Welcome back to Flying Solo! I (as in, brand development editor Kennedy) just wrapped up 4 weeks in Nicaragua. The Central American country is known as the land of lakes and volcanoes, but I didn’t visit many of these “must-see” sites for reasons I’ll get to below. But before that, let’s get into my…

Baggage
1. Cheap flip-flops for hostel showers. I bought them at a market, but those classic Old Navy’s work good, too.
2. A travel rewards card, which is my sole justification for spending an obscene amount on dining. (The points > my self-control.)
3. An eReader so that I can escape into romance novels without lugging around paperbacks.

Mile-High Moment
Since the start of my trip, I’ve lived in Airbnbs for the sake of privacy. I’ve always made friends wherever I go, but I started to miss having a sense of community. So, I decided to try Selina’s CoLive program, splitting my month between their 2 locations in Maderas and Granada. If you haven’t heard of Selina, it’s a bougie chain of hostels with all the concierge/restaurant/bar services the average traveler needs. Basically, they’re the perfect choice for people who don’t want to drop Marriott-level money but still like hot showers.

I initially thought it would just be nice to see familiar faces for a month, but the easy friendships I built with other guests and the amazing staff was a necessary change of pace after spending months dependent on Bumble BFF. It was almost like living in a dorm. When I wanted to grab food, I could just ask the Argentinian software engineer that was visiting for 2 weeks. I’d joke with the bartenders every day. And a volunteer from Denmark became my go-to for any partying. (Remember Treehouse Fridays and Sunday Fundays if you’re ever in town—both ended in bad luck for me, but that’s just my life.)

 

What I Need to Unpack
My name is Kennedy and I’m a homebody. There, I said it! Whenever I tell people I’ve been traveling for 8 months, they have these grandiose visions of my life, as if I’m lounging at the beach by day and salsa dancing by night. And while I occasionally do those things, that’s not the whole story. I still have a full-time job, and I still want to veg out when there’s a new season of Virgin River. But when I hear Netflix’s familiar “dun dun,” that little voice in my head goes, “Kennedy, people would kill to be where you are! You should be scaling a mountain rn!”

That feeling was only bolstered by the incessant FOMO I experienced as a longer-term resident at Selina (which was the flip side of the mile-high I mentioned above). I kept meeting people who packed their 5-day stays with excursion after excursion. I did the same thing my first week, but soon the rest of my have-to-do’s became maybe-I’ll-get-to’s. I’ve always been someone who could go days without leaving my house and be completely unbothered. I was hoping hitting the skies would somehow transform me into those active girls always crossing some fjord. But that’s not me. Even when I’m traveling, I prefer to just live a regular life, because a backpacker’s schedule is honestly exhausting.

I talked to my life coach recently about my tendency to rush into things, and having an amazing experience in a country without running around every corner of it was an exercise against that habit. So no, I can’t tell you about Ometepe, León, the Corn Islands, or several other of Nicaragua’s hot spots. But I can tell you all my thoughts about Extraordinary Attorney Woo, which I spent 2 days binge-watching instead of trekking up another volcano. Hikes are awesome, but my streaming time is just as valid, so it’ll be staying on the sched.

Solo Travel Survival Tip
Towards the end of my trip, I got my bag stolen. That bag had my phone, credit card, and one of my debit cards, so I was freaking out. Now, I wouldn’t be worried to the core if I had travel insurance. I, however, did not. So, learn from my mistakes and sign up for a policy. Plans can cover ER visits, robberies, lost luggage, and other issues that could really ruin your vacay.