02 May Hey Mom, I just skydived next to a volcano

Posted at 09:18h in Chile, Travel Stories by
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After 10 months of solo traveling in South America I was heading to my final stop. Well, not really, Santiago was the last destination and where I would fly out of to head home. But Pucon was my last adventurous destination. My final hoorah if you will.

And what a place to end. Pucón, a small Chilean city, kind of has it all for outdoorsy people. It rests near a beautiful lake and is surrounded by flourishing forests full of unique trees, cascading waterfalls, drifting rivers, and most notably, four volcanoes. One of them called Villarrica, is actually the most active volcano in South America and plays a huge role in this story.

Because of the landscapes, Pucón is often described as “the adventure capital of Chile.” In this lush region you can zipline, raft, canyoneer, cliff jump and do all the crazy things you see the travel bros do in their Instagram reels.

→ READ: A COMPLETE TRAVEL GUIDE TO Pucón

Normally I’d be ecstatic to arrive in a place like this, but as a tired traveler ready to go home who also had a bad head-cold, initially I had to force some of the excitement . But there was one particular activity I had fire left in me for; it was an idea that had been marinating in the back of my head for months…skydiving.

Now frankly I have a feeling a lot of people view me as this fearless, adventurous person who will do anything just because I travel a lot. But no, no. In reality, free falling is one of my biggest fears and while I’ve always wanted to skydive, it’s not because I actually wanted to – but rather because I feel like I can’t die without doing it once. Basically, I refuse to let my anxiety get the best of me. I may cry or faint but I’m doing it.

Back in 2015, during my first trip outside of the United States to CapeTown South Africa, I had tried to go skydiving several times. But up until the last day of being there, it was canceled repeatedly for wind and bad weather.

Since then I’ve been on the lookout for the right place to reluctantly jump out of a plane. During my research of South America, I heard about this destination called Pucón where you could skydive next to a volcano! I thought, “Well, I guess if I’m going to do it might as well be in the most extravagant fashion.” So I promised myself whenever I arrived in Pucón, I would go.

Now while I listened to the receptionist at my hostel explain all the different activities to do here, my mind was already made up of one thing I was going to do.

My first problem though, was getting over the stubborn head cold I had acquired as the seasons changed and the temperature dropped. As if there was a hammer to it, my head pounded and my nose and ears were clogged. Not only would it be incredibly embarrassing for snot to fly out of my nose at the expense of the professional skydiver strapped behind me, but you can also burst an eardrum plummeting through pressure changes while congested. 

So in an attempt to rid myself of my head cold, I opted for more laid-back activities in the days leading up such as kayaking on a calm lake, horsebacking riding, an easy hike and reading in cafes. No rafting through freezing cold water for me.

Horseback riding with Antilco Horseback in Pucon Chile
kayaking lake Villarrica

After a few days my health returned and I scheduled my tandem jump. On the morning of my skydive, I tried not to think about it too much. My heart beat too fast and my palms became sweaty imagining it. I was skydiving regardless, no use in getting worked up beforehand.

11:00 AM finally rolled around and I was picked up by the company’s van and we headed to the local runway with a French couple as crazy as me.

I filled out a form, signed my life away, and got strapped up. They briefly explained what you’re meant to do, which wasn’t much, but I was still slightly concerned when I realized I forgot to listen at times to the instructions.

Make a banana shape with your body, don’t touch a certain strap, smile and stand up when you’re told. Try not to barf, I mentally added.

I sent an “I love you” message to my sister just in case.

Did I really think I was about to die? Not really, but I wasn’t so sure about not having a panic attack.

Fortunately though, one thing I’ve been practicing in my life is reframing anxious feelings for something unknown as excitement instead. Both emotions kind of evoke the same physical symptoms, so I leaned into that relabel. Fake it and you will make it.

Before leaving I did all the high fives and fist pumps with the staff and tried to act like the daredevil I was forcing myself to be, then I was assigned to the first plane to go up. Whew..here we go.

When the tiny plane took off I forced my smile, and ignored my stomach dropping. As we flew around Pucon for about 20 minutes I intentionally tried to be really mindful, just taking in the scenery. It was incredible. We saw the city from above, the forest, and looked straight into active Volcano Villarica.

View from skydiving plane over Volcano Villarrica in Pucon
Volcano Villarrica from above looking into the crater to see lava

Although I felt physically uncomfortable, I did appreciate the magnificence of what I was seeing and did a great job (I think) of looking as calm as possible while my tandem partner shoved a GoPro in my face. “Caroline, how do you feel?!” I feel ill, sir. “I feel great!!”

But then a phenomenon, I personally appreciate as pretty amazing, happened to me.

When I was tapped on the shoulder and told this is it, we’re about to jump, it’s like a switch flipped inside me. My fear was pushed aside and ignored. I wasn’t hesitant. Instead I felt resolute, excited even after watching three people tumble out before me.

My partner and I were the last to jump. Unsure but determined, I sat at the edge of the plane, my legs dangling with thousands of feet between them and the ground. What should have been the scariest moment felt like a drug injected in my veins. When asked, I unwaveringly said I’m ready, followed by let’s fucking go!! as I felt the blast of air on my face.

The first millisecond of falling was a blur, and then the view came into clarity. Holy shit. I’m doing this! My partner clapped my shoulder signaling I could put my arms out. I threw them open, stretching my arms wide like a bird. It was the most incredible feeling.

For the sake of honesty, beyond my elation I will say that at first it was hard to breathe. The wind was hitting my face so fast, I wanted to open my mouth to scream or smile, but the air caused me to choke and my throat was already dry. Instead, I went back and forth between expressions unsure what to do with my face, conscious of the GoPro filming and concerned I wasn’t breathing.

But in hindsight, this lasted perhaps 10-20 seconds. My focus then was solely on everything I was seeing around me and I was disappointed when the parachute was released. Free-falling, the thing I was so scared of, was over and I felt sad; how ironic.

Skydiving in Pucon Chile
Skydiving in Pucon Chile

At this point my stomach hadn’t dropped at all, but when we began to glide with the parachute, I actually did feel a little nauseous. It didn’t last long though and we paraglided to the runway. To my surprise, the landing was so simple. We smoothly drifted to the ground and I stood right up as it neared.

My ears popped for about an hour proceeding, but I didn’t care much. I had just skydived! And honestly, I kind of wanted to do it again…

Like any accomplishment, the first thing I did was text my siblings. Oh, and tell my mom since I conveniently forgot to mention to her that I was skydiving that morning…

Walking away from this experience, I felt really proud. Not just because I faced a fear on my own, but because of how I dealt with my fear and how easily that came. I realized that the emotion didn’t unnerve me as much as it used to, I just accepted it as another feeling that exists inside me. I also trusted more in the probable outcome, rather than the made up stories told by my anxiety.

In reality, I’m old enough to know this is a lesson more easily applied to a daredevil activity that lasts about 30 minutes. It’s much more difficult to practice in larger, long term life situations regarding decisions, careers, relationships, and lifestyle.

But I truly believe, no matter the circumstances, the more we practice challenging our fears, the more we’re able to face them no matter their manifested form.

So if you’re looking for a reason to skydive, I hope I just gave you one. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end 10 months of solo traveling.

Skydiving in Pucon Chile

Shout out to Paracaidismo Pucon who were extremely professional, encouraging filmed great footage and had the highest quality equipment. 

Watch me jump on Instagram

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