In Miramar we found the perfect balance of adventure and relaxation. We started our day with a bit of adrenaline as we headed to Adventure Park Ziplining Tour in Puntarenas. This was the longest zipline tour in Costa Rica, with a total of twenty-five zipline cables over eleven waterfalls. Fortunately, we had some great guides – they often encouraged us to let go of our riding saddles while we were ziplining and also demonstrated some stunts. After riding a few basic zipline cables, I decided to try some stunts myself, including a flip off of the platform. The view from the canopy was breathtaking.

This was my first ziplining tour, and I was very excited to be flying through the canopy of the Costa Rican jungle. A zipline, sometimes referred to as a zipwire or aerial runway, consists of a pulley suspended on a cable (often of stainless steel) mounted on an incline. Generally, it’s designed to carry a person (utilizing gravity) from the top of the cable to the bottom, with harness attachment on a freely moving pulley. Ziplines are more commonly used as a means of transportation in mountainous countries, such as remotes areas of China. In the Australian outback, ziplines are often used to deliver goods to and from isolated locations.

After a four-hour drive along the coastline to Playa Blanca we met Antoine and Laura. We walked along the white-sanded beach and discovered hoards of hermit crabs. Also, hiding under some of the rocks we discovered blue crabs embedded in tunnels along the rocky coast.

As the sun set, we discovered some scavengers at our camp. Although inquisitive and cute, raccoons were known to raid coolers and bags along the coastline of this beach. At one point, I sat kneeling and inching toward them. It was so dark that I didn’t realize how close I was to this one particular racoon. In hindsight, although calm and curious, it was probably a bit dangerous to be that close to them. To deter them, Elba started chasing them away screaming, “No tiene verguenza,” which translates to “You have no shame.” Enjoy!

Please enjoy the ziplining video below:

For more about Adventure Park.

(Trip continued on Day 6)

NOTE: All blog posts, articles, and photographs are the intellectual and creative property of Melissa J. Koziol. Thank you for reading!