The Truth About Solo Travel

I Started Traveling the World after Failure and Pitfalls

Nepal, Women’s Day in Kathmandu, Photo: Mary Bartnikowski

What happened?

After 20 years of marriage, I chose divorce. And lost everything in two dot com crashes in Palo Alto, California.

But I did have a sliver of sanity and my son.

So we split up. And immediately, Silicon Valley erupted into flames after two financial crashes.

And during the 2nd one in 2006 I decided to move out of my home, down the street from Steve Jobs, and into an apartment for $1250 per month rather than the $2000 I was paying for a house.

This surplus would be stashed in my travel account for a new adventure; six months in South America.

I’d taken international trips but never for six months. This was hard to fathom so making it a goal was like growing 5 inches taller.

But traveling during a financial crash is something you can’t afford not to do, I discovered. Why?

Because staying home in California, earning money, costs more than exploring lower cost countries.

So I rented out my bachelorette pad and sold my Volkswagon kiwi green Beetle which I’d finally paid off in full.