This is part 5 of our adventures in the Xplor park in Mexico. The
first thing we did was the zip lines, and it included two of Rob's
fears: 1) fear of heights and 2) fear of open stairs (with no front
riser) - which is how all 7 towers brought us up to the top where the
zip lines were.
There were 2 Zip
Line routes,each with 7 zip lines. I think they were both about 150 feet
off the ground. The one we opted for, UM, Tom opted for, had the water
slide in the middle of the route.
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| Sprite's butterfly |
SIGN FROM SPRITE - Anyone who reads our blog
knows that on July 8, 2013 we said a sad goodbye to our 16 1/2 year old
dachshund Sprite. The week that Sprite passed, a yellow and black
butterfly followed us around daily. Friends who read about Sprite's
butterfly encountered the same kind of butterfly right after reading
about it. As we were going up the first Zip Line tower, I (Rob) was
dealing with my anxiety from my fear of heights. As we got to the top of
the (open faced stairs) and to the tower platform, suddenly a yellow
and black butterfly flew around my feet and lingered for a short time. I
KNEW it was Sprite and I heard "don't worry daddy, I'm here to protect
you." That gave me the courage to do all of the zip lining.
What's odd is that it was the ONLY yellow and black butterfly we saw the
entire day. All of the other butterflies were blue with black outlines
on the wings, and one orange butterfly. There is no such thing as a
coincidence. This was a message from Sprite when I needed to hear it.
ZIP LINING - I
let Tom go first for the most part, but sometimes I had to go first. It
was easier to watch him and keep my focus on him as I zipped over 150
feet over the ground. After the first couple of times, it wasn't so bad.
THEN we did the water slide.
THE WATER SLIDE - After 2 zip lines one of the towers led to a water slide. I wouldn't have minded
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| What going down the slide looks like>>> |
it so much if not for THREE things. 1) The water was really cold. 2)
Twice during the slide forceful jets of water shot in my (and Tom's)
face on the way down. (Tom said it should've been toward the feet not
the face) 3) at the bottom it dropped you into a 4 foot pool and I
wasn't expecting that, so my head went underwater and I got a snoot-full
of water. But I got over it all quickly enough and went back to the
next zip line.
END OF THE LINE - ANOTHER SOAKING --
By the end of the zip line route, there was another wet surprise that I
didn't expect. The last zip line ended in an underground pool in a
cave! Yes, it's cool... BUT
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| This is where the zip line trail ended |
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| We survived the zip lines! |
the guy at the top of the zip line tower said to
me that I didn't weigh enough to get me into the cave. He was right. At
the mouth of the cave was a waterfall (a strong waterfall)... guess
where I stopped - YES... right UNDER the waterfall. I couldn't see and
had to try and paddle into the cave. In addition, the water was over my
head (I'm only 5'6") and I don't like it when my head is underwater,
especially when I can't see (I had to also leave my glasses in the
locker).
It was a challenge because as you can see by
the photo, it was about 50 feet from the cave mouth to the employees
helping disconnect the cables from the zip line. Fortunately, Tom weighs
a little more than me, so he came through the cave opening without
issue.
NEXT: FINALLY, A BEACH DAY!
THE WATER SLIDE - After 2 zip lines one of the towers led to a water slide. I wouldn't have minded
