I'm not really afraid of heights, but I have a healthy respect for gravity. As a child I loved climbing to the highest possible point in a tree, hugging the trunk and let the wind sway the tree and me. I was always the one on top of the playground, jungle gym, swing set or the one who leaned at little to far over the edge for my mother's liking. Maybe its because I'm short that I want to see things from a higher perspective. It wasn't until a trip to the Cologne Cathedral in Germany that my brain and body realized, "Oh, Did you know? You can die up here, this high!?" We had climbed all the way to the top, it was a gorgeous view of a lovely European town, but you could go higher to the bell tower. As I climbed the metal grated (i.e. see through) steps, I could see where we were just standing, the other towers of the cathedral, the ground, and the entire expanse of the Germany Empire (or so I felt) and my body froze. Enter adventure travel. Pretty much every where Adventure Life travels, you can zipline and when we travel to learn about our trip destinations the locals want us to see and experience the best of the best. Enter the zipline.
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By day two on the train, we had reached the Mexico's Copper Canyon, Barranca del Cobre. This canyon is one of the biggest canyons in the world, even bigger than the Grand Canyon. It is 6000 feet deep rather than the Grand Canyons 4500 feet deep. Copper Canyon is not has dramatic as the Grand Canyon but it is far more expansive than it is steep. It has seven major and over twenty minor canyons rather than vertical walls plunging down into one raging river. Sunrises are gorgeous here, becuase all of the canyons there is so much light and shadow play. Photos look neat, but it truly cannot beat the in-person view (even in dry season!). Our goal was to zipline some of these canyons ranging from 150 to 1500 feet high. Again I remind you of my "healthy respect for gravity". The adventure park has the second longest zip-line in the world, a three quarters of a mile in length . I hate to say it but "go big or go home, right?", so I did it. We traversed several side canyons in 7 stations and walk over 2 swinging bridges, which I think were worse than the ziplines! It was all spectacular! The heights never really bothered me even when my fellow travelers tried to shake the hanging bridges as I walked. Then I got creative, I'm kind of a speed freak so I started tucking into a tiny ball to go faster or I would lean backwards, feet in the air to see everything upside down. I was an amazing rush to say the least. I was hopped up on adrenaline for days afterwards; any canyon, ravine, or expanse of space I would imagine a zipline. It was an amazing way to end my Mexico tour and left me wanting to see more! Adios! Click here to read more about Laura's luxury Mexico tour.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.