Soaring Through Eternal Spring – Paragliding in Medellín, Colombia

“Yep… that’s me, floating mid-air above Aburrá Valley. You’re probably wondering how I got there, right? Well it all started on a random trip to Colombia with my best friend Mikey…”

Nestled in the Aburrá Valley of the Andes Mountain region, Medellín, Colombia is known as the City of Eternal Spring. No matter what month of the year it is, the weather always gives the feeling of a light, airy spring day. A favorite past time of locals and tourist in this city is admiring the stunning views of the valley from above. There are numerous view points in the city cliffs, such as bars, parks and restaurants, where one can enjoy the view – the most magical view is at night when the city lights illuminate the dark sky.

One of the best parts about traveling with friends is that they always push you to try new things. Mikey was determined to get the best view of the city while on our trip, and there is no better view than the one from above, so up we went! We booked our parapente (paragliding in Spanish) excursion with The Dream of Flying Company ($55 per person). On the day of our flight, the tour company picked us up from our hotel and we drove about 45-min. outside of the city to their cliffside take off zone. Once out of the car, we climbed about 100 winding, stone steps before arriving at an open, grassy field on the edge of the cliff.

We were ushered over to the training zone where we were suited up, taught the flight basics, and signed our waivers. The entire process took less than 30-min. and once done we were assigned a flight captain. This was probably the only time on vacation I wished a tour would be delayed or have some additional wait time. Before I even had time to tell Mikey “I don’t think I can do this,” I was being strapped to my flight captain and handed a go pro. I think they purposely make the prep process fast, so you don’t have time to chicken out!

My captain introduced himself while another staff member buckled me to him and checked my safety straps. I asked them both a few questions about the flight and even asked the staff member to double check my safety straps. The staff member laughed and in a thick Colombian accent said,”Is safe, no worry!”

I looked over and saw my friend Mikey running fearlessly, knees to chest, down the mountain with his flight captain behind him. They made it to the edge of the cliff and in the blink of an eye their parachute lifted and they were flying!

“You ready?” said my captain. “Well, if Mikey can do it, so can I!” I said to myself as I leaned forward and began to run with all my might. “Corre! Corre! Corre!” (run in Spanish) yelled the captain as we sprinted down the field. Our parachute slowly began to rise and catch wind as we neared the cliffs’ edge. “Okay, para!” (stop in Spanish) shouted the captain. I stopped running and shifted my weight backwards and up we went!

Wow! I could NOT believe that I was in the sky! Usually, I only find myself in the sky when I am in a metal tube with tiny windows, but there were no windows, doors, or a flight attendant asking “beef or chicken?” on this sky ride. We glided, twirled and swirled through the valley. I looked around wide eyed and amazed; the fear slowly started to disappear.

The captain explained how the valley provides the perfect winds for gliding because of the constant air flow off of the surrounding mountains. He shared about glider training and how he usually does 10-15 flights a day. “You couldn’t pay me to run off of that mountain again today,” I thought to myself. “Smile!” said the captain, as he snapped some shots of us with the go pro. After our brief photoshoot, the captain cranked on his radio and we jammed to some J. Balvin as we started our descent.

We circled back around to where we began our flight and slowly made our way down towards the ground “Feet up!” shouted the captain, as we floated downward rapidly to the landing area. My butt hit the ground and scooted a few inches. The parachute came down next in a puff and slowly started deflating. Finally, we were on the ground!

The staff helped me up and I giggled in amazement while jogging over to the equipment area to return my gear and find Mikey! “I can’t believe I just did that!”