TRAVEL | GRIEF | JOY

Landing Solo in a New Country Is Different in Your Fifties Than in Your Twenties

Travel Brings Out All the ‘Feels’

“Feel the sunlight fall upon you. Let it free your mind. There are blessings all around you. Take a step outside. Let your heart shine in a new light. See it come alive…” — Song Lyrics by Hollow Coves: Moments — Photo of Sunrise in Argentina by Author

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The landing gear deploys, and the floor vibrates. Flaps on the wings tilt downward. I lean towards the plane’s window with a mix of emotions.

The last time I traveled solo to a new country was twenty years ago when I went to China on an ancestral pilgrimage. So much has happened in a blink. Marriage, kids, divorce, girlfriend, breakup, pets dying, new pets, and losing my Dad. From soaring with love to drowning in sorrow— it’s all packed into the past two decades.

Now, at 52, I'm single, landing in Argentina, feeling both excitement and heartbreak. The carefree man I was in my twenties is gone, but I hope to find a little of him. The passenger next to me is too busy playing a game on his phone to notice I’m smiling and crying through my layers of loss.

My ex-wife and I traveled to many countries, including Nepal, for our pre-wedding honeymoon. I carved us wooden wedding rings. While hiking in the Himalayas, her ring slipped off as we made our way through thick brush and hung on the tip of a branch. Somehow, I found it, and I took it as a sign that we’d…