This is the eighth in a series of posts, one for each day, of an incredible 2-week volunteer & adventure trip to Costa Rica I took in December 2022. I wasn’t sure this trip would happen, but luckily it did.
After a delicious hearty breakfast, we loaded up in the van. Off to our next adventures, but first, a stroll around the lovely grounds to enjoy the views at the Hotel de Montana. We had a choice of adventures today. You could choose either to go ziplining or take a tour of an orchid farm.
I chose to go ziplining. I have never been, so I must admit I was a little nervous. As we walked up to the eXtremo Park in Monteverde, we signed a waiver & paid. Then we were fitted for the gear—lots of straps, metal clips, thick gloves & a helmet. Next, we get a quick lesson on ziplining basics. Ok, not so bad. Then we set off to climb to the beginning of the eleven (!) runs in this park. I didn’t realize there would be so much challenging hiking, but they were definitely worth it.
The first run was pretty scary, but after that, I found it exhilarating! This park’s zip lines are 600 feet over the forest canopy with 3,400-foot-long cables. As you soar like a bird over the treetops, you can see cows grazing all over the countryside. Since it was pretty windy, we had to double up on some of the runs. The added weight helped to carry us further. Kaz & I teamed up. We had a great run, then petered out at the end. One of the guys came & pulled Kaz in. While I was dangling there, I thought back to the instructions we were given initially. Then I turned around and hand over hand, pulled myself in. Wow, what a rush!
You could try the super(wo)man position on the final run. Yep, head first! I hesitated, then thought, when I will ever do this again. Although the straps dug into my chest after I repositioned them, it was pretty incredible.
We had a yummy lunch after we were done. There were two beautiful scarlet macaws, a couple named Paco & Lola, who would roam around the park. Macaws mate for life, so they were always together. We saw them multiple times throughout the park.
After a fun day of ziplining, we headed to town to explore more and get some tacos for dinner. Luckily, we were right in time for happy hour! The others who went on the orchid tour shared their photos at dinner. Besides learning about the beautiful orchids, they were also introduced to some adorable goats. They also sampled some delicious goat milk yogurt.
Thanks again to my travel mates for letting me use their photos & videos to supplement mine.
I hope you enjoyed my volunteer & adventure trip to Costa Rica, day 8, Monteverde. If you missed day 7, click here. To catch up from the beginning, day 1, click here.
Pura Vida ❤️
Until the next adventure, my friend!