Lately, directly or indirectly, I have been coming across women who say they would travel, but they have no one to go with, and it doesn’t even occur to them that they could do it alone. That’s a sign to me that what I’m doing lately here on the blog might help people. When I started this blog almost 5 years ago, that was my goal, to help people by telling things from my experience. Initially it was the gluten-free diet. I didn’t think I had much to tell, but explaining some recipes and little tricks to my virtual friends, they told me I should publish all this. And you know how it is, when several people tell you that you are drunk, you go to bed. And now… I made my journey for myself, for my soul. I started writing on facebook out of an impulse, it wasn’t planned. People’s reactions and the aroused interest were a surprise for me, that’s why when I returned home I opened this new category, to show that it is possible, if you have desire, will and openness.
So today I will tell you how my first solo trip was, about 4 years ago. My spiritual opening had started another 4-5 years before, but I had never gone alone, without family or a group. The thought had been running through my mind for some time, but I was paralyzed with fear just imagining myself getting on the train alone and leaving. And one Saturday morning I had the urge to leave. So without stopping to analyze too much, because I knew I would have changed my mind, I threw some clothes in a backpack and started for the train station, intending to go to Eforie Sud, a place I knew well, I had been many times, only… now I was alone! It may seem strange to some that a 44-year-old woman has never left home alone, but now I know that there are many women in the situation I was in then. Now I remember how wide-eyed I was looking at the landscape from the window of the train that was taking me away from home, what a lump in my throat when I got into Constantza in a minibus that took me to Eforie Sud, how lost I was when I entered the hotel lobby I knew well, but which now seemed huge to me and how sick I felt that night I spent alone, for the first time, in a hotel room. When I arrived in Eforie, I called my husband: “do you know where I am?” “uh…where?” (he had already started to get used to my impulses, to the actions I initiated to overcome my fears) “in Eforie Sud” “uh…ok…”. And because I was paralyzed by fear, I had an attempt to escape from that situation: “you come too”. And because my husband is a wise man, his answer was: “no, it’s your trip, stay there as long as you need and then come home”. So I tried to relax, at least partially, I went to a self-serve restaurant and ate (alone!!), went to the beach (alone!!), went to a bar on the beach in the evening and drank a cocktail (alone !!), and the next day, in the evening, I returned home. I believe that you can only conquer your fears by going head first into them. Then you see that it’s ok, that the action you were afraid of is normal, and if others can do it, why can’t you? My advice to women who want to travel alone is this: start with a familiar place. That way the pressure will be lower. You can do it!