Ah, yes, sunrise at 5:30 am. OHMYGAWD. This is the day. Nancy and I were both up a little earlier this morning, dressed, enjoying the view. Our green tour guide was supposed to meet us here, but never showed. We later found out that he was driving up from San Jose, fell asleep and drove off the road. The plan was for him to meet us the next day in Liberia on our way back to Arenal and the active volcano. It was a couple of hours by bus, with Fabio at the wheel. Breakfast was again at 7 am, check out was pretty easy as there were no charges and on the bus to the Canopy Tour at Kazm Canyon. We stopped in Liberia to find a battery for Sandy's camera. Fabio was great, as it appears very few stores had the kind required, and we had to stop a couple of times, including the local big supermarket where Keri found these awesome dutch chocolate fudge cookies that she had had years ago in mexico. She even shared. :) Sandy finally was able to find what he needed, and on we went.

So, the canopy thing. This is similar to what I pictured, actually I expected more of a gondola, based on pictures I had seen during my costa rica online surfing.

That's not what I got!

We got there and they had us sign a waiver, which included "can stand on a 3' x 3' platform 5 stories high without hyperventilating, nausea or fainting." !!!! Uh, what? Pondering that, we were geared up in our very own harness, complete with gloves and helmet; we were not to touch any of the equipment. Later this day I remembered the word "ayuda", or "help". Then we had a 15 minute hike to the first platform.

So there we were, all standing around, looking at a rope strung across the canyon to another platform. We got our safety pitch, during which the first guide went across, after running down a wooden descent. HE RAN DOWN A WOODEN DESCENT. RAN. I think that's where my heart first stopped and the I felt the first tears. More safety speech. A second guide went across, and my heart sunk and I was blinking back tears and breathing deeply. A few people asked if I was okay. I figured I was because I hadn't passed out yet. But I felt better since everyone else was scared, too, and were kind enough to inform me on the bus ride that morning. More safety spiel. The more the guide talked, the more I calmed down, and the running water below us was a soothing sound for me. Well, until Sandy told me what a hard fall it would be into shallow water. :) But I was a trooper. Just listened to the water. There would five zip lines and one tarzan rope. I knew that all I had to do was get past the first section, realize it's not that bad, and be okay. I just didn't want to be first.

At your turn, they hook you up to the rope above, you put one hand behind the pulley to control your speed and your other hand holds on to the rope attached to the pulley. You sit down in the harness on the edge of the platform and go. To slow down, you pull down on the rope, and to speed up, you release the rope. There is a guide on the platform to catch you and to tell you whether to speed up or slow down. And if you don't make it to the platform you have to turn around and go hand over hand to pull yourself there. I wasn't last (yes, I did it!), but I was almost afraid I would be. There were three people behind me - Chris, Nancy and Terrell. I didn't think I screamed on the way over, but I heard otherwise later. Something about a whimper as I left. But it was pretty cool. The scary part was the first part. Once you are off the platform, gravity just sits you down, and you enjoy the ride. I didn't have to pull myself at all, although there were a couple of times where my feet hit the edge, and the guide had to pull me on. Then you stand on tiptoe, pull the rope down with both hands, and the guide releases you from the rope and clips you on to safety cables on the platform. Okay, one down, four to go.

While waiting on platform number two (holding on for dear life), I looked around and ahead to the other platforms, where the rest of the group was waiting, trying to figure out the progression. Chris, Nancy and Terrell all made it over, and we moved on to platform number three. I got to go first, and it was a short one. And the best is yet to come. Between platforms three and four, there involved sideways scaling the canyon wall, down to step on a canyon ledge, swinging on a rope across the canyon to platform four, then upwards scaling the wall to platform number five. I gave my camera to Chris to get a picture, because NOBODY would believe that I did THIS. I made it without looking down. We had the option of swinging back and across again; I don't think so. It was on Platform four that I realized I was fine as long as I had something attached to the canyon to hold on to, not another person, but a rope, a cable, a foothold, anything (no offense to Chris).

As we waited for the guides behind to leapfrog ahead, I was informed that given my position, I was now going to be first across. Hoo Boy! I sent my camera across with the guide as no one had gotten my picture yet. I get hooked up, and this is the LLOONNGG run. I sit in my harness, get my hands into position, and the last thing I hear as I push off: "don't brake". !!! So I didn't. Sandy and Kathy, then Lance were behind me. Lance was Mr. Serious on the way over. You would think he did this every day! Nothing but smiles once he hit the platform.

I noticed my helmet was a little loose, probably due to the hat I had on under it. We went across to the next platform and again I was first. The guide noticed my helmet, and told me (I think) it was bad, but hey, I looked stylish. :) There was a wooden walkway to the next platform, which took us to the last zip line, and my helmet was tightened. Here is where I remembered "ayuda" as I was hooked to the safety lines, and I couldn't get around a tree. So the guide came and unhooked me and to the next platform we walked. Still I was first, and Sandy asked me to get a picture of him going across, and I did. He decided he was going to get pictures of everyone going across, so I asked if he wanted to go first (to get a picture me), but he didn't want to be first, so away I went, and got ungeared. He came across, and since I had his underwater camera, he had to be close, but that was okay, because he let me know when he wanted me to take it. I got out of the way, and the rest of the group made it over. No scratched, no injuries. A pretty good time. We hiked back to the starting point, ungeared and walked over to the Kazm Canyon buffet lunch. Mmmm. Yummy. Pineapple juice for drinks and an italian buffet with noodles, meat or cheese sauce, rice, pork, chicken, coleslaw, veggies, deviled eggs and rolls. For dessert, we had our choice of coconut flan with caramel or layered lemon cheesecake with ginger cookies.

Back to the bus, as we were now enroute to Los Inocentes Wildlife Preserve for some horseback riding. This was a couple hour ride again, but as always, a very nice view. We got to Los Inocentes, and we all had a cabin. Nancy and I got the cabin with the big ants in the bathroom, which I absolutely despise, and Nancy was kind enough to warn me "just in case". And she wasn't kidding! We picked our rooms and dropped our stuff. I took the room with one bed and the sliding door to the back, and gave Nancy the bigger room with three beds. Then she figured out the ceiling fans (no a/c), 1 is fast, NOT 5. Of course, mine worked and Nancy's didn't. Back up we went, sans backpacks for better balance, and were given our horses. Mine was slow and lazy, and I don't think he particularly cared for me, but I won't take that personally. He also kept looking around at me, so I wonder if he was hoping I had left and somebody else was back there? Off we went to see spider monkeys, howler monkeys, three-toed sloths, all in their natural habitat. The guides dogs came with us, because they are the "monkey chasing dogs" and they did; chased them forward to us so we could see them. It took about an hour and half, and a lot of it was just moseying along and looking. My horse, of course, didn't like mud, declines or water, and I was kicking him a lot when we got to those places. He also spent part of the time carrying a snack around in his mouth. ??? Finally, toward the end, he was taking one step to each of my kicks, and the guide behind would have none of that, and did something to make him go. He got moving then I tell ya! Got a couple of gallops out of him whenever the guide was near. I found out later from Chris that the guide slapped him with a tree branch.

We got back before 6 and dinner was at 7, so we all went to our cabins for a shower and a change of clothes. The bathroom had just a shower and a shallow basin (for baths?! not with the ants!), a 7-plus-foot high showerhead and a one-foot-high faucet and water controls. While Nancy was getting ready, I sat outside on the wicker chairs and read Hide & Seek as I was done with Mr. Ripley. By dinnertime, it was pouring rain out, and we took the bus back up the hill. Well, except Nancy, who roughed it, and Lance and Chris who started their walk before the bus got there and got rained on by the time they arrived.

Dinner was a choice of steak (for which they are apparently famous), chicken or vegetarian, with a yummy bean drink, potatoes and rice. Dessert was coffee and tapioca pudding. Back to our cabin we went after dinner, and I read for a while, listening to the wind blow. I didn't sleep very well, so I spent a lot of time listening to the two storms that came through. I also had to get up once and put on bug spray because I was getting bitten!

My thoughts of the day: 1) skydiving is a no brainer (just not from a little itty plane like my brother did) 2) you know the very first scene from Cliffhanger where they are moving across a cable strung across two mountains? I can do that 3) why have I not gone horseback riding before?