Ziplining in Costa Rica – wow!

So today we did what we had really wanted to do in Costa Rica – not because we had known beforehand that that this was something traditional Costarican (because it is NOT lol) but because it seemed everybody who had ever been to Costa Rica had gone zip lining ;) So we were crossing our fingers as we contacted the company and asked them if Bella and Arild could go – our two “maybes” – Bella because she is only 4 years old (many places said 7 minimum) and ARild because he is pretty heavy (and some places had 230 pounds as a limit). But this place – Hacienda Baru -- http://www.haciendabaru.com -- were more than happy to accommodate despite age and weight and we were all set this morning when we got there (at 11 am that is – not really morning I guess). 

 

The guides met us and said it was a 40 minute hike to the top, and then there was only a 10 minute hike down again. We figured that meant we would hike super high and then zip line to the bottom. Turns out, however, that the reason it takes so long to go up is not the distance, but the fact that this was a guided nature walk as well – in the rainforest – which was above and beyond what we had expected – super bonus for us!

And we were not disappointed – the guides were awesome! They pointed out ant colonies to us (pretty awesome – this group of ants had police officers, workers and soldiers to name a few – the soldiers were super strong! The picture of the guide holding a stick is actually the guide holding the soldier ant who is gripping the stick!!!) – cool! We also saw sloths and monkeys and lots of lizards and got lots of history lessons on the way up to the zips!

 

We did 8 ziplines on this trips, and it was so much fun! The kids had a blast, and even Arild loved it! He was drenched in sweat however by the time we got back ;) It was SO DARN HOT out there today – and we were happy to jump in the pool the second we were back at the house!

Here are some pictures of all five of us ziplining in Costa Rica - we are so happy we made that decision :)