Grenada Can1

í01.7.31 3:01 pm Grenada Can1

Just wrapped up one of the highlights of the trip: My first canopy tour.

I had this picture in my head of what a canopy tour would be. Up in the trees. I figured walkways and I heard people talking about platforms where I assumed you'd check out animals and have a guide to show you the wildlife and nature.

Anyway, it sounded quite dandy to me.

So when I talked to these Irish people, and they said they were going today, I decided that this thing was for me. I was abit off on the price, off meaning not happy about, it being thirty dollars and I think I've spent a tad too much time with the Irish and de Brits cuz I'm picking up there speech, and instead of saying Awesome they say, of all things, Mental, which means pretty cool so we woke up early and headed off to the Mombacho volcano for our canopy tour. Tour sounds so leisurely.

So we grab the chickenbus to Mombacho, which cost about $.25, then hiked up the mountain for 2 kms then were told, the canopy people aren't here. You can wait for them. Well, the girls (The irish guy had to leave this morning, so he didn't end up coming) told me they'd made reservations, but as they hadn't paid anything, you never know with these things if they'll show or not. And they finally do. Late of course cuz its almost a game to see who can be the most late. And we're thrown in the back of a pickuptruck that has a bunch of ropes and harnesses.

So it turns out Canopy tours are really some crazyass downhill mountain ride kinda ecotourism adrenaline thing.

Which was quite different than I expected. And pleasantly so.

So we get to the beginning, and they strap on our harnesses. One around the waist, then tighen up around your upper legs, so ya can't get out. Same kindda thing as when you rockclimb, for those that have done that.

Then we're given tthis thing which looks like a pulley. And a bunch of carabiners, and a strap, and we go over to this cable thats just off the gorund. Metal cable, kinda like you'd see holding TV towers up. 3/16" wound metal, likely. They said it can support 6000 pounds and I'd believe it. The irish girls, being quite funny as they are, joked that it might not be strong enough for them.

And the guy says this is the test area where you learn how to do this. And the guy shows us and I figure we'd all get a chance but I was wrong cuz he said after that that we were ready to go and lets do the first one and don't worry, its not the fastest one, its the second fastest.

And maybe I should stop and tell ya that when we got to the Canopy "Base" you look up and see the wire, and it goes from One Huge Tree to another Huge Tree. At least a hundred feet off the ground. Distance, between trees, about 300-350 feet. And quite a bit of drop=speed=ya start thinking this whole tthing is a bit crazy and then a girl asks if anyone has ever fallen off.

They said no, but you know someone has. Somewhere, right? But anyway, maybe noone has, but after watching the guide dudes do some crafty tricks and stuff, I'd bet money that people have gotten hurt doing this stuff, and its probably the daredevils and I bet sometime that whatever its called, shooting between the trees maybe, will be an X-Games event cuz it'd be pretty cool.

So anyway, he says, who wants to go first, and I jump right up, and they take my little pulley thing, and strap it to my waist, right below my bellybutton, and then take this other strap, perhaps called the Backupstrap, maybe better called the OhShitIHopeIDon'tNeedToUseThisStrap, and snap it to my waist, and strap it to the cable. Then they strap the pulley thing to the cable. Ya put one hand on the strap right under the pulley. So you're kinda hanging on this wire, from your waist, lying in a reclined position. Your other hand goes BEHIND the pulley. Not in front cuz it could get sucked in. Behind. And you wear gloves with big leather pads, so as not to singe the skin on your hands. Funny that we use dead cow skin to protect our skin and that their skin is that much tougher than ours.