CREATE YOUR OWN STORY
Create your own story… was the title of an article from an airline magazine which I was trying to read during my first solo trip to Madeira, and in that moment I realized I was laying the foundation of my own story.
Having this prejudice that people who travel alone are weird, sad and depressed, I never thought I will be able to go alone on a trip, like never. What was the point of travelling alone if you cannot share those experiences with someone, like a friend or a lover. Constantly judging people who have no problem in traveling alone I somehow came to understand their decision and the benefits having of all this and I wanted to experience this total feeling of freedom, if this is even possible.
Never say never…
The reason I booked the trip was because I wanted to take a break from my regular life. I wanted to go away, far away from my home and my problems. I wanted, even for a few days, to escape from my real world and be whatever I wanted to be — I wanted to be and feel free. For this to happen I had to go alone, this being the way to reconnect with myself.
I never had time to organize my trip, because until the last day I didn’t think I would be able to leave the country and more than that, the day of departure was an adventure itself, a delayed take-off due to unfavourable weather conditions with a very high possibility of not catching the next flight. So my anxiety level was very high, sabotaging myself that this trip should not take place and that I have chosen the most inappropriate moment to disconnect from my daily routine.
Overall, knowing me and the fact that I like a clear and fixed schedule, it was a real challenge to let things go naturally and do what I wanted, when I wanted.
No list at all turned out to be better than a TO DO LIST.
So, asking myself how I wanted to start the days in Madeira, I remembered that I often had a fantasy of running in the morning, admire the landscapes, the people around me, feel the vibes and the energy that the place offers me, and now is the perfect time to put this fantasy into practice.
There was four days in the most stunning place I have ever been. Every day started with a short jogging, admire the views — on the right the ocean, on the left the mountains, smiling and thinking that I am living the best days of my life. And here I absolutely find what being grateful for what you are and what you have means. I was finally able to breathe properly- I almost forgot how to do it, to laugh out loud, to sing, to dance, to cry, to act like a happy kid — the reconnect process with my inner child has begun and it has felt so liberating.
It may sound crazy, but damn, those intense feelings will not go away too soon. It was a crazy cocktail for my mind and body.
As all days began with a reconnection, it could only continue in the same way — with a great coffee, exploring the narrow cobbled roads of the island, continue to discover new places, their delicious traditional food and wine and last, but not least, lots and lots of ice cream, like tons of it.
Museums, beaches, trail roads, huge cruise ships, nice people and tons of pictures. More than 100 kilometres in only four days and a “kilometre of smiles”
Traveling alone brought me three interesting points about myself that I like to mention below. First of all, I gained confidence — even if it sounds cliché and you have read it in so many motivational articles, traveling alone puts you in the position to take full responsibility for your own life. And if you can do it on your own trip why couldn’t you do it, say, at work.
The second important aspect is reconnection. For me, at least, it was almost impossible to reconnect with myself when I was home, or with people I have known for a lifetime. This is the reason I wanted to go so far away from home — to feel like my problems are far away from me too and I have enough space to think and see other perspectives. I needed space for my passions and my needs.
The last important aspect gained in this trip is flexibility. Unfortunately, we live in a time where being flexible can make a difference. Referring to the last three years of pandemic, continuing with an absurd military war in Europe, that cannot leave you unaffected, until the possibility that a flight can be cancelled for bad weather conditions, and many other things that may occur and change your daily routine or expectations, flexibility seems to be a quality that we need to develop in order to cope with these new challenges that are beyond our control.
I promised myself to write down a few words about this unique experience and whenever I fell stuck and without resources to move on, to be able to read it again and again and remember that if I could travel all by my own, and I hope this will not be the last such experience, then I can handle any situation that seems to be difficult.
Sweetheart, let’s write story after story after story!
