canopy walk

wednesday morning we travelled about a half an hour to kakum (kah-koom) national park, where we were going to walk 100 feet above the forest floor. there are only 5 canopy walks like the one that we did in the entire world. the walk consisted of a 30 minute hike, then 7 rope bridges to walk across, averaging 100 feet above the ground. i was really nervous going into the walk, because i'm terrified of heights. but i swallowed my fear and completed all 7 bridges. we learned that there are forest elephants that live in the national park but that you would need to track them for days before you'd ever get to see one. they exist perfectly in their environment, surprising because they are such big creatures that live in the forest. once we got on the canopy walk, it wasn't so bad. i felt brave on the first bridge because i couldn't see the ground, and the bridges gradually get higher off the ground as you continue. it was difficult to take pictures when i was on the bridges, because i wanted to hold on so badly. but i did the best i could to capture what it was like to be so far off the ground. interestingly enough, i shook more when i was on the wooden platforms inbetween the bridges. i think i did best by pretending that i wasn't afraid, but even when i was back on solid ground on the path to return to the entrance, i tripped on a root and my arms flung out to the sides because i thought i was going to plummet the the ground. it was a really rewarding and beautiful experience, despite being so scared.