The pictures are a bit distorted as they're taken with the wide angle setting on my GoPro.
The four of us have a thirty minute walk up the canyon wall to our first stop. Judith hasn't has had much to eat in the past 24 hours and her energy level is low, so we're taking it easy going up. At the first stop we sit down and Drei goes back over some of the instructions and describes the 5 different zip lines we'll be taking. All of them traverse over the Sacara River below. I like the amount of safety instructions.
This is the view from the first zip line.
Once this is over, Drei hooks his rollers onto the line and ensures it's clipped on properly. He clips the safety line on and off he goes. I've never been on a zip line so the noise produced by the trolley rollers as Drei rolls down the line is foreign to me. He's across and standing on the far platform and waives the next person over. Judith looks over at me and I pass. I think I should see how she does this before I try.
Judith clips on and she's off. Soon, she's safely across and it's my turn. To do this type of activity, you have to have complete confidence in the equipment. I did check out how the wires were attached on our hike up and they looked secure enough from my lay person point of view. So onto the platform I go and Tanya begins to hook me in.
I'm not a tall person and this was reinforced when Tanya was trying to hook my trolley onto the wire. Judith only had to stand there and hook in. I have to jump up while Tanya clips the trolley in. On the first time Tanya gets her finger caught between the wire and one of my trolley rollers. Ouch I think, especially since I have to jump up again so she can unhook... She assures me that didn't hurt, but I'm not convinced. It's not a great start but I'm finding it hard to feel sympathy knowing I'll soon be stepping off a platform where my life is being held up by a wire line.
It's over in a flash. So many thoughts are being processed--why am I doing this, I'm really high up, the river is really far down, I don't like the fact that I'm coming in at an angle, the platform is so far away, I hope my camera is on, I wonder how to straighten out, etc. As I near the end of the zip, I see Drei spread his arms and I take my brake hand off the top of the trolley and brake. Then I see Drei cross his hands over his chest. I've braked too much and remove my brake hand from the wire. I make it to the platform and have my first zip under my belt. There are 4 more.
Judith is in heaven throughout this event. I'm much more comfortable by my second zip--thank goodness because there were so many more to go through.
This is Judith flying off on the last run. Sorry there is no sound. I'll have to figure this out later.
Drei offered to zip on the other line beside me and video me as I zipped along. Below Is the video link. After 4 previous runs, I got the hang of it.
After zipping we came back to the lodge to pack as we had to leave in a couple of hours. The lodge asked us what we wanted for lunch and we both asked for a salad. I asked if we could all eat together and so we did. They're such a nice group and it was interesting to learn about their lives.
We said our goodbyes and I made them snap one last picture which I will send to them.
We got into the taxi to take us back to the train station. Another harrowing ride, but the scenery is spectacular when there isn't a vehicle in front of you kicking up dust.
At the train station we meet Emily who has my memory card reader for my iPad and my memory card. I'm happy to recover all those pictures. Judith and I have time to grab a bite and end up at a restaurant overlooking the river.
On the train there was entertainment. Both Judith and I missed hearing the explaination of what was going to happen but there was a mythical character that came through the car dancing to music. He was grabbing people to dance with him--Judith was his first victim--I could tell she wasn't keen but got up anyways. I had the good fortune to be in the window seat.
Then the other Perurail employees put on an alpaca clothing fashion show modelling 3 or 4 items each. The crowd was clapping to the music the whole time all the dancing and modelling was happening. Hard to imagine this on a Via Rail trip.
The staff took a bow at the end and I managed to take this crappy picture. This was happening simultaneously in each of the 4 cars of the train as we saw 4 of these horse-like characters dancing on the train platform as we were exiting.
We were met at the train station by our tourist company contact. We got in the van and were whisked to our room at the Casa Andina Private Collection Hotel. We've been staying at this chain in Lima and the Sacred Valley; I think the Cuzco one isn't as nice as the others in terms of size and appeal, but it is right downtown and close to the action.
We collect our main luggage from the hotel's storage room. It had been delivered there from our stay in the Sacred Valley. There were weight restrictions that the Machu Picchu porters could carry, so we only bring enough for four days. When I get my bag, one of the locks doesn't work. A call to the front desk gets a quick response and one of the maintenance staff appears with an assortment of tools. He uses pliers to get the lock off. A new lock is on my list of things to buy.
YAY! I'm so glad you enjoyed the ziplining! Looks like fun!
ReplyDeleteLove the videos!