This morning we headed straight up to the Monte Verde biological reserve. We met our guides up there, and they were the same ones from last night so we knew that they were good!!
The animal spotting started in the car park, with our guide setting us up with a tarantula. As much as I hate spiders, I still feel the need to look at them and take photos. Crazy!!!
We started on a trail....and within a minute we had already spotted a hummingbird nest with chicks in it!! Within 5mins we had then seen a male quetzal. These birds are rare and very hard to find!! And we are lucky enough to have seen one straight off the bat!! You never know what Mother Nature is going to throw at you, so today must be a good luck day for us!!! We saw a lot of plants, insects, reptiles and another tarantula. We then spotted another quetzal... this time a female (this is my blog cover photo). She's not as beautiful as the male, but still stunning in her own right!! We really did have the best luck today, to not only see one quetzal, but to see a male and a female that is some crazy luck right there!!
We also saw a raccoon look alike, which was pretty cool!! He was high up in the trees. I thought that I had missed out on getting a photo of him.... but after reviewing my photos this afternoon I can't believe my luck, I did capture his head!!
We finished our trail, and then went over to the hummingbird garden. They had sugar water out for the hummingbirds, and there were so many of them. They were flying past our heads so fast....all you could hear was the humming of their wings as they breezed past your ears. It was just like a hummingbird airport!!! They were coming and going.
We then went and waited in the carpark for the second group to come back. I was just about to start walking towards the bus, when another guide came up to Sue and I and asked if we wanted to see a baby armadillo?? Hell yeah!! It was the smallest and cutest little thing I had ever seen. It didn't appear to have its hard shell yet!!
We grabbed the others from the bus, so that they could see the armadillo as well. After a quick photo shoot, we finally made it to the bus. The driver was nice enough to drop us off in town so we could grab a quick bite to eat.
Then back to the hotel so we could get prepared for our afternoon activities.
This afternoon I was picked up at 1.30 and driven a short distance to another forest. This time I was not going to walk through it....nor spot animals, rather I was going to fly through it. This afternoon was zip-lining day. I haven't done it before, so I might as well do it here!! And there's no better way to do it than go all out and do the extremo version!!
So one of the most extreme things was the minivan ride to the actual forest. Speedy the third, coupled with dirt, steep narrow roads leant itself to an interesting journey. The minivan also had no suspension, which left me contemplating why I didn't put a sports bra on this afternoon.
We made the 30min drive in about 20min. Next stop, getting fitted for a harness. I'm glad that my guy was paying attention and checking everything!! Some of the other guys were talking and laughing whilst putting on people's equipment... which made me wonder whether they were really paying attention or not. Not my guy, he was all business!! I felt completely safe. Next stop, instructions on what to do when on the lines, like where to put your hands, how to brake etc. Now this is where I paid very close attention!! The only thing that made me nervous was when he said that if you stop before the end of the line you need to turn around and pull yourself to the end using your arms. What if I'm too weak?? God knows that I sure as hell didn't do any bench presses before I left, which is evident by the fact that I need help lifting my luggage above my head!!
The time then came... first zip line. It was a short one. I was off. My mind was telling my arm to grab onto the line which kind of jerked my arm a couple of times.... yep, that was wrong. The second line was the same. I just had to override this urge. By the third line, which was a really long line I finally got the hang of it! Straight through!! I picked up so much speed that the guide had to tell me to slow down!! It was so much fun!! We negotiated 14 zip lines in total. Each one bigger and better than the one before. By the end I was just zipping down those lines so fast.
We then came to a section which was a repel. Although when I say repel, it was actually just a sit in your harness whilst they lower you down. No big sweat at all. This then lead to the Tarzan swing. Holy crap this was cool. They essentially dropped you off the edge of a platform, and once the rope had picked up all the slack you swung like Tarzan. The initial drop I would say would be 15-20m and then you swing up as high as about 40m. All I said on the way down was 'wow' and then when I started swinging it was 'I'm flying like a bird'.
And for my final trick I did the last zip line lying down like superman. By this stage the clouds had started to roll in. Off we went one by one...disappearing into the clouds. It was such a beautiful experience, flying into the clouds, not really sure what lies ahead or how much further the zip line has to go. Pure bliss!
We then hiked our way back to the reception area. The hiking up the hills and stairs was definitely the hardest part of this whole experience. 2.8km of pure steep climbing meant that by the last hill up to superman my legs were burning. Although I knew that if I stopped I wouldn't start again. So I just ploughed on through. But the reward of the zip line after each climb was well worth it. As was the views from the zip line. Rolling green hills, paddocks with cows in them, clouds rolling in provided me with the most stunning backdrop for my first zip lining experience.
We eventually finished our afternoon and caught the bus back to the hotel... this time it was at a much slower and comfortable pace. After a quick change it was dinner time. Another yummy group dinner in town. Great food and great company!!
On the walk back to the hotel....we were making the final ascend to our hotel (which is the steepest road, with the biggest gutters I have ever seen), we came across a guy who had tipped his car into the gutter (ditch). There were about 6 people helping to push the car back up onto the road so he could get out. We thought we would do the right thing and offer some assistance, however they told us to be careful so we thought we better just stand back. Instead we willed them on with our good vibes. Eventually they reversed the car back on to the road.... I would like to think that it was all our good vibes that made all the difference!!! Yep another day in paradise, and a few more things checked off my bucket list. The way that I'm going it will be all checked off by the time I get home!!