You can't possibly predict where solo travel will take you

The second time I went to Club Med, it led to international travel in three countries on two continents. No, not all in that same week.

I used to like going on vacation to Club Meds because they're easy. One phone call and you're done. Not a lot of agonizing or planning. A plus if you don't have anyone to plan with. And, the clubs make life easy for solo guests. Hosts seat you at tables with other people so you can mix and mingle. You meet people during sailing and windsurfing lessons, on the volleyball court, in exercise classes.

I went to my first Club Med with a friend, during a week off from grad school. So I knew what to expect. We'd go to the amateur entertainment at night and afterwards dance, dance, dance. But you don't have to. You can participate in a lot of activities. Or you can sit on the beach and veg.

I have to admit, I went looking for single men. Instead, I met a great female friend. Women ALWAYS meet great women when they go to a singles event looking for men. Ask anyone. But that's a story for another blog. In any case, Nicole was bubbly and gregarious and by midweek, she'd put together a group of about eight of us, six women and two men, who hung out on the beach, at meals and on the tennis court.

Continued...

Did I mention Nicole is Canadian? She invited me to visit her in Montreal and within a year, I took her up on it. Then she lost her job. Bummer. Then she got another job. In Budapest... Score!!! Of course I visited her there. When else was I going to get to Budapest? I poked around Buda and Pest, while she was at work, eating scarily yellow stuffed cabbage and amazingly rich chocolate pastries. Before I headed home, she accompanied me to Vienna for the weekend. The goose dinner with all the trimmings one Christmas, at her uncle's house in Charlottesville, VA, was our last rendezvous. We lost touch at some point after that. But it was a good five-year run.

Those kinds of experiences are not unusual for solo travelers. You get up the courage to go someplace and you never know where it will take you. Try it.