The Solo Meaning

I’ve been home about a week now from my latest adventure and there’s a deep craving to head back out again. It’s not just because of the weather or to have a good time and get away from everything here, it’s because of what I briefly touched on in my last post. Actually it’s two things and they both were something that surprisingly caught me off guard. When booking my trip to Mexico and going solo for the first week I was hesitant at staying hostels, hey we’ve all seen the movies. At my first stay in Punta Mita, like I said before it was a much slower place, less people and no activities, so unless you’re a surfer things to do are limited. I did bump into a fellow Canadian and Japanese travellers on my first night that kicked off the start of many conversations to come with others on a solo journey. The next day was spent talking with some Americans, mainly from New York that were in the area to surf. They invited me to join them for breakfast at a cute little cafe I’d otherwise not have found on my own. We chatted over breakfast and I joined them for the afternoon while they surfed the local beaches for the afternoon, mainly talking about the similarities and differences between our two closely connected countries. The last day I spent mainly alone, able to journal and get in some good reading time and make sure I knew where to catch the bus in the morning to Sayulita. I had the dorm room all to myself on the last night, which meant the snorer had left and I was able to get a good night’s sleep.

Now my next stop was completely different, a busy, lively town with an infectious spirit about it you could not walk around without a smile on your face. A meet and greet was a fantastic way for solo traveller to connect and share stories or if your thing was just to relax and getaway from it all, there was enough room and space for that as well. I met a lot of people here that I hope to carry on connections with in the future, varying in age from 20 to about 60, from all walks of life and all travelling for different reasons. The one thing that fascinated me the most was the amount of 30ish year olds that had, had enough with the stressful, complicated and unsatisfying lives they lived to the North and saved enough to quit their jobs and go find a new beginning. I admired these people and thought to myself that this is the way life should be, no matter your circumstances, free to feel happy, laugh and care free and live life according to how you want to. During these conversations I found myself wishing that I would’ve had the resolve to do this at the age they were, but reminding myself I was here now and proving that it isn’t too late to go off in the world with no fear.

In also talking with the locals, in my very broken Spanish, the relaxed, no rush vibe can do wonders for the soul. Every single one of them from the bus driver, hostel hosts or the waiters would stop and take the time and explain in Spanish what I wanted to say or what I was trying to say and always with a smile. Back home everything is so, rush, rush and I don’t have time for this, that you can feel the tension in the air and it rubs off on you and I can feel it, starting with a headache, tightness in the shoulders next then all the way through your body, no wonder everyone is on pills here. The relaxed feel that I just came back from just makes your whole body feel better, open conversations and having dinners with people you just met is just so….awesome.

I met a few people who haven’t even been home in a year or more, just travelling or working odd jobs to find a place to stay for a ride to wherever the wind blew them next, admirable. Right down my alley of not giving a shit about what I have or think I need, but just living in the moment, everyday is something new. It all filled me with that renewed sense of no fear and to get out there, the world isn’t that scary of a place and it’s full of beautiful, welcoming, intelligent and most of all kind people. Many of them I told my story to and that this is the reason I am here right now, every single one sat and listened to me, at first I got the usual, I’m so sorry, which I always thanks people for, but then when I tell them the disease has freed me from that old life and given me a new sense of purpose, no matter how long I live. I believe it also reminds everyone that we are finite and really aren’t here long reguardless the hand we are dealt. It’s the memories we make while we’re here and the ones we take with us when we are gone that really matter.

If any of you I met during my trip are reading this, I loved meeting you all and wish everyone all the best. I hope you all find happiness and joy in all you do, I admire all of your outlooks on life and will put them to use. Being my first solo journey in a foreign country, I’m not gonna lie I was nervous, anxious and scared, but all of you I met instantly took that away. Now I just can’t wait to take that next solo adventure and see where the wind blows me and hopefully we’ll see each other again.

To those who have never tried solo travelling, while I get you may feel it’s not for you I used to feel the same. Not only do you get to meet new people from all walks of life, you end up finding out much more about yourself and what you are truly capable of and you can reinvent yourself into who you truly want to be. While I’m not saying don’t be yourself, I mean you can add to who you are and transform yourself in who you want to be, not who you feel you’re supposed to be. I, myself cannot wait to be back on a plane, bus, bike or whatever ready to add more to myself and more to the story that one day I will leave behind. Cheers!