Friends and Adventures

Friends to me are people who I trust, who make me laugh, who understand me and who I enjoy spending time with. I count myself very lucky to have a fab group of friends at home who I get to see and do all the good stuff in life with: walk, run, cycle, drink tea (or gin) and eat cake! Because of my travels, I also have great friends around the globe who I have connected with and shared some great times with. This trip has been no different.

For me, there are two great ways to meet people and make new friends when travelling solo. The first is by staying in hostels. For some people, climbing up on a rickety bunk bed in a room with five or more people (all of whom will be sharing a bathroom with you,) sometimes with air con and at other times with a hopeless fan in the corner would not sound like a lovely holiday, but I love it (even at the age of 36!) There is a real sense of community - I have been offered advice on what to do and where to go, shared meals or drinks, played games and of course saved a fortune whilst doing it! In hostels where things are communal, you trust folk and in return it’s a friendly place to stay. You also learn that ear plugs can come in handy and to practice a higher degree of patience!

Secondly joining group tours for part of a trip can be fun and a convenient way to get around, as the price of hiring a car alone can be expensive, or a language barrier tricky to overcome. A few of my trips this time involved hiking or camping and for those I went with g adventures, a company I love and who I have always had great experiences with over the last ten years. They also support the Planterra Foundation, who invest in projects of social enterprise: https://planeterra.org/

So, after almost four months, I now have friends in Canada, Germany, South Korea, Norway, Switzerland, the US and across the UK. Who knows when our paths may cross again, but I hope in the future they will...