Scared to travel (1)

Mostly, my solo travels are not really luxurious, sometimes not even really comfortable. It seems like I always want to go back to basics when traveling: sleeping in nature, even when it's really cold, walking for days on end with little food and water, having no devices with me, so no online connection or even phone in some cases.

So a couple of days ago I decided to go travel this month. I had not idea or plan yet, I just felt the desire to change scenery and connect with a different spot on this planet.

So my mind went as it always does at that moment: it naturally started looking for ways to encounter some challenges and go back to basics:

Just jump on a train without knowing where to sleep or stay, without your phone. See if you can find your way around without the internet, just by talking to people.
Or:  go walk 'the camino' without preparation. 
Or: do an ayahuasca retreat in the middle of the Rainforest.
Or: lock yourself up in a dark room for as long as you can, no sensory stimuli whatsoever, travel on the inside only. 

You see, my mind has its mysterious ways of setting me up for some challenges and avoiding comfort. And that's really a good thing to me. 

As I was trying to decide, I talked to a friend and her proposal utterly shocked me: 'Why don't you book yourself a nice hotel in a warm place and just relax?'

Say what?!?! 😲

I have never done this and I come to realize that this scares me more than all my ideas combined!! 😆

What if I get bored?
Isn't it unusual to stay at a hotel all by yourself?
Isn't that kind of pathetic?
Will this not be superconfrontational watching couples and families when I'm there all by myself?
I don't want to identify as a tourist.
I will eat too much and become lazy.
What will my environmentalist friends think of me?

I could go on with what my scared mind came up with and I realize that I was actually avoiding this way of traveling and relaxing for years, because... it terrifies me! 

Freedom being my core value, I decided to at least consider this option for a while.

Having had judgments on this way of traveling for years, I decided to let go of any preconceived ideas about this and just be open to possibilities.

Next week I will leave. Where to? Still a mystery.

Do you want to follow me on my journey?

Travel along as you follow my next blog posts.

Let's go 🧳!