Taking the first step... in Monteverde, Costa Rica

Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t - you’re right. Henry Ford.

Climbing up a volcano in Costa Rica got me thinking about thinking. Considering most of us don’t get paid to think about ourselves and our lives, we spend an awful lot of time doing it. Whether it’s daydreaming about improving our current circumstance or tormenting ourselves over the same, we waste hours and hours of days of months doing the one thing that prevents us from actually doing…

Having grown up in an industrial city in England and therefore embarrassingly unaccustomed to long walks through mountains and uneven terrain, I often find myself scrutinising the boots of the person in front of me during a hike, as if mesmerised by the muddy grooves they make with each step. Of course, it’s just a way of working out where to place my own muddy imprint, but I often have to remind myself to stop the robotic imitation and instead look up and appreciate the world around me, whether it’s the view from the top of the Cerro Chato volcano in Costa Rica’s rural town of La Fortuna, or the lagoon at the bottom of its crater.

So, when we went to Monteverde to do zip-lining or "tirolina" through Costa Rica’s cloud forest I could finally just enjoy the scenery. I thought being suspended from a cable 135 metres above the ground by nothing but a harness and moving at a speed of 60km/hr as a result of sheer momentum would be more frightening than it was; but, gliding through a sea of lush green forest in an unfamiliar universe where the clouds beneath you are puffs of green, completely alone - yet part of each elusive second of silence - was unexpectedly peaceful.

And then came the Tarzan Swing. Since age has slowly crept into my life, I have become less and less willing to do anything that may tamper with the number of days I have left on this earth, so when I was asked if I wanted to do the highest Tarzan Swing in Costa Rica: free falling off a platform and swinging to a height of around 50 metres above the ground - I almost said no. But, the traveller’s mantra of trying new things kept ringing in my mind, getting louder as my legs took on a life of their own and walked me along the plank towards the end of reason. Isma’s cries from below, voicing the famous advertising slogan "Just do it!" crescendoed before being cut short by the violent screech of the metal gate opening, signalling me to walk into the empty space between the ground and myself. Without a second thought I stepped into the silence, filling the emptiness before me with an inhuman sound as gravity hauled me towards the ground, waiting to wake up but instead swinging like a speeding pendulum, the comforting green of the forest more distant than ever… So as I was saying at the beginning of this post, we spend a lot of time thinking, but doesn’t experience prove that true agony lies in the contemplation? Taking that thrilling step into the unknown can be petrifying, but surely any step forward is better than standing still?

What we did in Monteverde may not have been life-changing, but when I finally got my feet back on the ground after the most impulsive decision I’ve possibly ever made, I realised that the saying “think twice” is sometimes just bad advice.

(Check out my Facebook page for a video of the jump)

Guess what I found out in La Fortuna & Monteverde?

1. The most famous volcano in the Fortuna district, Arenal, is closed to hikers since it erupted unexpectedly in 1968, killing 87 people. Our guide for the hike up Cerro Chato, the nearby, inactive volcano, was one of the survivors of this terrible disaster.

2. Considered by Costa Ricans as being one of the seven wonders of their country, Monteverde is one of the best highland bird-watching locations in the world. Check out the photos for a picture of the toucans we saw.

3. Costa Rica has an average life expectancy of 77, which is one of the highest in the world. No wonder the expression "Pura Vida”, meaning Pure Life is used by everyone as a greeting aswell as a goodbye.