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Italiano (Italian)
To the question of why to travel alone, one main answer could be given: one is predisposed. There are people who by themselves do not even go to the bathroom in a restaurant. Some people would go, but they would be unable to organize or orient themselves. On the other hand, there are people who are unable to relate to others and therefore are fine alone.
But there are also those who enjoy the solo travel experience too much. Having to know how to make do and the putting oneself out there can have a very strong attraction for some. Arriving in a place you don’t know, and where everything/thing is different; trying to figure it out, settling in, sharpening your eyesight to learn, I find it thrilling. If you are alone, this is heightened.
So it depends on character aspects, not to mention that someone may feel this need at certain times in their life.
Finally, there are also those who set out alone, but for experiences that are not actually solo. For example, in walks more or less inevitably then one shares the journey with strangers.
Go where and when you want
A great advantage of traveling solo is the ability to choose the time and destination, without having to debate and negotiate with others. I happened to realize crazy tours that I had in my head. If I had proposed them to someone, they would have called me crazy.
For example, I want to visit all provincial capitals in Italy, and for this goal I have devised itineraries that are difficult to share. Like the one that made it possible for me to say that Fabio stopped at Eboli. This was a nonsense that had been in my head ever since I read author Carlo Levi‘s famous novel: Christ Stopped at Eboli. In this regard I have to say that anyway, the southern Apennines is a little celebrated but really beautiful part of Italy.
Other times it happened to me that I wanted to go somewhere unusual, or at abnormal times. For reasons including work, I was often in the summer in very hot countries, I would hardly find someone who would agree to follow me. And what about my Canada coast tocoast? Itinerary was discouraged by everyone on the net.
Do whatever you like and get along with your traveling companion
Besides agreeing on the destination and period, then there are the difficulties about what to do/see and how. In theory, before my trip as a couple to southern Italy, we had agreed on everything, but in reality, my girlfriend and I argued all the time, and not only about travel matters.
In fact, at home one can be fully in tune, but with partner/friends it is indifferent, living h24 on the road, is the litmus test to assess real compatibility. I also had confirmation of this on a long weekend in Normandy with a friend, who, although I had known him all my life, from that time I could not help but see him from a different perspective, to the point of avoiding him.
There is no right or wrong way to travel, which can then change over time. As a kid I explored every museum and in Europe I didn’t miss a church. Now that I have visited practically every country in the Western world, even several times, I am more interested in what is really far from my comfort zone, and it is not superficiality if it takes much less for me to deem half a day to visit a historic center sufficient.
Of course each destination would deserve more, and I think Rome alone would not be enough for a month. Also, it would be nice to really experience the places. But having my vacation days numbered, I would rather taste different places than delve into a few. If you leave me in front of a set table, I taste everything, I don’t just binge on what I know I like.
Why travel alone? Also to make acquaintances
Those who do not understand or have never experienced solo travel argue that you lose the sharing in this way. Except that now you can very well share at a distance, although it is not the same, it is not bad and you can do it with many people. In my first time in the U.S., without the current means, looking for internet points to write email updates gave flavor to my trip.
Especially in the past, traveling alone allows you to get to know and share the excitement of the trip, with new people. If it happens with local people, this can also enrich the experience. Early trips were really rich in knowledge, but also quite recently.I did one in the Baltic countries that was really intense and with both planned and improvised knowledge.
One regret I had was in Iran, where I chatted with so many, but did not delve deeper because of my tendency to schedule so much (another trait that can be a limitation in company), and because of suboptimal timing. I regretted not accepting some invitations, from strangers I met on the street. I knew it was possible in a country where hospitality is sacred, but I always had a bus to catch or a visit to make.
Some links on why to travel alone
Those to the experiences mentioned in this article
- Fabio stopped in Eboli
- Coast to coast of Canada
- It’s a long time for Calabria to quarrel all
- Wanting to escape from unbearable monologues
- The first time I shared a journey at a distance and almost live
- My apotheosis of travel encounters: the Baltic countries
- The welcome of the lovely Iranians
Links to the macrocategories by which I have divided the articles
Latest stories and excitement not to be missed
Countries visited in my travel stories
Trips taken, travel stories divided by continent
Anecdotes, divided by type in travel narratives
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