World Actuality

“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet, the places you travel and the books you read.”

I have always been a great fan of travelling. I have visited almost 40 countries in my life and I have experienced a lot of way of travelling. But I never had the courage to travel alone.

Finally this week I packed my stuff and left to Rio, to enjoy the amazing Olympic atmosphere and live a lifetime adventure. What will follow are some of the greatest learning I had in the past week from doing this trip solo.

Reflections : To me, travelling is one of the most mystical experience ever. It’s one of the biggest life changing agent we have. And all this happens not because of the places you visit, but because of your reflections about what you are visiting. And when you travel solo, these reflections multiply. Every piece of art you see, help you to reconnect with different phases of your life. Every experience you live, help you to re-evaluate your life and reconnect with your true self. It’s like meditating but in a fun way.

Adventures : Being a solo traveller means that you can count just on yourself. And this opens up the door for a lot of adventures. I can’t either remember how many times I got lost in the city or took the wrong tube. How many times I had to speak with locals using a mix of Italian/broken Spanish/broken Portuguese. But the outcome of all these adventures has been always amazing. I discovered new places out of the touristic routes, made friendships and created countless memories.

Learnings : One of the main questions I had before leaving was if I would feel lonely. I actually found a pretty nerdy answer to that. Nope, I will not be alone. I have my books. In 9 days I read 4 books (2 books and 2 audiobooks) and I’m in the process of reading the 5th one. Instead of feeling alone, I felt inspired. I can perfectly reconnect every book with different moments. I was learning how to create an online business and how to think like Leonardo Da Vinci in my flight. How to become an effective person in the beautiful beach of Copacabana and how to apply Scrum Methodology through the outstanding Barrio de Santa Teresa. I learnt a lot and enhanced myself. And more than this, I had amazing travel companions.

Freedom : That’s kind of obvious. Being alone is perfect to be free. You can eat what you want, stop where you want, go where you want, sleep when you want. And the list could go on and on for ages. Being able to set the pace to your travel it’s amazing. You know when you can accelerate or when it’s time to stop and reflect. It’s like setting a pace to your soul, nurturing it and letting it have the best learnings at the best time.

Friendships : Yes. Sometimes, you really need someone else. Being alone, and being happy at the same time, it’s just the best way to make friendships. One of the greatest findings I had is that since you are alone you are more approachable to people. I made amazing friendships with fantastic Brazilian people during a volleyball match or with Eduardo, the guy that is hosting me. And this happens just for a single reason. No matter how bad we think the world is, in reality, it’s not such a scary place. People are generally nice and they prefer way more to be your friend than your enemy. I guess that travelling it’s just the best reminder you can give to yourself about it.

Final Lesson : What I love the most about solo travelling is that it is just about saying Yes to life, when every normal person would have just said No. It is about allowing yourself to be vulnerable and going with the flow. It is about letting go your problems and fears. It is about becoming yourself.

And that’s why travelling solo it is just the best gift you can give to yourself.