March 30, 2012 Friday- Bergendal - at the resort for a full day of activities We took the longboat down river to the resort’s Adventure Center. They have a Heritage Village with homes of slaves still on the grounds of the plantation (now the Adventure Center)(slavery ended in 1863) and they are attempting to restore the homes. We enjoyed a short walk through the area where we learned about the medicinal values of so many leaves, trees and flowers. I forgot my notebook today so it is hard to remember them all but one leaf is good for diabetes and you can recognize it since it dries up looking like a closed fist. A very large bees nest on the side of the banana tree looked like the skin of an armadillo and housed very poisonous bees! Someone had created a beautiful plant holder in the shape of a bird, with beak and wings, out of an old tire. We were all dressed up with gear for the canopy / zipline and then instructed on the “test” cable. We went out, had to stop in the middle, and then had to pull ourselves to the next pole – in case we got stuck in the middle of the canopy. I did not feel overly comfortable with it but figured I was probably not going to do it again so give it a try! We hiked UP a very steep, muddy path to the 1st cage. They all took their turns and I went last. I did OK. It was 90 feet long and 6 feet high. Then on the 2nd one I did OK. It was 90 feet long and 15 feet high. The third one gave me some trouble. I already knew I would NOT be doing the one OVER THE RIVER (think not, Luisa!) so this was the last one for me. It was the longest cable yet and the highest and I got stuck in the middle. And it was high up there. I kept trying to keep moving but could not figure out how to keep going without tearing out my shoulder socket! If I braked, my feet swung me in all directions. So, thankfully, they sent someone out from the other end and with his weight to pull me down, I sped along. And crashed in to him!! Can’t wait to see those photos!! But we were both OK and that was the end of my canopy career. Done. Cross it off the list.
Pool time, lunch and then a group kayak tour in the mangroves. Fran and I were paired together as Gene was still not feeling well. We were both very inexperienced but had fun in our double kayak. We saw some squirrel monkeys in the trees overhead, crashed in to the mangroves quite a bit (I have scratches to prove it) and saw some beautiful flowers at the water’s edge. Our guides were there with us and it was fun.
We had a late BBQ dinner at the Adventure Center with local entertainment by the maroon villagers from Balingsolla. They sang a 3-verse birthday song to us!! And they danced and clapped their hands. No musical instruments at all. The maroon culture are descendants of slaves and still live in the interior of the country. It was a very genuine evening - not a "show" and we enjoyed their hospitality. We were all dancing together by the end of the evening!
