Following our relaxing but seriously inspiring nature walk in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Mak and I were ready to turn the adrenaline up a notch.
While there are a number of adventure tour companies operating in Santa Elena offering everything from leisurely hikes to badass canyoning tours, the choice to do a canopy tour with 100% Aventura (aventura = adventure) was made simple enough–according to the folks at our hostel, it was easily the best value in town.
Their tour boasts the longest zipline in Latin America measuring a whopping 1590 meters (or 5,216 feet…nearly a mile long!) and a massive Tarzan Swing at the very end, just in case your heart’s not already beating out of your chest. If you’re not sure what a Tarzan Swing is, don’t worry–you’ll find out soon enough.
Since carrying your camera during the canopy tour isn’t highly encouraged, I strapped on the ol’ GoPro and managed to get some pretty beautiful footage of our day. I don’t know if you guys know this, but Costa Rica is REALLY green.
First, we hit the shorter ziplines…
…Followed by the longest zipline in Latin America; we were in a face-first superman position for this one (I opted to leave the audio on this next video so y’all can hear me talking to myself like a crazy person).
Do one thing every day that scares the total sh*t out of you.
Ok, so maybe that’s not exactly what Eleanor said. But the message is the same. The ziplining was easy enough; now, in order to protect my reputation as an adventurous traveler, I had to face my real fear.
I had to conquer…the Mega Tarzan Swing. Maybe it’s just me, but there’s something unsettling about being hurtled toward the ground with nothing but a stretchy rope to save you from meeting a grisly end. Needless to say, I was NOT convinced this was a good idea, but somehow I took the plunge anyway.
Warning: If you’re watching this with audio, be prepared to turn the volume down just before the 1:05 mark.
It may not be obvious from all the screaming, but I actually really enjoyed the Tarzan Swing. Would I do it again? It’s possible. Am I glad I faced my fear? Absolutely. Am I ready to take on bungee jumping next? Uhh, let’s not get carried away.
So, that was our day with 100% Aventura! This tour costs $45 (USD) and runs for about 3 hours including travel time to and from your hotel (pickup is included). We thought it was a great value and a lot of fun.
Are you an adrenaline junkie? Would you go ziplining through the Costa Rican jungle?
