Day 7 Zipping at Hacienda Baru

Day 7 – Our driver halts the cab in the road to point out one of Costa Rica’s famed giant blue butterflies, sailing gently overhead before it disappears into the rainforest. At Hacienda Baru, our guides Juan and Juan Carlos, harness us into the gear for zipping through the canopy forest and we hike with 6 others to the first platform, passing a sloth and a toucan on the way. Once again we realize we are probably the oldest people on the tour partaking in what some would consider a dangerous activity. I am nervous, but quickly relax under the careful hands of the guide as my harness is attached to the first zip line. Once attached, the harness allows the rider to sit back with hands positioned on the metal hook apparatus before the guide assists with lift-off. Zipping from one platform high above the tree canopy to another platform is thrilling, even for someone like me who avoids amusement park rides! In all, eight zip lines are traveled by our group between hikes through the rainforest.

Returning to Lookout Inn, we finally meet the owner, Kate, a very personable and capable woman in her 40’s who apologizes for the mix-up that greeted us on arrival. Kate fills us in on some of the difficulties running an inn in this part of the country, confessing that six years ago the area lacked electricity, phones, internet, and the unpaved roads were traveled by donkey carts.