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Highly Strung in Costa Rica

By Walter Glaser

Standing on a wooden platform 85 feet above the ground in a Costa Rican  tropical rainforest, I looked down at the jungle floor and wondered what I was doing here.  In front of me a disturbingly-thin-looking wire stretched into the forest canopy.  Before I could really start to let apprehension turn into fear, I felt a tap on the shoulder. This was not the time for contemplation. The others on the platform were all looking at me. Time to launch!

It only takes a split second to leave the security of the platform and head for the unknown --- whizzing down the wire into the canopy ahead --- and the minute my toes lost contact with the sturdy timber boards and I found myself suspended over the jungle, the adrenalin started to flow. This was adventure indeed!

Adventure is where you find it. When we booked our Costa Rican cruise on the high-tech, computer operated four-masted sailing-cruise-ship, the Wind Song, we had not expected adventure travel. Luxury? Yes. This ship has won award after award for outstanding cruising in great style. Being small --- only 150 passengers maximum --- makes cruising on the Wind Song  more like traveling on a stylish private yacht, and its size enables it to get into small ports and bays that cannot handle other, larger ships.

Costa Rica also has an enviable reputation for its flora and fauna with a very forward-looking conservationist policy, and we looked forward to exploring the tropical coastline in style. But then we saw among the many shore excursions being offered by the ship, one that looked irresistible. I quote in part from the brochure.

"Tree-top Canopy Tour in the Rincon de la Vieja National Park --- a scenic drive of about two hours will transport you from sea level to the 2000 feet high Rincon de la Vieja National Park.

Once at Rincon de la Vieja, a short 20 minute hike will take you to the first platform, which is accessed by climbing a ladder.  Here is where your adventure begins! You will see the rain forest as you have never seen it before.

You will be hanging from the trees between platforms, providing you with not only an exceptional view of the forest, but with a mysterious wonder, experiencing the sights and sounds of the tropics. Recommendations: insect repellent, camera and long pants, NO FEAR OF HEIGHTS!!!".

That was it! The moment I read that description I knew I had to go. Afterwards I thought that this was probably a classic case of "Fools Rush in Where Angels Fear to Tread", but by then it was too late, I was committed.

As we came ashore that morning, our  bus was waiting. It was a very warm day along the coast when we departed for the ride into the Costa Rican inland and up into the tropical rainforest. Climbing higher and higher, we drove along the road which varied from  reasonably good in some parts to quite bone-rattling in others. Soon the banana plantations of the coastal areas gave way to cattle and coffee, and eventually we could see the rainforest covering the mountains above us.

Still further on up the mountain we entered the forest arriving at a small motel-type hostel which was the base for all those who planned to experience this adventure. Here we were taken over by our 'minders', a group of extremely  well-built young Costa Ricans who proceeded to fit us out with the same type of harness worn by rock climbers. We were told to leave behind anything that could fall out of our pockets, our jackets, our hats and our sunglasses. The serious part of the adventure was about to begin.

We started by climbing up a track into the mountain at a pace more suited to young army trainees than this normally-sedate adventurer who was twice the age of many of the participants. Occasionally we would stop at a particularly interesting tree while our guide explained its importance to the local ecology. As we went deeper, the trees became taller. First 60 feet, then 80, then 120, as the narrow and somewhat tortuous path lead us further into the green jungle.

And then we saw it --- a tree that must have been 200 feet tall, a ladder attached to its trunk and a platform 80 feet above the jungle floor. "Who wants to go first?"  said our Costa Rican guide in good English. Nobody responded! "OK then! You --- that group of eight over there can lead the way!" I was trapped! A strong rope was looped through the harness of the first member of our group. "It's a long way up to the platform " said our guide, "and just in case you should topple off the ladder, we want to make sure that you don't get hurt. We haven't had any accidents here, and don't want to start with you."

Now it was my turn, and I started to climb. All eyes were on me. I thought I could read their minds. Could this geriatric old idiot make it? By the time I was halfway up the ladder,  the same question was crossing my mind. Onward and upward, onward and upward! My arms were starting to feel tired. This was fine for the others --- they were young and fit. But the only exercise I had excelled in recently was lifting a fork to my mouth. How would I manage once I was up there?

After what seemed to be an eternity, I reached the platform and managed to lift myself up onto it. Soon others were standing alongside. One of the tour-leaders was now clipping his pulley onto the fine braided steel cable tied around our tree and running horizontally into the distant jungle canopy. "Tilt back and balance your weight in such a way that you are always feet-first as you travel along the wire. And make sure that you don't start to spin and that you don't hit any of the trees that you pass", the first of our 'minders' explained.

"Now it's time to put on those heavy leather gloves we gave you.  They are for braking. If you find yourself going too fast, there's a danger of coming into the tree at the other end at too much speed. So slow yourself down by lightly rubbing your glove against the wire. But don't grab it too hard. I'll be at the other end waiting for you. My buddy will see you off." The sentence barely over, he pushed off the platform and went whizzing down the wire at what seemed like break-neck speed. His buddy pointed to me, gesturing  to hook my pulley on to the wire. For a split second I thought my knees would turn to jelly. I was next! Could I cope?

Fortunately, there was no time to think! The pulley was clicked on, I  did not dare let the wave of panic that was threatening me be seen by the others on the platform, and before I knew what I was doing, I had pushed off and was racing down the wire at an unexpected speed. 

From 85 feet above the jungle floor, one really does get a fabulous view of the tropical rainforest. Trees loom up all around, the vegetation below you is so thick in parts that it seems impassable. Butterflies zigzag their way from vine to vine, and impossibly long-beaked toucans glide from tree to tree in the far distance.  But on your first trip "down the wire" you notice none of this. All you can hear is the screaming of the pulley as it races along. And all you can think of is that you're being held away from death by only one plaited strand of wire. The platform you are heading for looms up on the next tree, and you realise that you are going far too fast. And there's the rub! You think it's time to brake. And that's when you get your first surprise.

My heavily-leather-gloved hand reached up to the wire above me exactly as our 'minder' had shown me. Everybody makes a mistake once in a while, and now I made mine. I grabbed the wire too forcibly! The leather gripped, momentarily dragging heavily on the `wire, and I thought my arm was being pulled out of its socket. Instantly I let go, but I had slowedown too much. Though unhurt, my arm felt as if it had been stretched to twice its length. And almost at the same time I had reached the lowest spot in the slightly sagging wire and there was now not enough momentum to carry me up the rest of the way to the platform some 30 feet away. I had come to a stop, and the guide on the platform ahead was now calling out instructions. "Swing yourself around so that you are head-first toward the platform. That's good! Now pull on the wire hand over hand and drag yourself up to the platform. You can do it quite easily!".

As I huffed and puffed, laboriously hauling myself aver the longest 30 feet  had ever had to cross in my life, I remembered the punch line of an old Mexican joke that ran "easy for you, difficult for me". But when, at last, I finally  clambered on to the platform, I felt a warm feeling of achievement. I'd made it! It had been a great experience. Tarzan had nothing on me!

I looked for the ladder to take me from the high platform on the second tree down to the jungle floor. But there wasn't any! Instead, the only ladder from my platform went up to a second ledge 30 feet higher. From there, another fine wire ran out into a further part of the jungle. I asked if that was the end of it. "No way!" He said. "There are 16 sections along the wire.  You will get some wonderful views of this rainforest."

I'm sure my suntan disappeared instantly. Another 15 sections? How would I be able to cope with that? Discretely I asked if there was another ladder down from one of the other trees. The reply was in the negative. Everyone would have to do the whole stretch before being able to leave the rainforest canopy.  But the next section was not nearly as daunting. I had learned from experience, and this time when my glove touched the wire, it was without excessive gripping. That slowed me down perfectly and the second platform was reached without any drama at all. Now I had some confidence. Even at speed, the fourth stretch seemed easy. By the fifth I was able to look around and admire the rainforest as I sped through it. Now I could notice the birds and the various kinds of vegetation. It was breathtakingly beautiful as well as exciting. I was now relaxed, and proud at being able to manage. No further doubts, no further worries about this adventure.

During the few minutes that we spent on each ledge we were able to chat among ourselves. The others with me were feeling the same way. The younger ones had  taken this much more in their stride, but even they felt much better as one platform after the other was passed. 

We could really see the fabulous jungle.  Orchids that had made a home for themselves in the forks of old trees were blooming, their beautiful, exotic flowers beckoning to the insects. Colourful bromeliads created splashes of red among the green.

Vines, straight out of a 'Jack and the Beanstalk' story, twisted their way into the high forest canopy from the jungle floor. Occasional palm trees were laden with the small berries that our group leader said were the favourite food for the toucans. Each platform revealed its own fascinating secrets. And then it was time to again launch on to the wire which, by then, had proved to be a trusty friend.

Too soon we were approaching platform 16.  And then it was over! Down we came off the ladder, back we walked to our bus. We relaxed over a Costa Rican barbecue-style lunch, downed some good Costa Rican beer and then it was time to return to the ship. There were to be many other excursions, all of them enjoyable. But the one that took me high-wiring over the canopy of the Costa Rican jungle will always be one of life's highlights.

Resources

Cruising in Costa Rica:  One of the best and luxurious cruise lines on the coast of Costa Rica is Windstar Cruises, operators of Wind Song.  For further details check their website http://www.windstarcruises.com.

Best Time to Go:  Costa Rica is almost directly on the equator, so the weather is similar to Singapore and does not have a great deal of variation.

What to Take:  Take cameras, far more film than you think you will use (Costa Rica is very photogenic) and take loose, comfortable cotton clothes, wide-brim hats, plenty of block-out, and proper walking shoes.  In San Jose our recommended hotel is the Marriott, set in rural surroundings and built in an old Spanish hacienda style design.  Excellent service, excellent food and fully air-conditioned.

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