Today, we couldn’t be happier to share more stories about adventure travel with you from our plus size travel community! If you haven’t read Part 1 make sure to check it out here.
Freediving While Fat
Irene Marcoux
Did you know that over 70% of the earth is covered in water? No? Well, that’s the reason I spend as much time underwater as I can when I am traveling. I’m either in scuba or freediving! I’m usually the biggest by far but that didn’t stop me from becoming a scuba diving instructor, and achieving the PADI Course Director rating, aka the highest level, so I can teach future instructors.
As a scuba instructor, I’ve worked on 3 different continents and met some amazing people from all over the world. I’m now working on becoming a better freediver. If you search #freediving on Instagram, you’ll see slim girls wearing nearly nothing and it’s quite intimidating. But being a water baby with an ocean addiction, I wanted in! I learned back home in Montreal, Canada whereas a solid size 28 I was the biggest by far.
Undeterred, I decided to go to Asia last November for more in-depth instruction, pun intended. I spent 2 weeks in Amed, Bali, and 2 weeks in Koh Tao, Thailand to train and learn from the best. And yes, I was still the biggest, but it didn’t hinder me in the least, and I was only treated with acceptance and kindness. Ok, maybe I crossed 2 douches, but out of the 100+ freedivers, I consider them completely inconsequential.
I came home with the biggest feeling of accomplishment in my life, my PADI Advanced Freediver certification, and having smashed my personal best of 25m depth, on one breath.
Rafting Adventure
Tara McMachen
I’ve gone white water rafting in Missoula, Montana which was an amazing experience! Montana is gorgeous with lush green landscape, mountains and rushing rivers. This was my third time rafting and a great time.
Flying Through The Jungle
Amanda Wilkinson
I was lucky enough to face fear and zip-line through the jungle in Thailand. It was scary but I had such a thrill and the guides were so kind. In fact, due to my weight, I often went faster which was a pro and con. Depending on your feelings about that!
I was a bit scared that the harness wouldn’t fit but they did. Adventure travel was one of the highlights of my time in Thailand!
Paragliding in South Korea
Ashley Allen
I wanted to do something adventurous and exciting for my 28th birthday while I was living in South Korea. I decided to go paragliding. I found a place that was about 2 hours from where I was living in Ulsan. When I called for more information about pricing and directions, I was asked about my size and weight. The guy stated, “you can’t not be over 250lbs”. I told him I wasn’t. When I arrived, they took my weight to confirm.
We drove all the way to the top of the mountain where we would be departing. I needed to wear special gear to prevent injuries and while I was putting it on, the men were making comments about my size. While it was a challenge zipping up the suit, the comments didn’t bother me. It took some time for them to get situated and prepare the chute. Now, it was time for take-off! I was clipped to a man behind me where he would be controlling how we would glide down. He said on the count of 3, he wanted me to start running and we would be carried into the air. So, we did just that, but by the time we reached the edge, we did not catch air and went tumbling down the mountain. It was about 5-10 seconds until the parachute caught air and we shot up.
Needless to say, the rest of the way down and the landing was smooth. When I asked what were the complications, he blamed it on my weight. Saying that I was too heavy. When I looked back at the video, it was clearly because I tripped because the parachute didn’t catch any air. This experience has made me stronger. It has taught me that I am still able to be adventurous regardless of my weight and I will continue to do just that. I have also been sky diving and that was a great experience with no complications. Queens, do not let your weight and ignorant people hinder you from accomplishing your adventures!
Do you like adventure travel? Would you attempt any of these adventures?
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This is so inspiring! I let my weight hold me back for a long time for fear of what other people would think/say. But when I stopped caring what other people thought, the world was my oyster. I’m also a PADI diver. It’s so cool to see another plus size girl diver 🙂