Zip-Lining

When I was a kid, my friend, Carlyn, had a rope swing that hung from this huge maple tree in her back yard. The way it worked was you climbed up onto this big fat branch, grabbed the rope, and down you went, like Tarzan, swinging from a vine. But here's the deal. I don't think I ever actually took that ride because it always looked so far down and I was terrified of it. So I ask you, what in my history of experiences, could possibly make me think that I should take a Zip-Line Tour of the Mexican jungle canopy? I have no idea, but last week I decided I couldn't live without trying it.

I invited all of the crew from Faith to join me, but no one would because they're afraid of heights. (I won't name names, but you know who you are.) I invited people from other boats. George and Sue wanted to go, but had too much to do before taking the Puddle Jump. A few people were deterred by the cost. Others fell back on the old, "I'm not comfortable with heights" excuse. To my credit, I never called one of them a sissy. To their face anyway.

That left only me; so off I went. At the Vallarta Adventures office, we buckled ourselves into an open-sided truck, driven by a head-banded character who never stopped talking. Fourteen strangers, seven on each side, trying not to stare at the seven on the opposite side, as we traveled for an hour out of town and up into the outlying mountains. It probably would have taken only half the time if the truck hadn't had to slow from 60 mph to 0, every 2 miles or so in order to navigate the speed bumps, which apparently is Mexico's answer to controlling traffic speed. Their law enforcement can't be bothered with radar guns. They're packin' uzis. 

When we got to the turn off for the canopy tour, the road changed to a steep climb of dirt and ruts. Naturally, the truck transmission began slipping and couldn't make much headway up the hill. So the driver sent the photographer, who was riding along up front, out to get a huge rock to place behind the back tire of the truck in order to get some purchase on the road. But that didn't work. So we all got out and walked the rest of the way, with the promise that we would have a truck to take us back to town by the end of our tour. 

Once we arrived at the tour site, we were outfitted with our gear. I had 

a moment of trepidation, wondering if "the gear" was going to fit around my thighs. I noticed a couple other women looking a little worried, but as it happened, the straps were very adjustable. Next came a little demonstration of how the zip-lines worked, how to control your speed, plus a little pep talk to get the crowd excited. Didn't work all that well. Turns out those women weren't worried about their thighs. They were scared stiff at the idea of zipping through the trees with no net.

The five guides assured us it was totally safe, and that we would all have a wonderful time. Don't they look reassuring?

We hiked up to the first zip-line, a narrow little treehouse-like platform. 

Somehow, I foolishly agreed to go first. 

I could see the next platform in the distance through the trees, so at least I knew where I was heading. But it was a long way down to it. Paco hooked me to the zip-line and said, "Are you ready?" I said I guessed I was, so... I went. And it was awesome! I couldn't believe how fast that thing moved down the line! Do you think it has something to do with how much you weight? Anyway. As I flew along, my eyes were glued to the next platform, and more importantly, the comforting sight of the guide who was waiting for me! Once I was firmly on the landing, he clipped my safety line to a rope which encircled the tree, and then unhooked me from the zip-line. We were never without the safety line attached to something. Nice plan. 

We got to zip about 10 lines, and got better and better at controlling the speed so that we would land "gracefully" on each platform. Easier said than done. If you didn't apply enough brake (and I should state here that your brake is nothing more than a heavily gloved hand on the line above your helmet) you would just about knock the guide out of the tree as you landed. If you applied too much brake, you had to get yourself to the platform using hand over hand along the line. And in that case, the guides give you the business and refer to you as a pinata. You know... hanging from a line in the middle of nowhere. (At least no one had a stick to beat us with.) I will admit that I was a pinata, at least once. 

 

The last part of the adventure was repelling down from the final tree platform. This was quite a bit different from the zipping. I knew you had to control your speed with your right hand by gripping a rope, but of course, when the guides demo for you, they show off a bit, and it looks like they are dropping like a rock. In fact, it was very easy to control your speed as you descend. As you can see, I look totally in control! :-)

 

My one regret was that there were very few insects or wildlife of any kind for that matter. It was pretty dry. Apparently, the rainy season of June, July, and August, are a better time for bugs and stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and believe I have redeemed myself from my cowardly behavior all those years ago!