Selvatura ~ Either "Really Good Timing!" or "Scare the Crap Out of Ourselves Day"

Read the guidebooks!
They ALL say "No trip to Costa Rica is complete unless you do a zipline tour!"
Really, they all say this.
Or the one I have does.
I think you could fly to Costa Rica and fly back and your trip would be complete... but your fun and experience would not.

Anyway, after reading (but apparently not the fine priint) the brochures we headed up the hill to Selvatura.
A complete adventure park!
Hanging bridges!
Butterfly garden!
Frogs!
Ziplines!
Every way to empty your money belt of colones!
Gift shop!
Insects!
Nature walks!
We wanted the ziplines.
Ziplines only, even though they wanted us to buy more.
We got there just in time to be added to a tour.
A "tour"?
You mean there were specific times a day?
Only three?
Oops - got lucky and walked right into it.

Alan, Jim and I had done this when we were here four years ago.
It was the four of us and three zipline dudes.
Two to assist and one to take pics.
This time it was 40 of us and 8 or 9 interchangable tour dudes.
Completely different experience.

We sent Alan first to show Susan the ropes ziplines.

Fifteen ziplines.
Lots of laughter.
A couple people got stuck.
One lady had to have a tour guy go with her.
Scared, really?
I think she thought he was cute.
Kids laughing.
Everyone smiling.

Gross sweaty gloves.
Up hills.
Up steps.
Zzzzzzzzzziiiiinnnnnggggg sounds as people flew across the canopy.
Me with a totally smelly, sweaty (and not my smell or sweat) helmet.
And then the big, long ones.
The last couple lines were really, really long.
Especially the last one.
It was really, really, really, really, long.
Maybe one more really.
So long, they send you tandem.

Probably for a few reasons.
So you can't spin!
Which can be way dangerous (ask Jim how close he came to trees...)
So you don't get stuck in the middle and have to be rescued (ask Alan and Susan who didn't quite make it to the platform)
Time-wise to get all these tourists across and it doesn't take the entire day.
So you have backup to see the landing platform when your eyes are tearing from the wind (ask me who's legs were being blown sideways from the wind).
So you have backup to see the landing platform when you are laughing so hard you are crying (ask me about this too).

So when the guidebooks tell you "No trip to Costa Rica is complete unless you do a zipline tour!", I think they are pretty much right on.