By vgosalvez11
This has been a very busy, exciting and exhausting couple of days! I just got back from a weekend trip to Pucon! Pucón is a town in central Chile's Lake District, lying on Lake Villarrica next to the snow-capped Villarrica volcano. Pucon is an adventure tourism hub, and is renowned for access to hiking trails, white-water rafting and kayaking as well as skiing and snowboarding, amazing natural hot springs and most importantly the trek to the top of the Villerrica Volcano!
Villarrica is the most active volcano in Chile, and top three most active in the world, with its more recent eruption being just a couple years ago in 2015. Trekking Villarrica is usually one of the major draws for backpackers and adventures who come to Pucon and even Chile in general. The trek to the crater / summit of Villarrica takes 4-6 hours of steep uphill climb and using an ice axe to break summit a frozen glacier with ice falling down around you. The climb is considered somewhat dangerous and tourists have been hurt or even killed in the task. So regulations have now changed requiring any non-expert hiker to hire a guide or tour company and shortening the amount of time allowed for the climb.
So being the inexperienced climbers that we are, we did some research (not enough) and booked the hike with a local tour company. On the night before our 6:30am start time I made the mistake of doing some more research into the difficulty of the hike and honestly I started to panic. Before coming to Chile, I have hiked maybe three times in my life and never in conditions like this. I like to work out and be adventurous but I am also very nervous about failure and this has sometimes kept me back from trying things which don't come naturally to me. (Also I just really hate the cold, so ice glacier did not sound too appealing).
But after a very unrestful night's sleep where I constantly was worrying I would miss my alarm, or get lost or not make it up the mountain, we dragged ourselves out of our hostel bunk beds and headed towards our fate. Now I am not going to pretend it was fun and easy, this hike was long and difficult and pretty cold. I thought about quitting several times and didn't know if I would make it to the top. But eventually, with support for the guides and knowing my friends and really great Instagram post were waiting for me, I did make it up. We got to see the magma flowing in the open crater and see and incredible view of the lake and mountain range.
But beyond some amazing pictures and very sore muscles, I think I gained a lot more. As corny and silly as it sound this one hike helped me build so much on a lesson I am working on in Chile. I am learning to put myself out there, try new experiences and not be afraid of failure. This has come in many forms, whether it is speaking Spanish even though you might make mistakes, or speaking out in class, going to a museum alone or climbing an active volcano, this journey in Chile has really taught me about myself and these unnecessary limits I place for myself sometimes. Going abroad is about pushing your limits and stepping outside of your comfort zone and I am so glad this weekend has been tangible proof of me doing just that!