Flying in the Andes

This weekend we celebrated Dia de Madre – Mother’s Day. For some reason Janalee got two Mother’s Days this year – it doesn’t quite seem fair since I am the one slaving at home all of the time, but I do get to do it in Argentina.

We spent Mother’s Day celebrating in the mountains. To be exact we spent the time doing a canopy ride. Canopy rides started in Costa Rica where people ride a zip line through the tree canopy. There are very few tall trees in Mendoza, so they make up for it by making the zip line really high. In fact, the zip line is about 190 feet above the ground.

Being the overly protective parents we are, we took Amelia along for the ride. I am a bit afraid of heights (anything bigger than a stepladder is killer for me – ok sometimes stepladders are too much), but Amelia doesn’t seem to have acquired that bit of fear from me. In fact, she loved the entire thing. At one point she was getting on board with one of the guides and I could hear her laughing all the way across the canyon. You can see photos of the entire thing here.

So there we are with our child riding on a zip line 190 feet above the ground and I started to wonder just how safe this really is. Some of you are thinking I should have thought of this before. Some of you might be thinking that you should call child protective services at about this time, but it will do you no good – we live in Argentina and CPS would have a hard time getting to us.

I gave up worrying about safety when I looked over and Janalee was hanging upside down with her hands reaching out for the ground while flying on a zip line 140 feet above the ground. How dangerous could it be if Janalee was willing to do it upside down?

Maybe I should be wondering about the sanity of my wife. Hasn’t anyone told her she is over 40 now? (That last comment is going to cost me – but it is well worth the fun of writing it)

The company that hosts the zip line is Argentina Rafting– when you are in town I highly encourage making the trip – what a fun time!