Zip Line questions

[Pami1968]

I hate to be the nay-sayer here, but I went on an Oscar tour today. There were four of us crammed into a tiny cab, no tour guide, no beverages, and almost no air conditioning. That was disappointing enough, but Jungle breezes was the capper.

 

The guides are all very nice, but spoke almost no english. On the second zipline, I was going at about 15 mph and there was NO brake line on the cable. I found out later that it had broken on the lady that was in front of me, but they sent me down anyway. I couldn't slow myself down, and the zipline was hanging low, so I crashed into the metal platform at the bottom. I ricocheted about halfway back up the cable, and one of the guides came out to pull me in to the platform. Then the guide sent someone else down the cable before I was moved out of the way. The way they stopped her was by one of the guides, not attached to anything, jumped off the platform and clung to her. They then had to pull the two of them in as well. Initially they thought I broke my leg, some ribs, and a possibly punctured lung. They carried me down strapped to a backboard, and then called the ambulance to transport me back to the ship. And noone spoke enough english for me to explain that it was my shoulder blade.

 

On the ship, the doctor and nurse were great, and as it turns out I miraculously didn't break anything, although my shoulder is in a sling and I have some powerful percosets and muscle relaxants in me, although they couldn't give me any for a long time due to my blood pressure being so low.

 

I never dreamed I would have a problem with this trip, as I do physical stuff all of the time, but I thought my story should at least be out there for people to read.

[cally7767]

As Pam stated there was a VERY bad accident. I saw her SLAMMMM into the landing area. She is truly lucky to be in one piece. I went in front of her and my landing was rough. I crashed into the guides and it was far from smooth. Something hit me in the back of my neck and head. (I've done this before in Belize. It was very smooth and safe. It was the greatest thrill of my life.) Poor Pam hit way, way, way harder than me. To make matters worse another zipper started to come and we couldn't move Pam from the platform. She almost got crashed into but one of the guides jumped onto the zip line to stop the incoming person from crashing into Pam. The incoming crashed into the guide trying to protect Pam.This was not the thrill I was looking for. I learned my lesson here. I will never take an unofficial tour to save a buck. It's not worth risking your lives!!!!! Also, the tour in the itty-bitty crowded hot car was frustrating. There was no room to take pictures. The drinks were in another vehicle that we wern't with. I just don't want to see anyone or anyone's loved ones ruin a vacation or worst yet get hurt to save a few bucks.

[2Canucks]

The mentioined "ziplining" tour that Pam was involved with via the Oscar tour... was this based out of Limon or Puntarenas Costa Rica??

 

We are booked with Charlie Soto with Okeydokey tours out of Puntarenas... would this be the same ziplining location??

 

We would appreciate your info/help concerning the above question.

 

Pat :)

[Billys9319]

I hate to be the nay-sayer here, but I went on an Oscar tour today. There were four of us crammed into a tiny cab, no tour guide, no beverages, and almost no air conditioning. That was disappointing enough, but Jungle breezes was the capper.

 

The guides are all very nice, but spoke almost no english. On the second zipline, I was going at about 15 mph and there was NO brake line on the cable. I found out later that it had broken on the lady that was in front of me, but they sent me down anyway. I couldn't slow myself down, and the zipline was hanging low, so I crashed into the metal platform at the bottom. I ricocheted about halfway back up the cable, and one of the guides came out to pull me in to the platform. Then the guide sent someone else down the cable before I was moved out of the way. The way they stopped her was by one of the guides, not attached to anything, jumped off the platform and clung to her. They then had to pull the two of them in as well. Initially they thought I broke my leg, some ribs, and a possibly punctured lung. They carried me down strapped to a backboard, and then called the ambulance to transport me back to the ship. And noone spoke enough english for me to explain that it was my shoulder blade.

 

On the ship, the doctor and nurse were great, and as it turns out I miraculously didn't break anything, although my shoulder is in a sling and I have some powerful percosets and muscle relaxants in me, although they couldn't give me any for a long time due to my blood pressure being so low.

 

I never dreamed I would have a problem with this trip, as I do physical stuff all of the time, but I thought my story should at least be out there for people to read.

 

 

Pam,

 

Glad to hear you are OK, I was with the group of 8 that was in Oscar's Van and right behind you on the zip line tour. We were worried since we had an hour wait while you were attended to and no one would tell us why until after we finished with the zip line tour. All the breaks were working when they finally let us go so I guess part of the wait was for them to fix the one that was broken.

 

As to Oscar's tour we had him and his sister Toni and they did a fantastic job! When I booked with Oscar I asked for a private tour since it was 8 of us. I would recommend Oscar for anyone but when booking I would specify that it be with Oscar and not another driver. I couldn't believe they put the 4 of you in that little taxi!

[Billys9319]

The mentioined "ziplining" tour that Pam was involved with via the Oscar tour... was this based out of Limon or Puntarenas Costa Rica??

 

We are booked with Charlie Soto with Okeydokey tours out of Puntarenas... would this be the same ziplining location??

 

We would appreciate your info/help concerning the above question.

 

Pat :)

 

The tour was from Limon and the zip line company closet to it.

[Pami1968]

Billy,

 

We wondered what they had told you since we never saw you all again, especially since it took so long to get me down from there. I truly hope that something like this never happens to anyone again, but I agree with the other poster... I will NEVER again book something outside of the cruise ship tours again. As I said, the tiny taxi for 4 of us was ridiculous in itself, but the accident itself wasn't worth saving any money at all. At least with a cruise ship, you know that they have thoroughly vetted the safety of the tours because they don't want to expose themselves to a lawsuit.

 

-Pam

[Almost Packed]

Wow! what an experience. Kudos i suppose to the tour guide for at least having the..ummm, balls, to jump in there to keep you from getting hit. glad to know you are ok.

 

I was reading this post because i am exploring our next cruise. Costa Rica is somewhere i have always wanted to go....and the canopy tour is one of the top of my list of things to do. dh & i took a cruise and did the canopy tour in jamaica. it is different than what is done here. we had no brakes. our hands were our brakes. we had on gloves...but gravity, the line etc made it all work out. I belive i read or saw on the discovery channel (or travel..something similliar anyway) that "The Original Canopy Tour" is a name of the actual original tour. This is the tour we went on in jamaica. the zip line canopy tour started in costa rica. I am under the impression that there are many different locations, and many different operators. Our "form" of "zipping" was different than the way described on here. but at no time did i ever feel unsafe! this was dh's favorite thing we did. it was my close second. i went scuba diving for the first time. that was my first.

The zip line canopy tour is/was an amazing thing! i can't comment on Costa Rica's because i have yet to go there....but i will!

I thank Pam for sharing her story! I'm glad she is okay, and now it shows how important it is to do research. And even all the research in the world still cannot guarantee 100% safety. Accidents happen. Hopefully we learn from them and take steps to assure it never happens again.

I'm glad to know of Pam's experience so I can be a little more educated in making my choices in the future.

By all means, if you decide not to do this excursion, you will miss out on an amazing experience. I can only imagine the rain forest in Costa Rica being way more beautiful than Montego Bay!

Be aware...be educated...but don't be scared so much that you miss out on an amazing adventure.

I hope to hear back from everyone on their trips so i can make an informed decision.

thanks.