My journey had ended, and I had mixed feelings. I loved the life I led for sixteen nights in eight destinations, and I yearned to carry on exploring new towns. But a part of me was excited to get home and start putting into the practice the revelations I’d learned in my last few days.

What Torremolinos gave me was time to breathe and think without the pressure of site seeing or being in a bouncing resort or town. While in that peaceful state, revelations came to me. This was the kind of trip I wanted to do again. It’d been too much of a blast to not do again and do it better. Things would be slicker next time, now I had the first one under my belt. Plans and ideas are percolating for other adventures on my own in the not-too-distant future.

I have always had a deep connection with travelling and something happens to me on these big trips after a few days. I’ve always had this strange sense of home when embarking on adventures that are a little special and this jaunt to Spain was no different. I feel at home ‘on the road’, and there’s something that needs to be explored around that. I believe that this trip was a necessity and that embarking on it has a higher meaning that has not yet been made known to me, so I’m excited to see how that unfolds in the future. We’ll see what happens.

The life suits me...it fits. I thrived as I went, growing daily by learning and overcoming difficulties and barriers in my mind as well as those that were put in front of me. There were ups and there were downs. There were mistakes and challenges. It was exhausting at times, and I was out of my comfort zone. There were incredible moments, unexpected turns and twists of fate, stunning scenery, amazing like-minded people. It all ultimately came together to create one of the most rewarding and important experiences of my life. I came out the other end far better and richer for the experience. It lived up to the hype and justified my reasons for wanting to do this for so long.

I think this inaugural solo trip was a tester… a toe dipper… and is the first step towards some bigger, wider overall plan in how I move forward. I was in a period of transition in Spain, and perhaps still am, but my mindset is slowly changing as I move on from the past and closer to what I feel is where I’m destined to be. There is an exciting future out there that this trip has made me realise I need to go after and grasp.

I learnt a lot about myself out there. I can be perfectly comfortable on my own, and that was a huge step, although by the same rule, thank God for technology as I was able to talk to friends, so I wasn’t completely alone. It was also useful to alleviate times of boredom and find out information around the trip much easier. It felt like cheating at times to have a phone at my disposal to help me so much. I envied the people who used to do this without such technology. Maybe that’s the next step. No phones. I probably wouldn’t last five minutes.

Travelling on my own made me realise that I am happy on my own too. I am enjoying this period of solitude in my life as it has been such a long time since I’ve had that time to myself, and that’s something I want to continue.

I grew into the trip. It wasn’t an immediate impact. There was apprehension at the start with Almeria being very Spanish and too quiet, and that was tough. It was probably the best thing to happen as it helped me to learn patience, not to panic and not to be overwhelmed, to think things through. It was similar when I fell ill in Roquetas de Mar, which was again challenging and made it hard to keep focused on continuing the journey when all I wanted to do was to go home and start again when I felt better. By the time I hit Granada... probably the highlight... I’d found my stride and really immersed myself into the travel attitude. Meeting Housna was a catalyst for that.

There are things I can address next time. I was exhausted upon my return despite three days semi-rest in Torremolinos. I learnt that you had to grab sleep when you could, and I should’ve tried harder to sleep on the buses and trains between places, but I was buzzing too much.

This trip didn’t break the bank or even come close it. It just goes to show that a great time and experiences can be had in other countries without costing a fortune. In the hostels, people made their own food in the kitchen. I didn’t do that even once, but it highlights that the option is there to do things on an even tighter budget, and I would probably do that next time to really keep the costs down.

It was hard to manage my diabetes on this trip, and I wasn’t really sure why because I walked forever, averaging 18k steps a day. I didn’t drink excessive amounts of alcohol and was only having two meals a day. In fact, I came back and realised I’d lost a few pounds as my belt had to be tightened on my jeans. I think the heat and lack of refrigeration for my insulin made a difference and that will need to be looked at for next time.

The clothes washing side of the trip was OK. I took every opportunity I could to refresh garments (I’m not sure how clean the gel made them, but it was better than nothing I suppose). I probably need to do more practice runs at that beforehand.

I collected wrist bands in each place I visited as a memento to represent each destination, but more importantly, they are symbolic... to serve as a reminder to never forget the lessons and revelations realised and to always keep going no matter what.

This may not have been the ultimate backpacking travel experience to faraway lands that some more daring individuals undertake... or for a prolonged period... but this had been my journey and my way of doing things, navigating a way to find what I was looking for. I urge anyone who even has the slightest inkling to do a similar adventure, to just do it. Tailor make it to yourself. Get out there... experience it... find yourself! One life...live it. There are no do overs!

So many people out there were doing similar trips alone... male and female. If being alone seems overwhelming, which it can be as I experienced in the beginning... then my favourite piece of advice that I heard from Mandy on my last day may help:

"By travelling alone and being seen as anti-social back home... you become far more social than you ever have been."

Absolutely true! You may just surprise yourself. I certainly have. Buy the Ticket. Take the Ride!