I wrote before about why I personally made the decision to travel solo for the first time.
I was confident in myself and my abilities to successfully navigate a new country by myself, but apprehensive about other aspects of this endeavor: would I get lonely? Feel isolated? Not branch out and try new things?
Fortunately, not long after I stepped off the plane at Madrid-Barajas Int’l Airport, I realized I was going to be just fine. I chose to stop at an airport cafe for a cafe con leche and to journal about my flight, rather than rushing to get to the city. I chose to navigate the metro from Barajas to Puerta del Sol, where my hostel was located, rather than taking a taxi or another more direct method of transportation. I love that kind of stuff – some of my friends don’t. Very quickly, I began to appreciate the freedom associated with traveling alone.
Soon after arriving at my hostel, I signed up for the free walking tour of Madrid. I figured it would be a good way to get oriented to the city. Not only was that the case, but I also met a young woman named Daniela – she was a pharmacist from Chile and only a few years older than me, and she had also just arrived in Madrid for her first solo trip (and first trip ever to Europe). A couple of weeks later, after becoming Facebook friends, we realized we were both in Barcelona at the same time, so we met up for dinner and drinks.
During my hostel stays, I met many other travelers whom I connected with. Nickelle and Chris, from San Diego, who had just gotten engaged in Paris. Mohamed, from Indonesia, who told us about the traffic in Jakarta. Carlos, from Toronto, who was on his fourth trip to Europe in a short period of time, thanks to his job as a baggage handler with Air Canada. Emily, from Minnesota, who had recently turned down yet another proposal from her boyfriend and been laid off from her job. The list goes on. We all connected so easily, fascinated by the circumstances by which we had been brought together, if only for a brief time.
One day I stopped for lunch after finding a place on TripAdvisor with few reviews. I was looking for somewhere “authentic” and not overrun by other tourists near Museo del Prado, so I chose Cacao Restobar. I was there at an odd time of day (I was still getting used to Spanish meal times) and I was the only one in the restaurant. I soon struck up a conversation with the owners – I continued to stubbornly reply in Spanish, even though at first they talked to me in English.
We ended up talking for about 45 minutes in Spanish, which was my most extensive language test since college. The owners were so sweet; we took a picture together and I promised to visit again before I left Spain. Two weeks later, I walked by the restaurant on the other side of the street – seconds later as I was halfway down the block, I heard someone call “Hola guapa!” I turned around, and it was one of the guys. I couldn’t believe he had recognized and remembered me. That was one of my favorite stories from my trip.
When I’ve traveled with friends, I’ve never gotten to know so many other people – because there was never any need to. Taking this trip alone encouraged me to connect with others in a way I normally wouldn’t.
In fact, I loved traveling alone so much that I plan on doing it again soon. 🙂
What do you think? Would you ever travel solo?
-Cathy
Originally Published on June 11, 2017.
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