My past life as a solo traveler

Long before I started this blog, I led quite a different life. I held a job where I only worked and slept, which resulted in two things: 1) I was single, and 2) I lived for my vacations.

I always wanted to share my travel photos and stories with the world, but I never really knew how I could do it back then. So, better late than never, I am going to start presenting some of these now, with the perspective of time.

Back before Michael and I got together, I loved the thrill of traveling solo. Why? There was nothing more exhilirating than being completely responsible for your own itinerary, from the planning stages all the way to getting off the airplane in a completely foreign country, knowing that thousands of doors were open to you. The success or failure of the journey lay firmly in my own hands.

I took three major trips back in that phase of my life, between when I came back from studying in Germany and when I started at my current place of work. They were:

• Mexico, September 2003


• Panama, February 2004


• Nicaragua and Panama, February 2005

The February 2005 trip was the longest, most ambitious, and also the one where I had a digital camera! So I will start with this one.

Now, let me preface this series with the fact that I did not really know about voluntourism back then, and it had not occurred to me that I could give back during my travels. If I were to do it again, I would definitely look into non-profits I could help, at least a little, on my way.

However, in keeping with the theme of my blog, these are tales of change, in addition to travel. I learned about parts of the world I had never really considered before, and I became a self-sufficient solo traveler. When I look back on 2003 through 2005, these trips are among my greatest personal achievements.

So, for the armchair travelers out there, I'm writing this with you in mind, and I will do my best to give you the fullest sense of what it was like to make these journeys. And for those aspiring world travelers, particularly those who wonder what it would be like to travel solo, I am writing this for you, as well. It would be an honor to inspire your future journeys.

Here I am in Nicaragua in February 2005 with my backpack and camera, ready for the adventure to start.

In my next post, the journey begins!