While on our last trip to Belize, we took a chance and went zip-lining at Calico Jack’s. Have you ever looked back on something you have done and questioned if it even happened? That’s me right now. I Cassie Butler am terrified of heights one would say I am petrified of heights. I can’t even get on an escalator at the mall without having to count in my head until I am at the top. This didn’t stop me from talking myself and Raymond into Zip-lining while on our last trip to Cayo Belize.
Yeah… I talked us into going zip-lining. What was going through my head? I get weak in the knees on a balcony only 4 stories high. However, Do I regret going? Not at all. I am surprised to say our day turned out pretty good. Even with the rain in the forecast we took the day trip and drove out to Calico Jack’s. I was excited and terrified all at once.
When we arrived at Calico Jack’s the first thing I noticed was how beautiful the grounds were. It was so peaceful and everything smelled of fresh rain as it had been raining off and on all morning. This was not stopping us though from doing something so out of character for us. We walked up a stone pathway to the main building and were greeted by a lovely woman working in the restaurant. She came out with forms we had to read and sign… And that is when Amelia backed out of going with us.
The form had a lot of safety measures that were in place that you needed to read through. In the details it advised you must but in good physical shape. Now I am not in great shape but you had to be able to hike through the jungle as well as “some” climbing may occur. Raymond and I signed ours and then waited for our guides. Andy and Daniel came in and greeted us and advised we would need to drive our car into the area where we were going. So while Ray and I drove to impending “doom” my Father and Amelia settled in at the restaurant to have a few drinks and a bite to eat.
It took us less than 5 minutes to get to the first platform. We were really going ahead with this. Andy went over some information with us as they harnessed us up to be ready for zip-lining through the jungle. I took along my action camera and secured it on my helmet. I had hoped I would get some good pictures and videos of our afternoon. Sadly I messed up and there are not many videos or pictures from this day. My camera fogged up from the humidity and rain. I will still share them in this blog though.
Daniel went first to show us how easy it was. It looked less stressful with him going. Next up was Raymond. This is where I laugh to the point of tears Andy gets him set up and off he goes. Never in all of our 14 years of being together have I heard so many swear words come out of his mouth as he sailed across the sky above all the trees. Then I stopped… It was now my turn. Crap I don’t want to do this anymore.
Andy set me up and we realized I’m short and I have the upper body strength of a wet rag. I couldn’t hold onto the break it wasn’t possible. I started to feel sad because I thought Ray would have to continue without me… Nope Andy offered to tether me to him and he would be the break. This made my experience a little less stressful as he would manage the break and I could take it all in.
The first thing I have to say is Wow…just wow. I have never felt so free going across the sky and looking down at the beautiful land below. A calmness came over me that I’d never felt before. My brain for the first time in a long time was clear of all the thoughts and stresses. This was awesome. We break at the end and Daniel helps me get onto the platform correctly. I think I love zip-lining! The second run was as easy as the first and I was hooked. Ray was now enjoying the second run better than the first.
Once we came to the end of the second run we had a short hike through the jungle to get to the third. We chatted with our guides about what made us choose Calico Jack’s. For me, it was the website we viewed their information on showing how they took pride in all the safety protocols and the second reason was the resort Calico Jacks looked like a beautiful place. I regret not booking there to at least stay for a night. Perhaps next time when we go we will stay.
Okay, so we arrive at the third starting point, and In front of me stood a metal ladder going up into the sky with a platform on top. My knees have gone weak and I could feel myself start to panic. I cannot climb that I thought. I’m going to fall to my death. Daniel went up first followed by Raymond. That left me and Andy. I looked at him with fear in my eyes. “I cannot do this”. He looked me straight in the face and told me “Yes you can, you got this”. I seriously did not think that I could get over my fear that easily but I was going to try.
So here I was going up the ladder talking to myself as I went… “What a brilliant idea this was Cassie”. “Oh, you know just climbing a metal ladder after rain sure you won’t fall to your death noooo”. I kept telling myself not to look down just focus on each rung of the ladder. I refused to look up and I refused to look down. At one point I could feel my legs start to shake and thought this was it. Andy was now laughing at how animated I was as I talked myself out of my fear to get to the top. Guess what? I did it I managed to get to the top and I felt fantastic. Surprising myself I did something so highly out of character for me. I climbed to the top of a tower.
The last line we did was a lot higher up. We were introduced to the jungle lift. a hydraulic lift that would take us up high above the jungle canopy. At this point, I am loving zip-lining I was actually disappointed we were almost done. Daniel secures himself and lets go singing ” I Belize I can fly” to the top of his lungs making us laugh and just enjoy the moment. Raymond by now is also loving the experience and off he goes. Then it was my turn. It was beautiful so far up feeling the wind in your face and looking off in the distance at the jungle and the mountains. This was an experience I will never forget as long as I live. And that was the story of Raymond and Cassie going zip-lining in Belize. I cannot wait to go back and try this again.
