Another early start! John and I were up early to witness another gorgeous sunrise as we approached Puerto Limon Costa Rica. We had booked a zip lining excursion on the ship since we weren't sure if the locals would offer it. As it turned out we could have done it from shore but this worked out well for us.
It was a gorgeous morning and we checked out the market on shore and the sights and sounds from the pier before boarding our bus to the zip line.
As we drove through this town it became apparent that it was a busy port with containers stored in various places for transport. Apparently ships that do not use the canal, probably due to expense, will drop containers off here to be trucked over to the Pacific to be loaded onto ships from there. This is a narrow country about the size of Nova Scotia. Costa Rica's economy is driven first by medicine and technology, next tourism and then fruit growing and export.
We saw lots of razor wire and bars on the windows and our tour guide told us in the old days the bars were decorative but now they had a different purpose. Like all the places we have visited crime has increased in recent years...yes the drug cartels. What appears to us as poverty may not be exactly correct. Adrian, our guide, gave us a viewpoint that makes you think out of the box a bit.
We arrived at RAINFOREST CANOPY TOUR after a half hour drive to see a platform up high in the trees and huge bamboo trees. There was a lovely little restaurant facility where we would be geared up and given a crash course in zip lining.
The views from here were spectacular and kept me distracted from being nervous. I had been anticipating this for a long time since John and I had decided we would do this long before we left on the cruise. I felt quite safe in this elaborate harness system and was thrilled to learn that there would be a guide at each platform to brake you and hook you up for the next zip.
John went before me so he could carry the camera and take pictures. I felt I would have my hands full just hanging on! He took a couple of videos and it is really funny to hear myself screaming as I approach the platform. You go at a break neck speed and some of the zips are 80 ft. above the ground. I thought I was going to crash into the platform but the guide got the brakes on and helped me land safely. By the 12th zip I was getting the hang of it and wanted to do more...but that was the end! What a riot and I would definitely do this again.
At the end we sat at the restaurant which reminded me of a lodge but in the jungle and had a well deserved beer!
This is a highly poisonous frog! The green dart.
On the way back to the ship I enjoyed looking out the window at the variety of homes, flaura and fauna along the way before reaching town. This was just a brief glimpse of Costa Rica. I would love to go back there and especially to the Pacific Coast.
No comments:
Post a Comment