Here We Go Again - Solo Adventuring

It is Thanksgiving today and it marks the beginning of a much anticipated five month journey that will be taking me through South America and Southeast Asia. Roughly eight years ago, I had the privilege of completing a three month solo trip that brought me through Africa, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Egypt, Jordan, and India. Last year, I ventured through Portugal, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, France and Netherlands.

I am very thankful to have the physical health, financial freedom, and flexibility to travel the world.

Like many vagabonds who explore the world for extended periods of time (or indefinitely), there is an inexplicable draw to the unpredictability of traveling to new and distant locations. Each adventure offers opportunities to meet new people, experience new activities, try new cuisines, and challenge one’s self. I was once concerned that I may appear to be lost and in search for the answers to life, but I’ve come to appreciate life is a journey with a serpentined path that can lead to speed bumps and dead ends.

Each of these extended adventures occurred at points in my life where I felt somewhat adrift. 

When I decided to plan my first trip, I was twenty-eight years old and I had a corporate career I hated, I was at the tail end of a long term relationship, and I wasn’t sure who I was (spoiler alert… I still don’t). I had saved aggressively since I started working to put money down on an apartment and wedding (I was engaged at the time), but I felt uneasy about proceeding with either commitment. From the perspective of the outside world, I was ‘on track’ to achieving what most people wanted from their lives. I had a stable career, a loving partner, and caring friends and family; however, every day was a mental struggle. I worried about ‘falling behind’ my peers in terms of stagnating my career by taking a sabbatical, not advancing my long term relationship and not securing my financial future by spending money on a frivolous trip. After months of deliberating with the idea of quitting my job, potentially breaking apart my relationship, and spending a large chunk of my savings, I finally decided that I had one life to live. I booked my tickets and started planning out my itinerary.

During that trip, I realized that many of my fears in life were unjustified. The opinions of the people I cared about did not change once I quit my job. Although my relationship ended, deep down inside I knew that I couldn’t provide the love and support that my ex needed, desired, and deserved. And spending money to enrich my life through travel and experiences did not leave me in financial ruin. In many ways, that first solo trip was the initial brick laid into building the self confidence to live my own life.

My second trip was birthed from entirely different circumstances. My two month European excursion was planned to commemorate the achievement of selling my company. I had planned to spend two months in Europe and return to North America to experience the nomadic life in an RV with my father and our two dogs. Rather than traveling solo, I invited my new-ish girlfriend of three months on my next adventure (yes, I know this was impulsive… maybe I had too much self confidence from my previous solo adventure).

This trip made me realize that things don’t always go as planned. My girlfriend and I ended up breaking up the week before we left for Europe. We still decided to proceed with the trip, since most of the trip was booked and non-refundable; I figured, what’s the worst that could happen? (yes, some would say that’s called a ‘sunk-cost’, but I’m stubborn and maybe a glutton for punishment). Although, there were many positive highlights during our trip, there were also many challenges we faced. During the trip, I was also assisting my family with my father’s dementia diagnosis and deteriorating health, and beginning a lawsuit against the company which acquired my company.

I discovered how critical developing resiliency is when facing adversity. I also realized that the highs are never as high as we believe they are, and the lows are never as low as we perceive them to be.

I am approaching this trip without any expectations and with so much gratitude. I have been experiencing a mix of emotions leading up to this trip which are hard to express in words. The various feelings of excitement, gratefulness, intrigue, nervousness, and sadness hit me in waves. I am excited to visit new countries that I have never ventured to. I am grateful to have the support of friends and family. I am intrigued by the different cultures, cuisines and activities in each destination. I am nervous about being homesick/lonely and whether I may find myself in unsafe situations. I am sad to leave Olive, my friends, and family.

A few more wrinkles, a little less hair, but no less desire for adventure.

Not much changes after almost eight years.

Despite not being a materialistic person, while organizing my life and packing for this trip, I discovered I have accumulated a lot of excess in my life. Whether it was a pile of clothing I haven’t worn for over a year, souvenirs I have accumulated from past trips, or ‘nice to have’ toys and gadgets, most of these items don’t add significant value to my life. Packing my life for the next five months into two backpacks made me focus on the essentials. In a way, my backpacks are metaphors for life: I don’t need a lot in life to be happy and focusing on what are most important to me: Olive, friends, family, experiences/travel are the essential aspects of my life which I should dedicate my time and energy to.

I feel as though I have evolved significantly since my first solo adventure and I continue to discover aspects of myself that I had never known existed.  I have no clue how this trip will turn out, but I know that the perception of myself and the world will be forever changed.

Hercalitus stated "No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."

Let the adventure begin! First stop… Santiago, Chile!

Until next time… Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you for reading!