There are three major companies in the Monteverde/Santa Elena area that do canopy tours. Apparently Aventura features 16 cables and a Tarzan swing, so that's on my list for next time! But I stayed at Pension Santa Elena, which pushes SkyTrek. I don't know anything about the third company, as hotels and agencies in Santa Elena seem pretty territorial.

SkyTrek features 11 cables and a few suspension bridges, plus for a few more dollars you can combine it with Sky Walk, a short hike that crosses several suspension bridges. You can also pay with credit card, which was important to me because I was low on cash! In 2004 the combined price with a student ID was $38, but it's undoubtedly more now.

Sky Trek's facilities are built just outside the Santa Elena Preserve. It looks just like any other part of the cloudforest, but of course is safely out of the protected area. We started by gearing up in the office and going over safety measures with our guide. After a gentle hike (over fairly frightening suspension bridges) we reached our first cable.

This may be less enjoyable to those afraid of heights. I waver on that—I'm afraid of heights I think I will actually fall from (like stairs) but love roller coasters. This was like the most thrilling coaster I'd ever experienced. Walking around the forest in my superdork harness getup became instantly worthwhile the instant I hooked onto a cable. With a little push from the guide. . . I was flying!

The feeling was truly exhilarating. At one point I laughed out loud seeing a bird flying below me. Some of the cables went through trees, which the guide cheerfully called "George of the Jungle" lines (or really, HORGE of the HYUNGLE). The longest was 800 meters, which gave me time to actually relax and feel the flight...some cables were over too quickly! Because the area was clearly full of stuck clouds, one of our cables dashed straight through one. It was pretty crazy, everyone got soaked and couldn't see a thing. . . but the idea that we just flew through a cloud was amazing!

Normally, while SkyTrek is hardly a way to LEARN about the forest, it at least provides stunning views. Since my experience was on the cloud-filled side, I was really happy to do the SkyWalk as well.

SkyWalk is still not technically in the Santa Elena Preserve, but is beautiful nonetheless. The unguided walk begins by climbing a very high tower, the same one that starts the canopy tour. The bridges are actually scarier than the ziplines, as the bounce and shake with every step. While I thoroughly enjoyed my regular hikes, these bridges suspended hundreds of meters above the cloudforest floor were an enchanting way to experience the forest.

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