First Impressions on Solo Travel

I’ve written plenty of times of my yearning for solo travel. After doing it for a few days here in Colombia here are my first impressions.

Making friends

One of my main concerns before solo travelling was making friends. I was worried that I’d struggle to meet people that I vibed with. As I wrote yesterday, hostels make meeting people nearly effortless. I’ve met folks from all over the world and shared perspectives and stories with them. This is one of the most rewarding aspects of solo travel.

The beauty and tragedy of travel friendships is that it’s easy to make friends and make memories with these new friends, then a few days later we go on our seperate paths.

Improvised travel

Another thing I love is the spontaneous nature of solo travel. I didn’t have much of a clear plan when I landed in Bogotá. Then I met other travellers at my hostel and most of them didn’t have a plan either, so we just did things together. This spontaneity has lead to some interesting adventures and surprises. The other day, I didn’t expect to watch a football game for my birthday, I’m not even into football, but it was a fantastic experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

Living out of a backpack

Whenever I travelled in the past, I checked in a large luggage with a bunch of crap I actually didn’t wear or use. Living out of a backpack was the other side of the spectrum and it was easier than I thought. If I didn’t have something I could simply buy it at the market. It got me reflecting on what I actually need beyond travel. The more things I have, the more I’m tied down.