Monteverde II

May 20, 2011

                Laura and I booked our adventure-filled day last night, and the first thing on the itinerary was bungee jumping from the highest platform in Latin America (http://www.monteverdeextremo.com/).  The bus wasn’t arriving to bring us to the jump location until 10:30am, so we decided to eat an early breakfast (included in our $11/night B&B stay!) and walk around downtown Santa Elena.  We toured a few of the local shops and bought our first souvenirs of the trip.  Unfortunately, we found that the prices for many things were not much less than we would pay in the states which was a bit disappointing.  They have some very pretty wooden items that are made locally, however, so I might have to go back before I leave J.

               

               We made it just in time to grab some last minute items and head back to the reception office before the bus picked us up.  Two of the other guests at the B&B were also going to bungee jump.  Apparently they had been zip lining the day before and enjoyed it so much they wanted to go back and try something else.  Of the four of us, Laura was the only one to have done it before and she was the most scared to go.

                

                There were tourists buzzing all around the place. We checked in, met our “jump master” and headed to the platform.  The jump takes place off of a cable car that runs to the middle of a gorge and stops, and the instructors only take two at a time.  Since Laura and I are similar in weight and the two other guys are a bit heavier, we had to go together so they only had to change the rope once.  So, off we went and on the way they handed me my helmet (complete with attached camera) and a set of gloves.  They explained how I would have to grab a rope and secure it to my harness once I stopped bouncing in order to get me back onto the tram and let me play with that.  I went first and jumped on the first countdown – Laura took a bit longer, but apparently not as long as her first jump.  By the time we got back to the platform the clouds were rolling in and it looked like it might rain any minute.  Luckily it held off for the guys as well and started shortly after.

On the platform waiting to get strapped in :)

Me and Laura on the tram ride out to the jump spot

Gone!

Me, just after clipping the rope onto my harness that would hoist me back onto the tram

View from the tram

                

                Our next adventure was canyoning.  Again, Laura had been before but I hadn’t.  We were picked up at the bungee place and brought to our next stop where we were outfitted with harnesses, helmets, gloves, and rain jackets since it was raining and a little chilly.  We hiked from the reception center to the top of a line of about six waterfalls that we would be rappelling down.  This is where it gets a little strange.  We had two guides (one at the top, one at the bottom) and along our hike one of them disappeared and apparently turned on the water that would flow through the canyon as we were going.  Laura went first on the first descent, and although she has done this before a few times, she looked like she was struggling.  Then I went.  I haven’t been canyoning, per se, but I have used the equipment for rock climbing, ropes courses, etc. and this wasn’t in the best condition.  They apparently leave their ropes outside so they were wet and worn which meant we were getting hung up on them rather than being able to smoothly descend at our own pace.   Then, on the last fall, the rope was not quite long enough for us to reach the pool at the bottom on our feet – our guide (one now, as the other had left) told us to grab the rope with both hands, and we were dropped into a lovely, stagnant pool of water.  That was it.  We left, told everything to our host at the hostel, and at least he seemed sympathetic.  He couldn’t give us our money back as we had already paid the company, but he offered discounts on other tours and said he would send a “secret shopper” in to see if they had a similar experience.  At the very least, it was an adventure ;).

   Me - those rocks were slippery!            

                 The B&B was next for a hot shower and change of clothes before we headed out for a night tour.  We hopped on a bus with about 12 other people already on it and headed to a nature preserve.  There we were given flashlights and put on our rain coats.  We headed into the forest as it was beginning to get dark and our guide, Bernard, pointed things out via flashlight and laser pointer.  We saw a walking stick (stick insect) that was nearly a foot long, an orange-kneed tarantula in her burrow, several lizards, a couple of two-toed sloths, and loads of insects.  We also saw some bioluminescent mushrooms growing on logs which we had to find in pitch black darkness without our flashlights on while trying to follow one another on a narrow, slippery path.  That was interesting!

Giant walking stick

Orange-kneed tarantula in her burrow

              

                  After the tour we met our new friends from the jump, Will and James from England, in the common area of our lodge for a game of cards.  We taught them a few, they taught us a few, and we got to learn some British vocabulary in the meantime!   While we were playing, Jose, our host at the B&B came in and asked if we'd like to see a sloth.  We had seen one from a distance during the night tour, but there was one hanging from power lines in the street and eating from a tree hanging over them right outside the lodge!  

Sloth outside B&B - apparently they are deaf and have terrible vision so this little guy didn't mind us hovering around and taking pictures.

Despite the canyoning, it was a fun day all around.