Adventure Girl!

So, despite the fact that I am in the middle of my long mileage days, I decided NOT to run over vacation. I mean, I needed a vacation from training too, right? Running 6 marathons (and 6 half marathons) in three years is a bit draining, no matter how much fun it is.

But that doesn't mean that I sat on my butt all of my vacation (just most of it).

Bill and I got a bit of a workout by doing an all day excursion through Alltournative Off-Track Adventures. And it was pretty cool!

We met in the lobby of our hotel early in the morning to meet our guide and the other people who would be in our group that day (there were 7 of us...they keep the groups small, so you aren't waiting around all day for people to do stuff). We hopped in the van and headed out into the Mayan Rainforest.

Here, we hiked through some VERY rocky (and hilly) terrain. At one point, we had to walk along a skinny rock wall, and I was pretty sure I was going to fall into the pit. In fact, the whole tour I kept thinking "Watch your footing. You can't get injured this late in the season." I sort of felt like the whole day was a pretty good balancing act (good for those core muscles)!

When we got to our first destination, we geared up in harnesses for our first activity...ziplining!

Me, All Geared-Up

We then hiked up this cliff to get ready for launch. No one volunteered to go first, so I did! (I had done ziplining before on an entire ziplining tour, so I was not afraid). However, I looked out over the cliff and it looked MUCH higher. I also realized that when I did this last time there were wooden platforms, and brakes (we had to brake this time by putting a stick on the top line and pulling down to create tension), and I'm pretty sure they launched you backwards so you couldn't see anything. They were also very safety conscious...like "Make sure you hold onto the connecting line!" This guy told us to let our arms go, and not be a wimp. The big expanse and height over the water was a little scary. He was like "OK...Jump!" And I said "Like, now?" And before I had a chance to think, he said "What, you need a push?" And pushed me out! I let go and it was AWESOME. I did have issues braking, and about knocked over two guys as I came in, but that made it more fun :)

Next, we hiked through the jungle again to a cenote (which is basically an underground sinkhole). As we were walking our guide thanked me for going first (from this point on, he only referred to me as "Lara Croft"). He then said "And you're going first for the rappelling, right?" Uh-uh, no way. I could handle ziplining, because I had done it before. Rappelling? Forget it! I needed to see someone else do it first.

Before we went into the cenote, we were blessed by a Mayan Priest in an incense ceremony which was kind of cool.

Then, I had to listen really hard about what to do for the rappelling, because our guide was making me go first. At least this time, Bill and I could go at the same time. It was actually really, very fun! I had a lot more control over the whole thing than I thought I would (like, I could control how fast/slow I descended). At the end of the 65 feet, we dropped into inner tubes where we could explore the cenote. The water was freezing, but very refreshing (did I mention how much I was sweating at this point?). The coolest thing was all of the bats that were flying around.

At the end of our time in the cenote we could either get pulled back up the 65 feet, or climb up a rope ladder. I chose the latter, of course. But here's the thing. You didn't actually use the rungs of the ladder that much because your weight was distributed all wrong. Instead, you went up sideways. It took a whole heck of a lot of arm and ab strength, so I was glad that I was in shape. I was slipping off the ladder at times, bats were flying around my head, and my arms were shaking like crazy. I think I scared Bill to death. And 65 feet is a LONG way. (As I was telling Lauren this story, she pointed to a building and said "That's like 7 stories! That's like THAT building right there." It is weird to put it in that perspective.) But I did it! I was proud of myself.

But oh no, our adventure was only half over. After that, we headed to a lake where we canoed for awhile. Then it was time for our traditional Mayan lunch and back into the van to visit Coba (the tallest Mayan Pyramid).

We went on a little tour with a Mayan guide, who told us about the pyramids and ballcourts on the grounds. It was cool. But to get to the pyramids, he suggested taking a bike or a "Mayan Limo" which was basically a rickshaw. Bill and I opted for the bikes (I haven't ridden a bike in 12 years...and the last time resulted in permanent scarring.) It was AWESOME. I loved riding a bike. (Uh oh, triathlons next?)

The pyramid was so HUGE. And we were allowed to climb all the way to the top, which we did, but then I looked out along the rainforest and kind of sort of freaked out. (Let me mention, there are NO railings or anything...just a rope, if you want. I don't think you would ever be allowed to do this sort of thing in the states because of the liability.) So, I came back down on my butt. Just when it started to pour down rain.

Coming down from the pyramid

Back to the bikes, then back to the van, then back for two well-deserved shots of tequilla. Pretty fun for a day's workout. Plus it sounds impressive, because we did:
• hiking
• ziplining
• rappelling
• climbing
• canoeing
• biking
• more climbing

Awesome. Oh yes, and my arm/back/ab muscles were totally sore the next day from that climb.