Zip-lining

            Today was one heck of a day!!! The group of students from UNK headed on a two-hour bus ride to the jungle to complete a zip-lining course. We strapped into our harnesses, heard the two-minute or so safety talk, and were on our way. I was a little nervous for the first run, but from then on out I thought it was awesome!!! The scariest part for me was the fact that we had to brake ourselves in order to land smoothly on the platform. This meant that you released your dominant hand from the pulley that was securing you and actually grabbed the line above you and held on tight in an effort to slow yourself down. I found this scary not only because if you didn’t break properly you were more than likely going to hit a tree or some other object, but if you accidently forgot and placed your hand in front of the pulley instead of behind your hand was toast. As you zipped from line to line the view was amazing. Everything here is so green since if often rains for an hour or more each day. We were literally flying above all sorts of tropical plants and could even hear birds and other insects chirping. The people who work for the company were great! They were super funny and joked around a lot. On the third line we went on, the worker would wait until you had zipped down for roughly five seconds and then he pulled the line you were zipping on up and down so that you began bouncing in the air! We completed eight different lines before arriving at our “surprise.” This “surprise” was a Tarzan jump in which the workers from the company literally pushed us off and we swung high in the air from side to side. We then had three more lines before a little break. At this point, our group split into two and half of us went to eat while the other half went to complete a different course.

            After completing the first 11 lines, we were two hours into the course and everyone was tired and sweaty. After you complete a line, you have to make your way to the next one which requires some hiking in the rainforest. This uphill feat was no walk in the park. Also, the heat and humidity really didn’t help the situation. When presented with the choice of lunch or round two, I opted for the latter because zip-lining on a full stomach did not sound like a good idea to me. The lines on the second course were even longer and higher above the group than the first. This time around, in addition to hiking up the jungle you also had to climb a few levels of stairs. This meant that you hiked until you saw the staircase that you would zip-line from. When you got to the staircase, you secured yourself to a line to ensure that even if you did fall on your way up the steep stairs, nothing too drastic would happen. The course started out with a “partner jump.” This just meant that you zip-lined alongside a friend. After completing this line we hiked uphill and strapped on some additional gear so we could experience the “superman” technique. This meant that we would be flying down these lines on our stomachs. We were about to face our longest and steepest line yet. The man strapped me in and I was quite frightened. I asked if there was anything I could hold onto and he told me it is best to just cross your arms in front of you. Before I knew it, I was on my way. At first, I was a little scared because since you are lying on your stomach you could not see anything above or in front of you; you could only see below. At certain points it felt like I was going to run right into trees or even at one point I came super close to hitting ground. However, I safely landed and made my way to the next line!

            After our adventure we had some lunch and then hopped back on the bus for the two-hour ride return home. Our zip-lining experience was amazing and I couldn’t help but think of my brothers as it happened. I know that the three of them would love doing something like this! Tomorrow afternoon right after class we will have a city tour of San Jose. I am super excited to see what all is located down in the centro. Then, on Friday afternoon we will live for Jaco. Jaco is a resort located right next to the beach that we will spend the weekend at.

***Just a little tid-bit: My blogs will all be posted at once. I have no internet at my house and when we have activities going on right after class I never bring my laptop to school because it is too dangerous to walk around with. Therefore, even though I am currently writing this on Wednesday night it will not be posted till Friday at the earliest (or else Monday if we end up not having internet at the resort)!

***Also, one other cultural difference is the fact that at grocery stores you are not provided with plastic bags when you check-out. The cashier scans your groceries, places them on the belt and then the customer is expected to pick them up off the belt and put them back in their cart. The customer then either carries their groceries in their hands to their car or pushes their cart to their vehicle and empties them that way.

***We were supposed to get the DVD with all the photos from zip-lining by Friday (today). However, in true Latin American style it will still be awhile. So…I will upload the photos once I get them!

Mary