Costa Zipping Rica

Discovered by good old Chris Columbus in 1502 and named Costa Rica (Rich Coast) because he thought he discovered a land of great riches. I was lucky enouth to get his photo standing on the dock. Oh wait a minute, that's Cindy.We decided to be adventurous today so we took a canopy tour. It's a zip line through the jungle high up in the canopy of the trees. Connie and Frank are modeling their zip line gear for all of us to see.We have done zip lining before in Hawaii but this was a little different. In Hawaii you zip across a gorge to platforms on either side of the gorge. Here in Costa Rica you zip line from tree to tree. The platforms on the trees are 60-100 feet above the jungle floor. Once you reach the platform they tether you to a rope around the tree. The platforms are only about a foot wide and are wrapped around the tree. It's not bad when you are one of the first ones to get to the platform but when you get six to ten people on that same small platform it gets a little hairy. You can see in the next photo how Cindy is tethered to the tree.Our last 2 photos are of two of the zip line instructors showing us how to do the zip line. Oh wait a minute. I recognize that blue shirt and those big feet. That's Cindy and me (hard to tell us apart from the instructors) showing off our skills.

A few more little tidbits about Costa Rica: Their main export product is of all things, computer parts. Sun Micro and Intel both have big plants here. Costa Rica is a major exporter of coffee with 47% of their coffee exported to the United States. They do not have an army or navy and the literacy rate is 97%. The country is home to many US and Canadian retirees.