Happy Friday everyone!
Today I will be sharing a little weekend recap with you. On Sunday February 20th, me and Dan's anniversary celebration continued. I took Dan treetop climbing and waterfall canyoning. I found a great package deal with Finca Model. Dan is a big fan of climbing and neither of us had ever been canyoning before so I thought it would be the perfect Sunday activity. Transportation was included so we were picked up at 10:30 am. It wasn’t too far from our house, maybe a 15 minute drive. We arrived and got our climbing gear all set up. The guides were super friendly and we felt very safe with the equipment. The treetop climbing was first and we were the only ones going so it ended up being a private tour.
Ficus trees are very common in Monteverde and they are very commonly used for climbing. The tree we were about to climb was a 130 foot ficus tree. It was HUGE to say the least. One of our two guides explained how there are three ways to get up the tree and two ways to get down.
The three ways to climb up were different in their levels of difficulty. The first and easiest level of difficulty was to climb through the tree (on the inside). The second was to ascend. I had done this one other time in Peru and it was hard but I was excited to try again! I didn't make it all the way up but Dan did.
The final and most difficult way to get up was climbing along the outside of the tree. This was by far the hardest and it only got higher as you climbed up because the foot and handholds increased in distance. I only made it halfway but again, Dan (a natural climber) made it all the way. At the very top, he had to finish with monkey bars (130 feet in the air!) and then pull himself up onto the platform. The guide told me only 3% of people who try this are able to do it. In short, Dan kicks ass!
My favorite part of climbing was repelling. This is when you can control yourself coming down from the tree. I greatly enjoyed looking at the views and it felt very safe.
After climbing, we had about an hour break before canyoning. We ate our snacks and took a rest on the hammock. Once it was time to begin the canyoning tour, we were fitted with our gear once again. We needed kneepads, elbow pads, helmets, and of course the typical climbing gear. This time, there was one other couple on the tour with us. I was so excited to go canyoning for the first time!
The tour lasted a couple of hours and was comprised of six waterfalls we canyoneered down. I LOVED it. It was thrilling, adventurous, and best of all involved water. It was a rather difficult skill to learn at first but after the first couple waterfalls, I felt like a pro. The technique is a bit hard to describe in words but I will try. Basically, you are holding a rope and slowing letting it go while having your legs straight up against the waterfall.
The fourth waterfall was over 140 feet long! That was the longest and most intense but also the most fun. Overall, I had the best day treetop climbing and waterfall canyoning with Dan. I am always excited to try something new and I can't wait to go canyoning again.
Amazing! What a wonderful way to celebrate the life you are building together.