Zip Line is exhilarating!

 Holding up my end of the deal (for Alex going SNUBA diving with me), we headed up to the lush tropical Taino Mountains of the Dominican countryside, for a ZIP LINE excursion! Seriously!
So this is the first sight I got once our truck arrived at the welcome center. A very tall grass top structure. I thought, "Well how cute is that, I wonder what that is for. It must be their look out tower to oversee our safety." Buahahaha! I was to soon discover that that very tall structure is just one of the 16 platforms that I was about to "fly" off of...
If you look closely you can see the cable.

Here's our instruction sheet... lol

No,  in actuality there were lots of instructors and safety was their top priority. They spent a lot of time beforehand instructing us on the equipment, lines, what we were expected to do and what we could expect from our experience. Our tour guide was so funny. During all the instructions he was explaining that it is normal to feel reluctant just prior to your first line. He explained that we were welcome to chicken out at any time prior to leaping off the first platform. And if after the first line we felt like we just couldn't do it again, then the instructor will be right there to help us. "How would we help you?" he said, "we would give you a little... P-U-S-H!" LOL You see, there is no access back from the 2nd platform except for the zip line.
Ok, so here we are all ready to go!

 Here's another look at that structure I thought was a 'look out' tower, hehehe, that ended up being the tallest platform in the Caribbean at 90 meters high!

So here we go. We were safely attached with climbing gear to the cables, at no time did I ever feel scared or unsafe, I always felt very secure and just had a blast gliding from platform to platform. It consists of 16 platforms and 12 lines which stretch across the length and breadth of The Oriental Mountain Range for almost 2 miles. This included the tallest platform, at 90 meters, and the longest, at 800 meters, in the Caribbean. You certainly do face the challenge of 'flying' from one platform to the other, feeling the wind through your hair and adrenaline rush through you body as you soar from one platform to another. What a rush!

Here are just a few pics I took from the platforms between each zip line. You have to look closely, but you can see the cables. 

Notice that we are above the treetops...

And even with the mountain tops.

This is our "WE DID IT!" pic once we completed all 12 lines. I was actually sad that we were done. I truly enjoyed this and can't wait to take my big boys next time.

The road trip to the mountain top was just as adventurous as the zip lines themselves. At one point the guide asked us all to pile into the back of the truck to facilitate climbing this hill

And another section of the road was under flowing water.

This is a horribly blurry pic, but it is our trip guide. He had stopped and picked up a cocoa plant from the side of the road, split it open, and we all shared the cocoa beans. Yummy!

A random shot of the streets in the Dominican

And some school kids walking home from school.

The next 2 photos are pics of pics, so not very good quality, however, it is the photo taken by the Zip Line staff. So cool!