I never realized how large the Pacific Ocean was until I spent nearly twenty days sailing across it. Miles and miles, of blue water and yet, I still haven’t seen any dolphins… Finally after all that sailing, when our stomachs were really getting tired of ship food, we arrived in Costa Rica.
Now, keep in mind that every port thus far has been either inside a major city or within walking distance to a substantial skyline. Walking off the gangway into Puntarenas we were met by one story buildings cracking at their foundations, the village market selling local crafts and men standing in front of old VW Buses they called “taxis.” We were three hours from the next largest city…
And yet, my time in Costa Rica was by far the most thrilling adventure yet! First off the ship we went on a Canopy tour full of 12 zip lines, which sent you flying thousands of feet off the ground.
Leaving the tour group behind at the canopy tour Jackie, Mark, Steph and I piled into the rickety VW Bus which our driver insisted would get us to the Arenal Volcano faster than any other taxi in town. Skeptical as I was at first, after winding around cliff side turns at sixty miles an hour, I was only worried about getting their alive, not quickly.
I wish I could write that I saw terrifying amounts of violent, spewing lava and that our lives were constantly in danger, but unfortunately I cannot claim any of that. In fact the Volcano was probably the least thrilling part of our trip, since a cloud was blocking the view almost entirely and we could barely see the outline of a cone-shaped mountain.
Our driver suggested a late night trip to a hot spring spa, and even though it was nearly 1AM, we decided to take his advice, not really expecting to be thrilled, just looking for something resembling a shower. Much to our delight, we soon learned that hot springs are like water parks! There were so many cool pools and the craziest scariest, probably really unsafe, waterslides I have ever been on. We all lost our tops…(but got them back pretty fast) We ran around like screaming children for two hours before the Spa finally closed at 3am.
The title of this entry you ask? Well, my answer is a vehement, No. I wouldn’t jump, but I would let someone push me. Yes, bungee-jumping, the one thing I promised my mother I would not do and the one thing that I actually was terrified doing. Skydiving, meh, Shark cage diving… whatever. Bungee is scary!
Mark, (the boy who is terrified of heights), jumped of his own accord, he even made it look easy. Jackie, fidgeted on the plat form but, “Three…Two… One…Jump!” and she did. And Stephanie, I don’t think she hesitated for millisecond.
However, when it was my turn, I stood at the end of the platform. Completely frozen. They counted down probably ten times, and even the public humiliation of Costa Rican laughter would not make me budge. Finally, they pushed me. And as I plunged toward certain death, I couldn’t scream, or shake, or think. I just fell.
Thankfully, I lived and was risen to the applause of about forty tourists and on-lookers. After purchasing our 1st (and in my case last) bungee t-shirts, we headed back towards the ship to conclude our time in Costa Rica.
