First SOLO Trip?! San Juan, Puerto Rico

I think one of the most important things you can learn to do as an individual is how to enjoy your own company. To be happy in times of solitude and getting to the point where you can truly enjoy having a day alone. For example, running errands alone, sitting at home alone, going out to eat alone, maybe even going on vacation alone? I think this creates a sense of purpose, achievement, confidence, and allows you the time to discover who you truly are. I’ll be honest, I have struggled with this for most of my life. I'd say I did not become confident in my ability to be alone until I was about 25 years old and guess what, I’m only 26. And even now I have both good and bad days with it. But hey, I'm working on it.

Because it took me so long to reach a point of happiness within myself I've made some stupid decisions in the past couple of years. So, even though I wish I could sit here and tell you all about how I grew up knowing my worth and not needing another person to tell me my worth, sadly I can’t. But what I can tell you is doing the work to get to that point in your life is such a fun and enlightening journey. Anyways, now to the point of the blog, my first SOLO trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

When deciding on a location for my first solo trip I was leaning towards a surf trip to the Canary Islands but that was quickly changed due to some slight work problems, so I settled on a speedy trip to San Juan Puerto Rico. But don't worry friends, someday I'll live out my surfer girl dreams. Anyways, I had already been to San Juan so I thought it would be a good starting spot for my first attempt at solo travel. The trip started with a super early flight out of Indianapolis. My bestie Carson dropped me off at the airport on her way to work and I quickly got through customs, secured an iced latte from Tinker Coffee, found my gate, and got comfy while I waited to board the plane. Personally, I love airports because it is fun to imagine people's stories and lives. Like where they are going as they run by to catch their flights or what their life looks like outside of the airport. After about an hour of waiting (extreme fear of missing my flight lol) I boarded the plane. I had a quick layover in Florida and then I boarded my second flight and arrived in San Juan.

Now I’m going to start this by saying I absolutely love the heat. 90 degrees, sunshine, sweating, tanning, count me in! But when I walked out of the airport I was hit with the most intense humid heat I think I have ever experienced. I stood outside for only 10 minutes waiting on my Uber and was already drenched in sweat. Intense, but totally fine for a beach vacation. Soooo I would probably advise against going to Puerto Rico in the summer unless you enjoy melting like me. Side note, I have actually visited Puerto Rico in January and it was sunny, 80 degrees, with no humidity. Winter would be a better time to enjoy Puerto Rico if you are sensitive to humidity. Now for some background information before we get rolling with the rest of this blog. I am always a cheap accommodation girly when it comes to traveling. I'm there for the adventure, not the perfect sleeping location. Plus cheap accommodations are usually perfectly fine and can add to the plot of your vacation. However, for this specific vacation I looked at not only the price of the Airbnb but also the location/ safety because I would be alone. I'm all for the plot, but I also value my life and safety. Ok, back to the uber ride post arrival. After getting dropped off at my Airbnb I came to the conclusion that my Airbnb hosts lied. Don’t get me wrong the Airbnb was cute, clean, and the perfect size for one traveler but the location was questionable. Very sketchy, very not clean, very scary. But we’ll get more into that at a later time.

Like I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, the point of this solo trip was to connect with myself and my emotions, relax, explore, and see how I handled solo travel in general. I spent most of the days in a similar routine. I would wake up, walk about 30-45 minutes to a cute coffee shop, drink that coffee on a 30 minute walk to Escambrón beach, bake in the sunshine, swim in the ocean, and people watch. After my beautiful beach day I would walk back to the Airbnb, shower, and then go out for dinner. Post dinner I would usually go back to the beach and watch the sunset. LOTS of walking but we were, and still are balling on a budget so renting a car was a big no. My days were usually very chill and I absolutely loved it because usually my vacations are go, go, go. Was it slightly lonely at times? Yes. But spending the day alone taught me that I do actually enjoy my own company. It also helped me get out of my comfort zone and talk to strangers. You're probably thinking stranger danger but chill guys, most people are awesome. ;) I ended up meeting a cute couple from Germany over pizza and sangria and they told me the story of how they fell in love and moved to the United States. Moments like those during travel are so special to me. I love hearing strangers personal stories and laughing over food because it is such a special human connection that I feel like we don't value as much anymore in society. During my trip I also spent a day horseback riding through the El Yunque National Rainforest. That was a sick experience and a great way to see more of the area and meet more interesting people.

Based off the first few paragraphs you would think my trip was picture perfect, but I'm not going to sit here and lie to you. There were definitely a few problems, but that's ok because I like to say its "for the plot of life". Remember how I previously mentioned the location of the Airbnb? One night I woke up to the sound of gunshots right outside my window and tons of people yelling. I was terrified but nothing ended up happening out of all the commotion that I know of. I decided to not investigate even though I have top tier investigation skills (thank you relationship trauma). There was also another small incident that happened at the end of my trip. I decided to go out to the T-Mobile District, a place with live music and bars. During my Uber ride the driver was very flirty and asked a lot of questions but I didn’t think much of it at the time because he dropped me off, and I figured I would never see him again. I was at the T-Mobile District for a couple hours where I got a drink and walked around. A man approached me and simply could not take no as an answer. He followed me around asking if I would get a drink with him or see him the next morning for coffee. I finally called an Uber to go home because I was frustrated and did not want the situation to escalate, but that's when things started to get weird. The Uber driver picked me up and I immediately realized it was the guy from before. During my ride home he asked me if I worked out, asked me on a date, and even drove past my drop off so I would be in the car longer. 10/10 would not recommend. Kinda thought I was going to get kidnapped or murdered but neither happened so love that for me. These two situations were minor but a good reminder to be aware of your surroundings and to have a back up plan when needed!

In conclusion, I highly recommend solo travel. Yes it can be scary, but it can also be so incredible. I plan on moving away from home in the near future and this trip showed me that I can do it. Recently I feel like life has been teaching me that you do not grow in comfort while doing the same things, you grow when you start trying new things. Soooo get ready for some more out of comfort zone blogs!

Side note, if you are a coffee enthusiast like me I have some great recommendations for you. My personal favorite coffee shop that I visited every single day was Cafe Botanico. This cafe provided the best iced lattes as well as a very esthetic hangout area. Planters covered the walls which created the perfect spot for taking insta worthy photos. The cafe definitely gives "European vibes" so if that is your style give it a try. My second favorite was Cafe con Ce. I absolutely loved this spot. I bought a vanilla iced latte and carrot cake and I would 100% get it again and again. The coffee was great but I think what really made me fall in love with this spot was the vibe. Everything in the cafe meshed so perfectly. The music playing, the baristas, the artwork, the design, the location, and the products sold all created a unique atmosphere. They even sold chocolate that claimed to improve your sex life. Very intersting for a coffee shop but it seemed fitting somehow.