At Turu Ba Ri Park in the Central Pacific Region of Costa Rica, zipline canopy tours are taken to the extreme. Imagine flying over a jungle ravine like Superman and you almost have the picture. There are dozens and dozens of such tours all over Costa Rica - it’s one of the most popular forms of tourist attractions in the country. Starting at the top of a mountain, steel cables are strung between the treetops and they go tree to tree down to the bottom of the mountain. A platform, much like an open tree house, is built atop the tree at each cable junction so you slide from platform to platform on the cables (ziplines) through the top of the jungle. A rock climbing style harness is worn. A short tether connected to the harness is secured to the cable at each platform by a steel carabiner (an oval shaped clip). Then you just sit back and zip along powered by gravity as the carabiner slides down the cable.

Turu Ba Ri offers half day and full day canopy tours - the shorter tour has 11 cables, the longer has twice as many. My wife, Karen and I chose the shorter tour so that we could explore several of the other adventures in the park. After fitting the climbing harnesses and helmets, we followed our park guide Victor and met up with the canopy guides Nestor and Rosa at the base of the first platform. We climbed a few short flights of stairs to the top of the wooden deck and Nestor demonstrated how to clip into the line and how to stay centered n the line while descending. The key, he said was to lean back and hold one hand in front on the tether. If we started to go off center, he told us to use the back hand and just gently push against the cable to straighten out. We could also push slightly down on the cable with our hand to slow down. We wore heavy-duty gloves with thick padded palms to protect our hands from burning on the cable. Nestor clipped in, leaned back, lifted his feet and disappeared down the line. Upon reaching the other platform he radioed to Rosa to send the rest of us down. At the bottom of the cable, the carabiner hits a rope that slides along the cable, adding friction and working as a brake. Rosa clipped me to the cable, gave me a little push and off I went. Yee ha!!!!

The jungle became a blur as I zoomed down through the lush vegetation. As I looked around I finally saw the platform at the bottom. The tiny pinpoint of a deck appeared to grow in size exponentially as I neared it. I worried that I might be going too fast. Just then the braking device engaged and I slowed to alight on the little tree house at an easy walk. Nestor unclipped me and then I clipped to a safety line attached to one of the railings. He called Rosa and told her to send Karen down. I looked up along the cable as it disappeared into infinity. And then Karen came into view, a little dot at first. She was off center on the cable and ended up spinning around and landing backwards on the platform. “How’d you do that?” I asked and she shrugged her shoulders. Victor followed and then finally Rosa . We climbed down the platform and walked along a short trail to another station and repeated the process. Victor told us all about the trees and the ants and the birds at each stop; we forgot it all each time we zipped down the cable. It was just too much fun! And for some reason, Karen could just not stay centered on the cable, always leaning or twisting to the right. She said it was because she was too short to reach up to the cable behind her to readjust. I joked that maybe her bottom was denser on one side than the other. She gave me a look that would freeze even the heart of the devil. I added that to my list of things you don’t say to your wife, even in jest.

Two adjacent cables were strung at the last station, giving Karen and me the opportunity to zip down next to each other for nearly half a mile - the longest cable run on the canopy tour. Karen started off first, pitched to the right in a rather un-aerodynamic position. I leaned way back and straightened my legs to make a low profile. As I caught up to her she started laughing and we rode side by side. I then pointed my toes and lay down as flat as possible and accelerated away from her. Wow, I thought, you can go really fast on these things! I’d find out later you can go even faster!!!

At the bottom, we bid adieu and Rosa and Nestor and followed Victor on a nature hike through the park. The tour included a cactus garden, a stroll through a collection of over 150 palm trees and a walk through the jungle. Victor stopped and showed us a small Fer de Lance snake curled up inside a large leaf. The Fer de Lance is the most dangerous snake in Central America . Its venom quickly goes to work paralyzing and killing the muscle tissue and spreading through the body. The species has killed more humans than any other reptile in the Americas . Karen asked if the park has had any problems with the snakes. Victor said the snakes are nocturnal and safe as long as you don’t step on one accidentally during the day. He quickly added that the trails are checked each morning to clear the paths of any dangerous animals. We walked about another half mile and spotted another one hiding in the leaves. Yikes! It’s a good idea to stay on the trails and not wander off into the jungle in Cost Rica. “And by the way,” Victor said, “don’t touch that tree it will make you itch like crazy.”

Victor then led us through an orchid garden, a collection of Bamboo, a Bromeliads garden (species of the Pineapple family) and an amazing butterfly garden with butterflies of all sizes and colors. The park also includes a working sugar plantation where we tried the raw cane sugar…. very yummy and chewy. We continued onto a garden maze. While Karen and Victor waited outside, I followed four dead end paths before finding the center of the maze. It then took me another four tries to find my way to the exit. We finished the tour with a cable car ride back up to the top of the park for the best adventure of the day - the Cable Sensational.

The Cable Sensational is one of only three in the world, the others being in South Africa and France . An 1150 meter (3,773 feet) cable extends across the Tarcoles River Valley . We climbed up several flights of stairs on a tall tower behind the main visitor center of the park. Several other guides met us and measured us for harnesses similar to those worn in hang gliding. The harness covers the entire torso to provide full body support when laying face down. I stepped through two leg loops then wiggled up through shoulder straps. I then laid face down on a table as the guides tightened the straps and attached the harness to an over head cable. It connected at two points, one near the shoulders and then another near the lower back. This two-point system prevents any rotation and keeps you straight when flying down the cable. The table overlooked a metal gate leading out to a spectacular view of the valley. Victor told me to watch for a brakeman on the other side of the table and to stick my arms out to the side when the brake-man raises a red flag. The small amount of drag created by sticking your arms out helps to slow you down at the far end. I donned my helmet, pushed by feet against a stirrup at the back of the harness, glued my arms to my sides and told them I was ready. One guide opened the gate while the other lowered the table. I went flying out of the tower like a bat out of a cave. It was amazing. This is how Superman must feel. Without having to worry about staying straight, I could look all around as I accelerated over the verdant gorge hundreds of feet below. I could see birds flying below me and look up and down the valley for miles. As the far tower came into view I watched and waited for my signal. The brakeman raised the red flag and I shot my arms out. I could feel myself decelerate. Upon reaching the far tower, the brakeman ran hard to pull a loop over the cable to cause a controlled stop. When I got out of the harness the only thing I could think of was… AGAIN! What a total rush!

The guides radioed up that I was off the cable and Karen began her descent. I watched and watched and she finally came into view. Even though I knew she was zooming along, she appeared to be moving slowly. It wasn’t until the brakeman raised the flags that I could see how fast she was going. Really, damned fast! She spread her arms to slow and joined me on the platform giggling and smiling ear to ear. Victor followed and asked if we wanted to do anything else in the park. They also have horseback riding. It was much too hot and humid to even consider going for a ride. I would have loved to ride the Cable Sensational again, but it was getting late. We also felt the call of the swimming pool bar back at the Fiesta Resort. So we thanked and tipped Victor and returned to the resort. On the drive back all I could think about was flying.