Playa Del Carmen, Mexico - October 2018

Better late than never, right?

I posted this video of my solo journey to Playa Del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico a few months ago and I did not expect the amount of responses I got from people saying they were inspired and wanted to travel solo too!

I was 8 days away from turning 22 years old and I felt like I had accomplished so much, but had no way to successfully celebrate myself in a way that would be within my budget and left me feeling fulfilled.

My birthdays are usually not my favorite. I, personally, enjoy celebrating my birth, however, I always expect the people around me to share that same enthusiasm and they always let me down. So, instead of unrealistically waiting around for friends and family to surprise me with dinner and shower me with gifts, I took it upon myself to do something that could accurately convey just how much I enjoy being alive.

Traveling to Mexico by yourself is feared by many considering the current political climate here in the U.S. and in Mexico. There's also the reality of drugs, cartels, kidnapping, earthquakes, etc. 

I said fuck it and went anyway.

When you are 8 days away from turning 22, transferring money from your savings to checking is a hard, but necessary, task at times and it's exactly what I did to go on this trip. I knew I'd be getting paid soon so I just had to save more money from the upcoming check to pay myself back.

JetBlue Vacations had a roundtrip flight + hotel deal for $540, which was honestly a gift from the Universe.

From there, my only expenses were transportation, food and excursions. I spent roughly 700-800 U.S. dollars.

And it was worth it.

While I was in Mexico, I visited Tulum where I rode an ATV through the jungle, visited Cenotes (underground sinkholes - very beautiful works of art), ate Mole for the first time (Which I only knew existed after reading Reyna Grande's memoir and it is AMAZING), got a massage, received free wine, had tiny fish nibble on my toes, swam on the rooftop pool of my hotel and drank tequila (despite my mother's incessant warning to NOT drink the tequila).

It was an amazing trip.

Mexico really wanted me there and I came back to America 22 years old and an official solo traveller. After that experience I felt prepared to do whatever it is that I want to do and go wherever I want to go for the rest of my life.

#vivamexico