Traveling Solo

At the end of June, Erin and I parted ways--her heading to Cusco to meet up with her mom and sister to do the Inca Trail and see Machu Picchu and me traveling to Argentina. Although I have a friend from Buenos Aires and knew of a couple of "friends of friends", I was essentially going to be on my own for two and a half weeks. Three days days alone in Rome a few years ago was pretty much my previous extent of traveling solo for an extended period of time. With the end of my solo time coming to an end soon (I´m in the airport in Bogotá waiting for my last flight of the weekend, which will take me to to the Dominican Republic to meet up with my friend Laura who is doing amazing work there through Health Horizons International), I´d like to share a few things that I´ve learned about traveling on my own:

1. People always want to connect you with others.

Friends and family from all parts of my life put me in touch with other people who were in Buenos Aires at the same time, whether they were co-workers, close friends, or new acquaintances. I was surprised and touched by how willing everyone was to connect me with people they knew who I could meet up with while traveling on my own.

2. You have to make an effort to meet other people.

There are certain types of hostels that are more conducive to meeting fellow travelers. Initially, the hostel that I was in in Buenos Aires did not have that type of atmosphere and I considered switching hostels for that reason. Luckily, after a few days, the atmosphere changed with new people and it became a friendly place. At the same time, I also had to make an effort to show that I wanted to meet others, such as smiling at other people and saying hello and sitting with a book in the common room rather than staying in my bunk bed.

3. Be confident!

Along the same lines of the previous point, I´ve learned to be less timid about approaching other people. As soon as you start talking to someone, you realize that they´re just as interested in learning about you as you are about them. If you assume other travelers or friends of friends will want to spend time with you, chances are, you´re right!

4. Other travelers are incredibly friendly and welcoming.

I´ve been lucky to meet some great people while in Buenos Aires and Puerto Iguazú. Maybe it´s the nature of traveling and not being in a familiar place, but all of the people I´ve met have been very nice. For example, I met two Australian girls, just starting out on a six-month trip through South and Central America, in my hostel in Buenos Aires, and they immediately included me in their plans--we went out for dinner several times, saw a tango show, and experienced Buenos Aires nightlife together. In Iguazú, it was the same with other people, who were very eager to talk to new people and make new friends.

5. Although it´s great to have complete control over what you do, traveling alone can be lonely.

I´m the type of person who likes to plan out my trips and accomplish a lot--sightseeing, etc.--when I travel so it´s great to be able to do things according to my schedule and not have to compromise with someone about what to see or where to eat or how quickly we can get to a certain place. That said, it is also really nice to have a travel companion and a fancy dinner of parrilla (Argentine steak) is a lot more enjoyable when you´re sharing it with a friend or acquaintance rather than a book!

6. Nothing beats sharing special travel moments with family and close friends.

Despite the friendly people I´ve met and the aspects that I´ve enjoyed by traveling solo, I´ve also discovered that trips are more meaningful to me when I have someone close to me to share them with. I had a good birthday, but I´m sorry that I was out of touch with my family and close friends on a day like that. (It was something that I knew would happen, but now I´ve realized how special my close family and friends are to me.) So...who wants to join me on my next trip!?

Although I enjoyed my time in Argentina and learned a lot about myself by traveling alone, I´m looking forward to seeing Laura tomorrow and other family and friends very soon! I´ll be back in the US late on Friday night (but will update this blog with more information and photos from my travels when I have more time online).