pablo

well... it's high time i tell you about the major highlight of our trip to mexico :D matt, cas, david and i went on an outdoor adventure. it was totally awesome.

1) at noon we arrived at the vallarta adventures office where we boarded a boat with approximately 25 other people and rode across the bay for about 40 minutes. we were able to see all the resorts, old villarta, and all the surrounding mountains.

2) we got off the boat and into safari trucks in a group of 12. they were really cool trucks. we sat in the open back strapped in, holding on to handle straps that hung from the roof. we rode thru the back roads of mexico, passed little farms and stray mexican dogs for about 30 minutes.

3) then we arrived at our final destination. the guides were very energetic, funny and friendly, i liked them immediately. there were 5 of them, and all were very professional – except the one guy who kept hitting on cas and flirting with me, but he definitely knew how to do his job. we got on our harnesses and helmets, then were taken to mount some mules. we rode the mules up the side of a mountain for 45 minutes. they were sturdy and tired – it was their 6th trek that day.

4) then the excitement began ;) – i know, already it had been pretty fun. we went ziplining!! we were on a hike that involved about 9 ziplines and 3 rappelling drops. none of us had ever gone ziplining before. it was really awesome. some of the heights were (i can't recall exactly, and numbers aren't my strong suit, but i think it was something like) 290m high. cas had been really nervous beforehand because she's afraid of heights. after her first zipline she had a big rush of emotion – a mix of excitement, happiness, fear, etc – that she cried! it was awesome :D it WAS really exciting, and the view was phenomenal. i was a little uncomfortable jumping off the first time because it's so counter-intuitive even though one's safely strapped in, but for the most part i was fine. some of the lines were long and high, some short and steep.

5) the rappelling was fun, i'd done that before, but it'd been over a decade. david and i stood at the top as cas decended, it was funny to watch because she kept her eyes pointing up the whole time, as though they were functioning completely separately from the rest of her. the rocks were slippy because we were decending down a waterfall, and we landed in a pool of water at the bottom. from there we took another zipline right into a bigger pool of water and got completely soaked. my shoes still cough out little pebbles from that watering hole from time to time.

6) we marched on coming to a free-hanging bridge where we had to walk out one at a time, then rappelled straight down in mid-air. again my body felt reluctance to step off the edge, but it was very safe and i felt confident in the guide holding my rope.

7) as we hiked we came across several rope bridges and made our way thru the mexican forest. when we arrived back to the base camp we got changed out of our damp clothes (we'd brought a spare set and left them there), then ate the complimentary salsa.

8) we were the last trope of the day, and although usually the trekkers go back across the bay in the boat, we were taken thru the back roads and the city in the safari trucks. i much prefered that. we were able to really see a lot and take in the environment. it was awesome. it was fun because our guides were in another truck being driven home and we waved good-bye to them as they got dropped off at their homes.

it was really fun – a great day. i almost wish i'd had the chance to write this entry immediately after arriving back at the hotel because so much of it has been lost already. we bought the cd with all our photos on it, so that helps jog my memory. i've uploaded most of them onto flickr (click here), so take a look thru those for sure. i know it's cheesy, but a photo really does say a 1000 words.

she's a very special girl,
the kind of girl you want to know.
she's a super freak.