. So when the time came, Elvis said, "Bend You Knees" so I did and they nudged me over the edge and I swung down then forward and up. It was crazy! I had a delayed scream cause I didn't except the nudge lol ...but it was sooo fun! I needed the Tarzan Swing as I was more relaxed for the last 2 zip lines. I still like rappelling more than zip lining :)

Sorry. Didn't take any photos. We didn't bring a camera in case we would lose it.