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Going to Extremes

Not too long ago I was talking with a good friend about a new tour. New tour? Sign me up! He chuckled. How hard could it be I asked? All he said was he wanted to see pictures of me getting pounded by the waterfall. I'll show him pictures all right.

The big day

I arrived at the appointed time with my confirmation in hand, registered and was given my boarding pass (don't loose it!). While I waited for the rest of the group I fueled up with some complementary fruit, Danish and cup of java on the terrace with the other Vallarta Adventure fun seekers. Some were going whale watching, others on the Canopy Tour or Sierra Madre Expedition. I have "been there, done that, bought the video". I was going on the newest tour in Banderas Bay, the Outdoor Adventure.

The adventure usually begins when you leave the Vallarta Adventure office in one of their Mercedes Benz Unimogs, the yellow open air trucks you may have seen on the streets of Vallarta. Due to the use of the vehicles on other tours in the morning, we traveled in an air conditioned van. The journey to the adventure site takes about one hour, on the highway to Barra de Navidad. My twelve compadres (half over thirty) for the day were a middle aged couple, a pair of girlfriends, family of three, two students from Colorado, and two buddies that had left their wives poolside at the hotel. Were we up for the Outdoor Adventure?

Once we arrived we were greeted by our five guides, who began by outfitting us with our equipment (climbing harness, pulleys, carabineers, helmet and gloves). We were also given a Lycra shirt, since we would be getting wet and the water is chilly this time of year. We were advised not to use bug repellent, to protect the river, unless we had a natural repellent.

Once we are geared up, we were told not to touch the equipment. If we have any problems or are uncomfortable, we were to ask one of the five guides to help us with adjustments. The real fun began when we set off up hill on mules. During the 20 minute ride I felt like Alice in the Grand Canyon episode of the Brady Bunch.

When we got to the top we enjoyed a spectacular view of Los Veranos and then we zipped along through the tree tops. The next part was a little more challenging: rappelling. Then we slid down a natural rock slide into a pool of water, followed by traversing a rope bridge, then the biggest challenge of the day, a rappel down a waterfall (don't try to avoid the falls to stay dry, you end up in seven feet of cool water at the end.).

Is it for me?

It appeared everyone in the group was moderately fit. Only three of us had previous encounters with rappelling. While most of time we traversed at a flat to moderate incline, there was one steep climb at the beginning (where was my mule?).

Game over

Before I knew it, we were on the hike back to base camp, but not before snacking on some cookies and giving ourselves some well deserved applause. At the base the guides freed us from our equipment, and I changed into dry clothes. Then we enjoyed complementary sandwiches, and cookies at the snack bar.

Now for that picture

I reviewed the photos taken by the photographer, decided on the best two. (Due to the nature of the Outdoor Adventure participants are prohibited from bringing cameras.). Then it was time for a sandwich; after all of that exercise I was hungry! On the ride back to "the real world", as one of my compadres called it, we talked about if we would come back; most said yes. One woman said she would after she lost 20 pounds. I wanted to know if they would recommend it to their friends. Everyone said they would, and I have to agree.

Are you ready for the Outdoor Adventure?

Going to Extremes

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