This seems like a good place to start the Sola blog!
Right here, right now.
We don’t know each other yet, so let me tell you a bit about myself and how Sola began.
I was married. I had three fantastic children. I mainly stayed home with them, while working part-time. Travel consisted of family vacations, couples trips, and girlfriend getaways. Life seemed good.
And then it changed.
By my late forties, I was divorced, working my way into an empty nest, and starting over with a new degree and career. Life was good then too. But in a different way.
It was then that I finally paid attention to this vibration of energy inside me. There were places I wanted to go, challenges I wanted to overcome, beauty I wanted to see, and people I felt destined to meet.
Travel would fulfill many of these desires. I needed to do this for myself, as I healed from my divorce and figured out who I was, on my own. But when would the time be right?
I decided it was now.
As an introvert, I’ve always been comfortable on my own. Yet I hadn’t traveled by myself before. At least, not outside the country. So my first foray into solo travel involved booking small group trips. I was solo in the sense that I wasn’t going with anyone I already knew. Yet my heart was still in a tender place, so it was comforting to know that I’d be with others.
My first solo trip was with a group of about six women (and one guy, the organizer’s fiance), on a wine tasting trip to Portugal and Spain. Since nobody knew me already, this created a great opportunity for me to just be whoever I was, without conforming to whoever I was “supposed” to be. It was a liberating experience, and I was ready for more.
For my next solo trip, I was more confident. I’d wanted to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu for many years, so I combined a group hiking trip with Intrepid with additional days on my own. This trip was even more successful than the last. I loved the time by myself, and then I was ready for companionship as I met up with four Australian women and our Peruvian tour guide for the hike. The five of us ladies gelled perfectly, as though I’d known them forever.
Finally, I was ready for a fully independent solo trip: Iceland! And more solo trips came after that.
Eventually, I was ready to take the leap to a three-month solo journey. The Camino de Santiago was hot on my radar. I’d been training, I’d been saving money, and all three kids had by now left the nest. I booked my flight to Europe and my flight back, and a few nights’ stay at the start of the trip. Everything else was unplanned. I’d never taken a trip like this before, but I felt ready. This was my time.
After spending the first few days in Paris and Bordeaux, France, I began the 500-mile pilgrimage on foot from St Jean Pied de Port, France, south over the Pyrenees mountains into Spain, and west to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The walk took five weeks and two days. And it truly transformed my life. I met people on that trip who became my forever friends. I explored thoughts and emotions that had been dormant for who-knows-how-long inside me. I became comfortable with myself — my strengths and my limitations. I created and strengthened relationships, both with new and lifelong friends.
That was three years ago. And that was when Sola Travel Coaching was formed. In my mind, anyway. And then on paper. It took a little time to make it a reality, but here we are.
I love traveling with my family and my friends, and will continue to do so. And I will also never stop traveling solo. It’s naturally empowering. While I’m exploring the world on my own, I have the unique opportunity to explore myself, deep within. To connect with people from other places, customs, religions, and languages. To ground myself in the many beautiful places of this earth we live on.
And I want to help others discover what solo travel means for them. I hope we’ll meet one day soon!
