December 2014. It wasn’t my first international trip, but it was the first time on my own. I had just split up with my boyfriend, and I felt like I needed something new, something different. I didn’t invite anyone to come with me, but I chose a country where I knew some people. A few months back, during my trip to Cuba, I’d met a really lovely group of Colombians, so that was it. I sent an email and soon enough, I had a place to stay in Medellin. I didn’t fly directly to Medellin; I wanted to explore more of what that beautiful country had to offer, but the fact that I had a place and someone in the country made me feel more confident.

So, off I went! I can't tell you how many mistakes I made, how many times I got lost, and how often I questioned myself during that trip… For example, during my second week in Colombia, I arrived in a town called Manizales. I took a cab from the bus station to the address I was given, only to discover that there was no hostel there. I totally freaked out! It was getting late; I was tired and hungry, and no one seemed to know anything about this hostel. I tried calling, but no luck!

This experience taught me two big lessons. First, always buy data. I know it sounds obvious, but somehow it wasn't to my 24-year-old self. Not having data made it so much harder to deal with this unexpected situation. I was lucky I managed to send a text to a friend in Mexico who found the right address for me – apparently, Google had it wrong, and the hostel was in a completely different neighbourhood! Secondly, always have an emergency contact who you can trust and who will help you no matter where you are. My friend back home was a lifesaver that day.

Did that trip change my life? Yes! It turns out that almost at the end of my trip, I would meet the Kiwi guy that years later I fell in love with and moved to New Zealand to be with. So, all the failures during that trip were worth it.

Looking back over these ten years, I realize how much my approach to travel has evolved, especially when it comes to packing. Honestly, in my first two trips, my backpack was almost 15kg!!! Nuts! Now I travel just with the basics, and if I forget something, well, I just get it in the country I'm travelling to. My staples? Merino tees and socks because they don't need much washing, and the thermoregulating properties are perfect for any weather! I'm pretty easy with the rest. However on my last trip, I got a small mirrorless camera and ditched the heavy full-frame Canon I used to have! These small changes make carrying things around easier and help me spend less time at the laundromat!

In mid-2015, I backpacked around Central America with one of my best friends. It was his first international trip and backpacking experience. I didn’t have much experience either, but we sure learned some lessons along the way. Most importantly, we came to realize the way people from Central America look at Mexicans – it wasn’t a nice portrait. That trip opened my eyes and made me more conscious of my privilege.

In January 2016, I moved to the US. I didn’t know anyone, so I started exploring on my own, first my neighborhood, then the city, and then the state. Finally, I took a plane and flew to NYC. I felt a wee bit more ready (I got freaking data this time!), and I spent two amazing weeks wandering around the Big Apple and soaking up art like there was no tomorrow. I’m sure there were lots of failures, but nothing memorable. Something that I wouldn’t do now: go with strangers to a club in the basement of a pizza shop. Didn’t go wrong, but the chances of something going wrong increase when you don’t think of the consequences. I spent most of 2016 travelling around the States – a mix of solo, with friends, and with my new Kiwi boyfriend!

After I returned to Mexico in early 2017, I decided to go on another solo trip, but this time to a familiar place where I already had a handful of friends and that I considered the happiest place on earth: Cuba. Travelling in Cuba was easy; everyone always wants to help you, everyone’s always dancing, and they’ll share their happiness, food, and everything they can with you. It’s a very different place, and they’ve had to become very creative to deal with the horrors of the economic blockade that the US has had over the island for more than 50 years.

Later that year, I came to New Zealand to go on a two-month road trip with Cam (the Kiwi guy I met at the beginning of my story). This wasn’t a solo trip, although I did spend a week in Vancouver on my way to NZ, and that was a lot of fun. Also, if you’re going to be in the bush and you tend to get lost, carry layers and a headlamp… yup, an oopsie. I didn’t die, but now I carry even more than I need just in case. During that trip with Cam, I learned a lot about outdoor safety, and that it's important not to skip meals, or I'd get hangry 😀

After that trip, I moved to NZ, and the days of solo trips ended for a while, but it was still nice to explore the world with a beloved one. And I did get to have a week on my own in the jungle in Thailand while he was at his friend’s stag party; this was early 2020, right before the COVID boom. Trips were cancelled, everything shut down for almost a year, and the world changed a lot. But we all know that.

In 2022, Cam and I split up. I didn’t know what to do next; everything felt so chaotic, so I went on another trip. This time around Europe before heading to Mexico to visit my friends and fam. I did some solo travelling around my own country too; I just needed the space to heal. I think that’s what it is – you break from the routine, and that opens up your mind; you can imagine again, and you imagine more and better possibilities for yourself. That’s the healing power of traveling.

After a four-month trip, I came back to NZ in January 2023 and embarked on my biggest solo adventure ever: I moved to a new city on my own, and I started from zero again. That was probably the biggest adventure of my adult life. I spent most of 2023 settling down, and one day while writing my morning pages, I said: I want to go to Japan… and that thought haunted me like crazy. So, Japan 2024!

Ten years of meeting amazing people from all over the world, eating street food in sketchy alleys, failing like crazy, trying and trying again & making the most of every step! Who knows what the next ten years will hold? One thing's for sure: the journey continues... 🌍

What's the craziest thing that's happened to you while travelling solo?