Solo Travel Reveals Character: How Nearly Two Years in Mexico Revealed Capabilities I Never Knew I Had
The following is a transcript from the Travel Documented Podcast:
Travel Documented is a podcast that takes you beyond the usual travel guides to explore life abroad, cultural immersion, and embracing change with courage and curiosity. Hosted by Samantha, a seasoned solo female traveler and digital nomad, the show shares personal experiences and insights gained from over eight years of house and pet sitting across 40 U.S. states, 13 countries, and three continents.
From leaving the big-city grind behind to creating a life of freedom and exploration, Samantha provides the tools, stories, and encouragement to make your travel dreams a reality. The podcast covers solo travel, cultural exploration, house and pet sitting adventures, budget travel tips, and the real challenges of nomadic life. Whether you’re planning your first international trip, dreaming of life abroad, or simply craving inspiration to live life on your terms, Travel Documented offers authentic insights from someone who’s navigated adventures throughout Mexico, the USA, Europe, and beyond.
Picture this: I’m sitting on a plane from Dallas to Guadalajara, my backpack stuffed into the overhead bin, watching Texas disappear below me. I’m a solo female traveler about to spend God knows how long backpacking through Mexico, and while I’m nervous about the unknown, I have this quiet confidence that I can handle whatever comes my way. That flight was just the beginning of what would become nearly two years of discovering what independence actually looks like when you’re building a life from nothing in a completely different culture.
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Welcome to the Travel Documented Podcast, the podcast that takes you beyond the usual travel guides to explore life abroad, cultural immersion, and embracing change with courage and curiosity. I’m your host Samantha, and today, in this episode, we’re going to talk about the three stages of transformation that nobody prepares you for when you embark on extended solo travel – from learning what real independence actually means, to discovering just how brave you can become, to finding home in the most unexpected places.
First, being independent at home is nothing compared to rebuilding your entire life from scratch in a foreign country. Second? You’ll surprise yourself with how brave you can become when you start pushing your comfort zone one small step at a time. And third? You might just fall so deeply in love with another culture that going back home feels like visiting a foreign country.
I learned all of this during my journey from that nervous woman on a flight from Dallas to Mexico to someone who felt more at home in Mexico than anywhere else.
Today, I want to share the three stages of that transformation. The stuff nobody prepared me for.
Stage One: Learning That Home Independence and Foreign Independence Are Two Different Animals
Those first days in Mexico showed me just how adaptable I actually was. Sure, everything required more attention than at home, but I found myself naturally figuring out new systems. I remember my first trip to a local market, taking in all the vendors, the flow of customers, the way people interacted. At home, I shopped efficiently out of habit. Here, I was learning – which vendors had the best produce, how to engage in the friendly banter that came with buying food, what time of day offered the freshest options, navigating currency exchanges, and adjusting to a cash-based economy where building relationships with vendors mattered as much as the transaction itself.
Each small success built on the last. Navigation became intuitive. I started recognizing neighborhood rhythms and understanding local preferences. What I initially thought would be new challenges turned out to be opportunities to discover capabilities I didn’t know I had.
I surprised myself with how quickly I learned to read situations – which neighborhoods felt welcoming, how to handle bureaucratic processes, when to be patient and when to be assertive. I found I had instincts I never knew existed. Whether it was negotiating with a taxi driver, finding reliable internet for work, or choosing safe and comfortable accommodations, I was making smart decisions based on observation and intuition.
The breakthrough came when I realized I wasn’t just adapting – I was excelling. I was making decisions confidently, trusting my instincts about people and places, and handling whatever came up with a level of self-assurance that surprised me. I had capabilities I’d never had to tap into before, and Mexico was giving me the perfect environment to discover them.
But competence was just the beginning. Once I knew I could handle anything Mexico threw at me, I was ready to go deeper into the culture.
Related: Learn How 400,000 Women are Reshaping the Travel Industry – Solo Female Travelers
Stage Two: Discovering How Brave You Can Become When You Push One Boundary at a Time
About six months in, I made a conscious decision to go deeper. I wasn’t content with just getting by – I wanted to really understand how life worked here. This meant paying attention to cultural nuances, perfecting my Spanish through daily conversations, and learning the unwritten rules that make a place feel like home.
Every day brought new understanding. I learned when shops closed for siesta and why. I understood the importance of greeting everyone when entering a space. I picked up on humor, regional expressions, and local perspectives on everything from politics to family.
This wasn’t difficult – it was fascinating. Each conversation taught me something new. Each cultural difference I learned to navigate made me more confident in the next situation.
After I got my casita and had been in Mexico for about six months, something clicked. I had developed a solid understanding of my area – I knew which bus routes were most reliable, which markets had the best produce, how to handle any administrative tasks that came up. I felt genuinely adjusted, not just surviving but truly settled.
I say all of this not to showcase my skills, I say it because you may also want to travel, and to travel solo, and you may be concerned about a few things. I share my experiences as a solo female traveler to help build your confidence in yourself, knowing that if you have the desire, I can help you to get there.
That’s when I knew I was ready to explore more of the country. I had built a foundation of cultural understanding and practical knowledge that I could carry with me anywhere in Mexico. The confidence I’d developed in my home base gave me the courage to venture further, knowing I could adapt to new places just as successfully.
And that’s when something even more profound started happening – my confidence wasn’t just growing, it was transforming how I saw myself entirely.
Related: Samantha’s experiences reflect broader trends in solo female travel, which has seen remarkable growth with searches for “solo female travel” increasing 3-fold during recent years and women projected to control 75% of all discretionary income by 2028 2024 Solo Female Travel Trends and Statistics (Solo Female Travelers Club).
Stage Three: When Adapting Becomes Belonging
What started as competence and adjustment had evolved into something much deeper – genuine confidence that radiated from within. I wasn’t just capable of handling Mexico; I was thriving in it in ways that surprised even me.
This wasn’t about proving anything to anyone. It was about discovering a version of myself that I didn’t know existed. The woman who could negotiate anything, navigate any situation, and adapt to any environment with grace and confidence.
My Spanish had become effortless – not perfect, but natural. I was thinking in Spanish, processing my next move in Spanish, and feeling more comfortable every day. More importantly, I was understanding cultural nuances that went far beyond language.
The real transformation came when I realized I was no longer comparing everything to how things worked back home. Mexico wasn’t different from the US – it was just Mexico, with its own perfectly logical way of doing things. And I had learned to operate within that system on my own as a solo female traveler.
Related: 3 Reasons Why I’m Headed Back to Sayulita Mexico
The Real Transformation
So here I am, nearly two years later, and that woman on the plane from Dallas? She feels like a different person. Not because Mexico changed me, but because Mexico gave me space to become who I actually was underneath all the safety nets I’d built at home.
The three stages taught me this: You’re smarter than you realize, adjustment is about patience and effort, and confidence grows naturally when you trust yourself.
You don’t have to travel for two years to experience this. You just have to be willing to discover your own capabilities, one thoughtful decision at a time. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll find that the strength and adaptability you’re looking for was inside you all along.
Because here’s what I really learned: solo travel isn’t about proving you can survive on your own. It’s about discovering that you can thrive anywhere when you trust your intelligence, embrace learning, and let your confidence develop naturally. It’s realizing that independence isn’t about isolation – it’s about knowing you have the skills to handle whatever comes your way.
Now, I have to tell you, I’m absolutely buzzing with excitement because all of these stories and so many more are going into a book I’ve been working on. It’s currently with my editors, and I honestly can’t wait to share more details with you soon. There’s something magical about putting these experiences on paper, diving deeper into the moments that really shaped this journey.
If these stories resonated with you, if you’re craving more of the real, unfiltered truth about solo travel and finding home in unexpected places.
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