When we woke up the next morning, the ship was already ported in Puerto Vallarta. When we were planning our excursions, the one that Jonathon wanted to do the most was an Extreme Canopy Tour that included ziplining, repelling, rope ladders/bridges, etc. To be honest, the whole idea terrified me. I am not a fan of anything extreme, and I don't love amusement park rides etc. I am kind of a chicken, so I was very anxious about this particular day. We bought the shore excursion through the cruise because we were told that this excursion sold out quickly. Jonathon was completely happy doing anything I wanted while on the cruise, so I bought the tickets to make Jonathon happy and hoped I could get through it and have a good time.
Puerto Vallarta was amazing! Our first two stops were mostly desert areas, but Puerto Vallarta was more like a rain forest. It was green and tropical and humid. We headed out to the jungle to go to our ziplining base camp. It was an hour drive out into rural Mexico. Our group of about 15 split up into 2 different vans that could handle the winding roads and rough terrain. The last mile or two was a bumpy dirt road in the middle of the jungle. It was pretty cool being away from the major touristy areas of the city.
Excited to be in the Jungle
The staff of Vallarta Adventures got us all of our equipment and gave us a safety briefing. What I especially liked about this company was that they had double safety lines on each zip, so that there was little chance of a serious accident. It was too late to be scared and turn back, so I just decided to have a good attitude and have fun. I was apprehensive on the first zipline, but the staff was super efficient and got me off the platform quickly, so I really had no time to be worried about it. I think that was one of their main goals because I'm sure the longer you stand their anticipating what lies ahead, the more scared you get. The initial 10 feet was a little scary, but after that I loved soaring through the trees. It was exhilarating and not scary at all. For the first line, we hiked up a hill to the platform, but for most of the others, the lines started and ended on platforms built in the trees. Some of them were small and narrow, which was a little scary, but the staff always clipped us on to a rope to ensure that we were safe.
We did several ziplines including side by side lines that you could race another person and one line that was over half a mile long. Then we got to the first repel. I have never been repelling before, so this was scarier than the ziplines to me. Just like with the other ones, they didn't give me much time to think and just sent me down. Luckily, both the person at top and the one at the bottom could control the speed of the repel, so even if I didn't know what I was doing, I was still safe. The more extreme things (rope ladder and rope bridge) were optional. Joe, Kym, and Jonathon decided to do them. After a couple of more ziplines, we got to the Tarzan Swing, which was basically bungee jumping, but not upside down. At this point, you could either choose a zipline or the Tarzan swing. It was funny that I started off the day so scared by the ziplines, but now, the zipline looked so easy compared to the other one. I chose the zipline and then watched while the others did the swing. They stepped off (or were pushed off by the staff!) and then screamed as they swung through the air. Jonathon was particularly funny because his expression was of pure terror and his scream was stifled half-way through by the fear. Once he was safely on the ground, we could all laugh about it.
When we got done with one more repel, we headed back to the base camp. They had pictures and videos of all of us that we could buy, but they were ridiculously priced ($20/picture or $90 for all). They didn't allow cameras on the actual tour for safety reasons, but had a photographer taking photos and video every step of the way. We decided that the memory of our adventures would have to do. To assuage the disappointment of not getting pictures, we took a few at the base camp so that we could have something to show for it.
A few minutes later our vans arrived, and we headed back to the city. After lunch on the ship, we decided to go buy some souvenirs for the kids and Grandma and Grandpa. We had browsed tons of local markets for things, and I decided I wanted to buy some Mexican candy and real vanilla. I was a bit worried about just buying it from any random person in the market, but we noticed that there was a Walmart next to the cruise terminal. We decided that it would be safer to buy the food there. They had a whole aisle of touristy things, so we got everything that we wanted. It was a bit funny going to Walmart while in Puerto Vallarta, but it worked out great. The vanilla was so inexpensive compared to the United States, and it smells and tastes so good. Then we headed back to the ship and prepared for our 2 day trip back to the U.S. Ziplining was my favorite (and everyone's favorite) excursion that we did on the cruise. I'm glad I didn't let my fear hold me back.
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