| Zip Lining & Recapping: Pura Vida in Costa Rica  Tanya's Daily Scoop CURRENTLY IN: ORANGE COUNTY, CA Howdy guys! While I am glad that it's the weekend and that I've had productive days (which I - ALWAYS - love), it was also kind of odd around here... Ya see, Cosette, Javier and the pups - Boba & Goldie left on Friday morning. And now it kind of just feels like them being here was all a dream. If you recall, they were staying here with us since April of this year, when they moved out of their apartment (and did a buy out of their lease) - deciding that after only a few months of living here in SoCal that they were going to move back up to Seattle. And, if we go back even further as a reminder, Cosette had moved out of the nest and to Seattle in Jan. 2021 (and we definitely won't be talking about how this hit me - but is wasn't good). So now here I am again, with my baby girl living 1,200 miles away - which completely sucks. Now, I'm not asking or looking for anyone to pity me because I have a rather fantastic life and we will still get to see each other often. It is just not the same. And it's not just me, the entire fam bam already misses her presence so darn much. There is just something about knowing that she is close and getting to see her frequently that good for our hearts and soul. With all of that being said, do you remember that we are going to Hawaii in 9 days?! More on this soon. And that does mean Cosette will be back here in 6 days so that we fly to the Aloha state together! Now before we get caught up in the Aloha spirit, I still need to play catch in the Pura Vida spirit... PURA VIDA COSTA RICA - DAY 1 & 2 PURA VIDA COSTA RICA - DAY 3 PURA VIDA COSTA RICA - DAY 4 PURA VIDA COSTA RICA - DAY 5 PURA VIDA COSTA RICA - DAY 6 Here is the next recap of my Pura Vida Costa Rica Trip - Day 7 On this fun and adventurous day, the first part of our itinerary was that we were going zip lining! And not only were we going to go zip lining, but we were going to go zip lining over 11 magical waterfalls!!  Good Morning Folks! Ready for an adventure? (c)travelincousins.com  Another winding road (c)travelincousins.com  The sign wasn't in such great shape! (c)travelincousins.com We drove out to the Adventure Park and upon our arrival we were met by a most friendly and kind pup named Bella - she was a real sweetheart, that we later found out the owner of the property had rescued and practically nursed her back to life - we saw a picture of Bella from a couple of months earlier and she was nothing but a bag of bones. She is healthy, loved and well cared for now.  What a sweet little thing (c)travelincousins.com  Bella is a good girl (c)travelincousins.com Once the we had checked in and had our waivers filled out and signed, it was time to suit up and head out on our private tour...  All strapped in (c)travelincousins.com WHERE ON EARTH WERE WE GOING???  I STILL DON'T SEE A ROAD. DO YOU?  I don't know where we are. But we made it! (c)travelincousins.com WHERE THE HECK AM I?!  Let's now hike to go find the lines... (c)travelincousins.com  Still heading to the trail (c)travelincousins.com MADE IT. TIME TO ZIP LINE.  Bridges too! (c)travelincousins.com FLOOFY HAIR. WATERFALL BREAK. We were so immersed in our adventure through the canopies, listening to the sounds of the cascading waters and knowing that we would be flying over these spectacular waterfalls was nothing short of incredible.  Another beautiful waterfall (c)travelincousins.com GOING IN?  Brrr...this water is cold (c)travelincousins.com  Time for a selfie (c)travelincousins.com THAT'S NOT A ZIP LINE...  What's next? (c)travelincousins.com WELL THAT WAS A SURPRISE! What a great experience and mesmerizing views at every turn. As promised, these scenes have been etched in our memories, and we cannot wait to come back and share this place with others. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and videos that I shared. I certainly enjoyed watching them again. Don't forget to bop on over to Elisa's column and learn all about the history of zip lining and Costa Rica; as well as watching one heck of a funny video of me going across on a zip line and then stopping too soon...and you know what that means! If you don't, then you have no choice but to watch it and find out. The next part of our day was to go check out a couple of the beaches. Specifically Playa Mantas & Playa Blanco. It was a Sunday and they were expected to be quite busy. However it is the rainy season and mother nature had other plans... FINDING THE BEACH  Where the jungle meets the Pacific (c)travelincousins.com  A dry moment (c)travelincousins.com RAINING AT THE BEACH  Trying to stay sort of dry (c)travelincousins.com  Wow (c)travelincousins.com  Lifeguard shack (c)travelincousins.com  Crashing waves (c)travelincousins.com It was definitely storming for a little while. I'm glad we didn't get struck by lightning!! LOL But the wild and rugged beauty of these beaches shines in any weather. Besides, I honestly think I enjoyed my experience better as a stroll splashing in the rain rather than in the sunshine... Am I weird like that or would you like it this way better too? Until the next recap - yup I still have a few to go! Ciao 4 now, -Travelin' Tanya | The History of Zip Lining  Elisa's Daily Scoop CURRENTLY IN: LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK Good day folks!! Boy, am I glad that I enjoyed the sunshine the past few days - I went for several long walks each day, sat in my front yard and just soaked in the warm rays. Today, it's gray, cloudy with on and off rain - ugh. I generally don't mind the rain, but let's face it - what's better than a nice, dry, cool, sunny Fall sweater weather Day?? Nothing.  As you noticed from Tanya's blog today, she is still playing catch up in recapping her Pura Vita Costa Rica trip! I hope you enjoyed her stories about the beautiful beaches that she visited during her visit! And, of course there is her wild and wacky zip lining adventures!! What do you say, we jump into a bit of history about this audacious pastime!  WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF ZIPLINING? Before we get into the backstory and origins of zip lining, just for fun, I wanted to see how this recreation is defined. I found two definitions when I looked it up - The first one doesn't really seem to say anything: "Zip lining - the activity of sliding down a zip line for fun." But, for those of you who are not quite familiar with this adventuresome activity - here is a better description: " Zip lining is an action-filled recreational activity that involves riding a steel cable on a protective seat or a belt between two points and generally on a valley that exhibits spectacular sceneries." Yes!! This says it all! Now who would have ever thought of doing this - I mean, where did it originate and by who? Well, your's truly is going to tell you all about it!  Tanya zip lining in Costa Rica (c)travelincousins.com The history of ziplining is long and varied, with uses dating back centuries in ancient China and Australia. Today, we don't think much about the difficulty of crossing rivers, but way back when, this was not an easy task. For instance, in the Nujiang Valley of Yunnan Province in China, people used ziplines to cross rivers and other hazardous areas before bridges were built. They also used ziplines to transport supplies and goods. In Australia, ziplines were used in times of military conflict as troops used them to deliver food, ammunition, and mail to the front lines. They also used ziplines to transport tools, food, and cigarettes across rivers, gullies, and streams. Historical evidence shows that ziplines were used in the Himalayas and Alps for multiple purposes including transportation. According to Skyline Hawaii, "People living in these regions would hang ziplines to use for traversing dangerous areas. They also used ziplines to receive or send supplies from one place to another. Ziplines in these areas were used as an alternative transportation form to bridges because they were much quicker to build and use."  Tanya Zip lining (c)travelincousins.com Moving forward to the 20th Century, ziplining began being used by wildlife biologists looking for a way to study and explore densely forested areas, namely, in all places, Costa Rica. "Zipping" above, not only gave them a great birds-eye view of the natural environment below, but it allowed this observation to be done without disturbing the environment. Rainforest ecosystems were of particular interest for exploration. in the 1970's As a result, wildlife biologists set up ziplines throughout the rainforest in Costa Rica to study natural events within the ecosystem. ZIPLINING BECOMES A RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY When the biologist completed their research in Costa Rica, the ziplines were turned into a recreational tourist activity. Popularity soared as more and more people embraced ziplining as a way to see and experience the area without disrupting the natural surroundings. Throughout the world, ziplining made its way into mainstream culture as a fun and sometimes extreme sport. Great definition for this: "A zipline is defined as a cable that is suspended above an incline to which a pulley and harness are attached for a rider. The incline of a zipline allows the rider to be pulled by gravity along the line." Here's a few examples of how ziplining grew in popularity for travelers in a variety of places:
DID YOU KNOW THAT THE FIRST ZIPLINE COURSE IN THE UNITED STATES WAS THE HALEAKALA ZIPLINE COURSE IN 2007 BY SKYLINE ECON-ADVENTURES? Today, there are more than 200 recreational zipline courses in the United States. And people do some pretty extreme things - check out these photos of different variations on ziplining:  credit: big island zipline tours  credit: north shore ziplining yoga  credit: travel tales & tips Pretty cool!! But alittle far out for me! Adventure Park Throwback: Back in 2015, Tanya and I went with the kiddos to Ramblewild Tree to Tree Adventure Park in Lanesborough, Massaschusetts as part of our Cousins Niagara Falls/ Toronto Road Trip. We engaged in some tree top climbing and ziplining during this trip.  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  Safety School (c)travelincousins.com  Gianna maneuvering up hight (c)travelincousins.com Well that's a wrap up for today! Have an absolutely amazing rest of your weekend! -Travelin' Elisa |
