Costa Rica Day 2 - Monteverde

Our early start wasn't that bad due to a combination of early night and two competitive roosters outside our windows.  Jose brought us a delicious Costa Rica breakfast consisting of beans and rice, scrambled eggs, fried plantains, tropical fruit salad, fresh pineapple juice and strong coffee.

Our ride arrived promptly at 7am and we made our way to Salventura for canopy tours and zip lining.  Because we were there so early the six of us had the whole 3 km of hiking trails and hanging bridges to ourselves.  We managed to take over 2 hours to meander along it, stopping to photograph nearly each and every leaf. Along the way I couldn't help but take a moment to reflect on how thankful I was to be there, to experience the beauty, to appreciate all that I have that put me in a position to be able to make the choice to travel to Costa Rica. I considered how soul soothing it is to be able to leave your slice of the world to see other country, other people, and other environments. Being immersed in the overwhelmingly lush forest really makes me appreciate life and the intricacies of nature.  Even just one day out of my banal life style really pursuit all into perspective and rejeuvenates my soul.  This is why I travel.

After our hike we waited for the next zip lining excursion by having a cafe con leche on the porch.  we were shuffled into a room to get outfitted with a harness, helmet and oversized leather gardening gloves that reaked of previous adrenaline and sweat. We drove partway up a hill and walked the rest where we had a quick introduction to zipline safety: sit back, knees crossed, weak hand on your front rope, and strong hand behind you on the cable.  Never grab the cable in front of you other you will loose a finger.  Okay, let's go!

Our first zipline was considered short and slow...kind of like a test to see if you had listened toothed rules.  To us, it was just exhilarating.  It was about 75 feet long and pretty fast.  We zipped through the canopy easily, with the trees framing our path.  I was grinning like an idiot when I reached the second platform, and my grin then grew even more idiotivpcally as I saw my first monkey trapesing along above us!  I triumphantly shouted to everyone else on the patform about his presence but no one else cared.  The guide sees them everyday, and Sandra was too busy freaking out over the next zip to care about a bloody monkey.

All together we did 13 or 14 zip lines, often from one platform straight to the next, but occasionally with a short jaunt on the ground between them.  I loved every moment, the longer and faster the better.  only Christine and I seemed to have no qualms with the extreme height we were at.  I found it simply interesting to look down and marvel at how heigh we were in the trees, but looking down just stressed the other girls out.  I will openly admit my pride at having no fear of height, especially in contrast to my unreasonable disdained for old water and inability to handle a bumpy car ride. Our very last zip line was a full kilometre long, and although I would have gladly gone on my own, it was necessary to go two by two to ensure we had enough weight to glide ourselves across.  As it was, Caroline and I didn't quite make the platform and had to be towed in by a poor guide. Sandra and Christine were even further back than we ended up and the guide had to take two breaks while fetching them.  Apparently it was a bit too windy when we crossed to maintain the proper speed.  Sandra and Christine sailed straight through a patch of clouds while gliding across, which was pretty awesome to watch.

After all the zip lines were complete we had the opportunity to do a Tarzan swing.  It was really awesome! We bought the pack of professional photos and a couple souvenirs from the gift shop before heading to Santa Helena, the closest little town.

While waiting for the van to come pick us up we had an exciting new animal spotting. Two cotimundi's boldly crossed in front of all the tourists (amidst an explosion of flashing lenses) and began digging for grubs next to the giftshop. They were the size of small dogs with long sleek bodies and tails.  I thought they looked cuddly until they started fighting and let out god-awful screeches.

In town we checked out a restaurant built around a tree before heading to a restaurant for lunch. It is true about beer being cheaper than water here.  I had a filet mignon that should have fed two people, and it cost the equivalent of $14.  Before heading back to the cabin we went by the grocery store for some cheese, ice cream, bread, wine, and fruit (aka diner).  The goal was to watch the sunset over the mountains from the infinitely policy, but when we got home, we found the pool a bit too cold and the sun didn't set over that side of the maintain.  Oh well, we still had a good time around the pool and in the sauna, and of course our little dinner back home. We spent the rest of the night chatting, drinking, and colouring, just as adults are meant to do on vacation.