There are people who prefer to spend the holidays alone and traveling and IT IS NOT RARE
Between Hollywood and El Corte Inglés we have formed a fairly specific idea about how are we supposed to spend christmas : surrounded by a family the larger the better, dressed in wool sweaters while we watch snow fall through the window, sitting at a perfectly set table with the best delicacies and, of course, wildly unwrapping gifts.
But things are not always like this, especially for some travelers who prefer to spend the holidays practicing their favorite activity and getting to know themselves a little better.
Eat, pray, love and travel alone
“I have no family to celebrate Christmas with. I have some friends but the best ends up being go on a trip somewhere interesting . That way I don't feel so sad," he explains. alex burunova , a filmmaker born in Belarus but who has lived in Los Angeles for years and has spent more than one Christmas traveling alone. Italy, Spain and Bali have been some of their Christmas destinations.
Alex is not the only one who has dared to spend the holidays without company. ** Jordi Vendrell ,** a photographer and designer from Barcelona, has told us about his last Christmas in the Philippines. “ I spent Christmas in a bathing suit on the beach . Is different. I had traveled other years to celebrate the end of the year, but never at Christmas”.
Although Jordi acknowledges that he would do it again, he also highlights that there was a time when he did miss his family. “We are a small family and although we only really do the Christmas day meal, it is a bit sad. But in the end you spend that day and think: 'Look where I am, with paradisiacal beaches around me, 7,000 islands to visit. What am I complaining about? ”.
It's a matter of proposing
Both Alex and Jordi are inveterate travelers who confess trying combine work with visits abroad whenever possible and that they spend a good part of the year away from home. Have a somewhat nomadic and very marked profile , but both recognize that traveling alone is something that everyone should try.
“I don't think it's the ideal experience for everyone, but I think It is something that everyone should try at least once in their life. and see what you think,” says Alex. “Furthermore, when you travel alone, you set up your own route. You can be whatever you want. you discover yourself reaching a place where nobody really knows you, nor expects you to be in a certain way”.
"It's an experience you have to have. Traveling is mandatory and, if you also travel alone, you know yourself ”, Jordi tells us in turn. “ You see how far you can go, what are your limits ”. For him, traveling without companions is something that has to be done more than once and twice.
"What am I complaining about?"
CLOSE TIES
Alex went to Barcelona at the end of 2012 to shoot a short film and decided to stay a few more days after finishing her work. He was surprised by the way the city was transformed for Christmas . “It was interesting, a little like the zombie apocalypse (laughs). There was no one on the street and only one or two little shops open. It is something that I did not expect because here (in the United States) not everyone is Christian. There are people who celebrate Christmas Day and people who don't. . There are always things open and things to do. (In Spain) unless you have some plan with native people, things are a bit inhospitable”.
The filmmaker explains how traveling in this way is a good way to bond with acquaintances and old friends . "At Christmas you can be lucky enough to be invited to their house by someone interesting," she tells us. This was precisely the case for her the Christmas Eve she spent in Barcelona, when some friends invited her home for the traditional dinner with galets soup included . "When I finished I wasn't sure I could get to the taxi because I couldn't move because it was so full (laughs)."
And, when something like this is not possible through a friend or an acquaintance or someone who has introduced you to another person, there is always the option of making new friends from scratch. “As much as you like solitude, it's something that's fine but you also need to relate . I was in the Philippines, for example, for two months. You meet people in hostels, on a tour you can do, walking, in a bar. Lately you also find many Spaniards travelling”, explains Jordi.
"As much as you like solitude, it is something that is fine but you also need to relate"
AN ALTERNATIVE THAT IS INCREASINGLY USUAL
And it is that, in reality, traveling alone is becoming more and more common and what people are losing respect for. All kinds of people. **Ana Blasco is the director of WOM **, an agency that organizes adventures for solo female travelers . Ana admits that, contrary to what she had believed, they do not have a very specific or specific client profile.
“It is very diverse. At first I did think it was going to be more homogeneous but I am realizing that it is a profile that ranges between 30 and 70 years . It depends on the destination, if they are more organized or more adventurous. There are married, single, divorced, with a partner, without a partner... A little of everything”, she tells us.
in WOM favor the connection between the group of travelers who visit the same destination, so their clients travel alone but end up doing it in a group and they have to be willing to meet new people. The agency plans to offer trips to Cambodia and Slovakia for New Year's Eve this year , but they have nothing for Christmas itself.
“There has only been one person who has specifically asked us to travel on Christmas Day”, explains Ana. “I consider that it is a day that is quite familiar and it is more difficult. On the other hand, on New Year's Eve you begin to notice that people want to do things, they have vacation days and with a few days you can do a quiet week”. She adds that, despite the fact that demand is a minority for Christmas, in the future they could consider including it if this changes.
In any case, Ana, like Jordi and Alex, encourages people to discover themselves with an adventure alone, whenever it may be.
“ She tests your limits and your ability . Even (she puts you) out of your context and the role that has been established for you in your closest environment. I think she makes you show certain things about your personality. But even in a group, people also learn a lot. People who live alone and are not used to sharing, learn to relax their minds, to agree with other people. Alone or accompanied, we all learn on trips always ”, she concludes.
Follow @PatriciaPuentes
*** You may also be interested in...**
- 25 tips for traveling alone
- 30 traits that define the inveterate traveler
- The best destinations to travel alone - The best destinations to travel alone
- Reasons to fall in love with a person who travels
- Why traveling is good for health
- 20 reasons to go around the world
- 8 Things Backpackers Do - 14 Hostels That Will Make You Want To Backpack