Adios Mauricio!

6:00 AM - El Salto
8:30 AM - Sky Trek + Sky Tram Zip Line Tour
2:30 PM - Jeep Boat Jeep

We started off Sunday, May 22nd by getting up at 5:45 AM using our airport-purchased watch/timer/alarm with the hopes of doing "El Salto" which is a free rope-swing 10 minutes from our hostel where the locals hang out. We were doing it so early because we could not go after our Sky Trek + Sky Tram Zip because we would be leaving for Monteverde. Here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iS0DGtgw88

However, we didn't end up jumping. It had been raining the previous 12 hours so the water was running pretty heavy. Also, there were no locals there (obviously) so we didn't chance the safe and unsafe areas of the water in terms of rocks beneath. I was thinking of going and was actually holding the rope ready to go and just prayed for wisdom on whether or not to jump. Just as I opened my eyes, Sauer showed me a guy in the woods staring at us. So we left. It was still a nice morning walk to start our day.

At 8:30ish we were picked up to go on a Sky Trek Zip Line Tour for $76. The ride was once again very bumpy (far worse than US dirt roads) and we arrived by 9:15. From there we got our gear (yes mom, we wore helmets too) and headed up what is called their Sky Tram. (Side Note: All of this takes place in full view of the volcano and among Costa Rica jungle.) The Sky Tram is a gondola-style ride to the top of the mountain, through the trees. Beautiful. We actually saw spider monkeys climbing trees! One of the employees told us that he's been riding the Sky Tram for five months and had never seen them. Once we reached the top, we enjoyed freshly squeezed mango juice and prepared for zip-lining.

There are eight zip lines. The first two are about 30 feet and are for practice. The last one is about 50 feet and is for the photographer to get a snapshot of each zip-liner. That leaves 5. I would say each was over 1200 feet long with the longest being almost a mile. You get up to 47 mph during the fastest zip line. It is a HUGE adrenaline rush. They picked Sauer, then me, to go first on the first long zip line across the jungle (300+ feet above the ground). Essentially you ride through about 30 feet through the jungle and then the zip-line stays level while the jungle becomes a steep valley and you find yourself dangling very high in the air.

They teach you (I, Austin, should have listened) to lean far back and to keep your legs bent and knees up. On the second long zip line, I leaned forward for a while to get better views. This caused the wind to catch my chest, turn my on the zip line which caused friction on the line and ultimately slowed me down. I stopped short by about 30 feet from the ending platform, while most flew into the platform and took advantage of the smooth breaking system they have. So, as taught, I had to embarrassingly turn my back to the platform and pull myself to the platform. Luckily, i had gone second so no one really saw my failure. It also happened to an 85-pound girl and a pretty big guy, except those two failed in front of the 20-person group :) Needless to say, after this, I exhibited perfect zip line form.

Actual zip line we did, for real:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzPMUO-TRts

After the ride back from Sky Trek, we collected our already-packed (we did so at 7 AM) bags and had about 1.5 hours before the Jeep Boat Jeep. First we went to the bank to withdraw some cash, then went to the supermarket for more water. Afterwords, we again chatted with Mauricio (hostel owner, who already is Sauer's FB friend) and both ate two ham + cheese sandwiches to eat our previously purchased groceries (back when we figured we would be staying there for 5 days, not 3). We gave Mauricio chocolate covered cashews that we had purchased at the Sky Trek gift shop (while I ate chocolate covered pineapple and Sauer ate chocolate covered coffee beans). Mauricio was very grateful. To return the favor, he gave us chips and rice and chicken (even though we were already full) which tasted great. Then the Jeep Boat Jeep guys arrived. We said goodbye to Mauricio and headed off!

We took a 30 minute car ride (in a tourism van with 6 others) to Lake Arenal (which is a man-made lake that produces 45% of Costa Rica's power through hydro). We took a boat across the lake and hopped in a tourism van for 2 hours to Monteverde. Thus, Jeep Boat Jeep, get it? The ride was pretty rough but we made it. At the Sleepers Sleep Easy Hostel owned by Mauricio's brother, we have a great view and nicer room (with warm showers!) all for the same price. For the third time, we saw the older german woman who is traveling around the world for a year (she's staying in our hostel) and we saw the five-some family at the grocery store that had been in our Desafio Mambo Combo trip from Arenal. Crazy.

We bought some juice, bananas, water, and jam and are preparing for our all-day hike at the Monteverde cloud forest tomorrow. Goodnight!

Austin & Matt

ppl we see