Zip lining through Guatemala

My site mates Carie and Ryan, a married couple had their parents in town and they were nice enough to invite me to join them for dinner. At dinner they told me all about their next day’s excursions, they were going to go zip lining. They invited me and I said, “Yes” with a bit of hesitation and fear. I had never gone zip lining before, so I thought why the heck not.
We drove out early the next morning to one of the national parks in Guatemala where another fellow Peace Corps volunteer works. The Park is breathtaking, full of trees, flowers, fresh air and an amazing view of the lake.
We started off by putting on all the gear; helmet, belts, gloves, and all the necessities to make sure we wouldn’t fall to our deaths. I felt really safe and secure, ready to tackle this adventure. We hike up about a half hour to the first zip line and it looks intimidating. It’s high, real high stuck in the middle of a mountain side and the line seems so long. I try to tell myself to stop doing the mental analysis or else I’m never going to do this. I’m all geared up and ready to go, with my heart pumping overtime. I grab on to the metal handles and one of the guides gives me a little push, with that push I’m zipping and it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done! The ride was smooth and the view breathtaking. The only thing that startled me was the stop. “How the heck am I going to stop this thing”, I thought. Well on the other side is another guide ready to catch me. I felt like a speeding vehicle going to crash into a 5 ft tall Guatemalan. It was a little tough to stop, but the ride was amazing!