Asbell Adventures in Costa Rica

¡Hola Amigos!

While staying in the "Rincon de La Vieja" area, we opted to go ziplining again - otherwise referred to as a "canopy tour." Typically, these tours involve wearing a safety harness and getting strapped onto a thick cable so you can "zip" over the canopy of trees from platform to platform. And, speaking of "platforms," I always enjoy the Spanglish used by tour companies!

Because you are often 100 feet off the ground, and expected to perform some tricky physical maneuvers, they start by giving a safety lecture.

We have ziplined before in Costa Rica a few times, and the first couple of zips were pretty basic and not far off the ground, so we were feeling rather confident.

Mike looks like he is having a great time as he zips over a beautiful, and very deep, river canyon (look below him!).

But then, we discover that we are going to be rappeling from one very narrow platform (about 2 feet wide) down 50 feet to another narrow platform - all over the deep river gorge!

This shows the narrow platform, with Nico about to rappel down.

This shows the platform to which he is rappeling down - with the river below!

This shows the platforms from a different angle.

Nico wanted to be first, of course - imagine that?!

Just for fun, they dropped Mike quickly, rather than poco a poco!

Thankfully, they were much kinder to little Kiana!

I was last, and petrified at this point! I had the guide double-check all of my equipment, and begged him to go slowly!

Going slowly was a mistake - I thought I would NEVER reach the lower platform!!!!!

I was SUCH a happy camper to be released from that rappeling line!

But they didn't even let us catch our breath before we were swinging like Tarzan from one platform across the canyon (and over the river!) to another platform!

Now if you look closely, you will see black spots on the canyon wall behind Nico. Those would be footholds, because the next physical challenge was to rock climb that vertical wall!!!!

This is what the wall we had to climb looks like from a distant platform!

Nico went first, naturally!

Then, Mike went alongside a guide.

Kiana followed Mike, valiantly trying to climb the wall without help, but was eventually pulled to the top by the guides.

Deanna brought up the rear, so to speak (!), and has no idea how she did it, as her hands were basically faucets of sweat on full blast!

Once we made it to the top of the climb, we "zipped" over to another platform, seemingly hanging in the middle of the air.

Nico and Kiana were the first two to zip over, and were alone on that platform in mid-air for at least 20 minutes! I have no idea why it took so long for the guide to zip over to be with them, but I was an emotional wreck worrying that Nico would try some crazy stunt, or dare Kiana to do something she shouldn 't!

Like mimic the moves of the guides, who love to hang off the edge of the platforms!

Below is the view the kids had of the rest of us, from their midair platform.

From that platform, we had to climb down to a VERY narrow ledge, from which we would flly like Tarzan once again across the canyon, and over the river.

Can you imagine our primal screams as we swing across this canyon, suspended 90 feet over the river?

Deanna thought she was having a nice, comfortable swing, until the guide wasn't paying attention, and didn't seem to "catch" her on the other side! Check out the facial expression!

Once we finished playing Tarzan, we climbed a wall again, to our final ziplines in the canyon.

I was quite happy to be near completion of this marathon canopy tour!

Of course, just for kicks and giggles, we opted to "zip" upside down the last line!

No nasty comments about my back side, unless YOU are willing to try this!

After all the physical exertion required for the canopy tour, (as well as emotional stress for some of us!), we were treated to lava mud baths and natural hot springs. We started by using paint brushes to "paint" the lava mud on our bodies.