Group Travel

Up until recently I have traveled primarily solo on this trip. Recently however I have had the experience of traveling with a group or with a partner and that has changed several aspects of travel. 

The group of folks I hung out with in Bolivia and Chile were all solo travelers who grouped together for the Solar de Uyuni, I had a chance to chat about the differences when traveling alone vs with a group with a couple of the others and here are some of the things we noticed.

Group Travel Positives

Fun: when traveling alone you have a lot of downtime that can get a little boring. I've shared how I tend to overthink, and have to push myself to stay positive during the down times, well when traveling with a group- there is less downtime because it automatically becomes conversation or game time. With the group I was hanging with, we got into routines of playing celebrity heads (guess the celeb), card games and sharing jokes and stories. The long car rides became times for singalongs, the coffee shop turned into trivial pursuit time.  I spent far less time on social media because I was having fun and being social. Having live conversations about the past, present and future instead of virtual conversations that take a week and a good wifi connection to continue. 

Another aspect of this is that you can joke with someone about the irritating situations.  A cold shower becomes a shared joke. Bad service in a restaurant or a hostel becomes a shared joke. That annoying stomach bug that keeps coming back becomes a shared joke. Jokes make travel much easier.

All that shared time together let's you make close friends quick. The process of cathecting through shared experiences - life long friends? Who knows, but I will certainly smile when I think of my time with these folks. 

Relaxing: another nice piece of group travel is that generally you get to relax more. Someone else will likely know the plan and make the decision. Someone else will have expertise at Spanish and ask the question you aren't quite sure how to phrase... Someone else will have a phone charger handy, or correct change at the restaurant, perhaps best of all someone else will watch your bag while you run to the bathroom!  It's nice to be able to rely on someone else, especially when you've had to be self reliant for week after week. Give your brain a chance to relax, drop your guard just a touch and enjoy the experience of traveling.

Perhaps it is the decrease in negatives that makes group travel so nice. All the little things that you didn't have to feel or notice because they just didn't come up. For instance the social anxiety of having to make new friends in every location-didn't even come up. The feeling of loneliness that usually arises when you see something awesome and don't have someone to share it- didn't even come up.   The doubt that arises when you don't know what to share in a conversation because no one really knows you... Well that doesn't come up because these people know you.

All of this combined leads to a feeling of belonging, a sort of home away from home. That word came up a lot while I was traveling with the group... "I'll see you at home."  And we sort of mean it.

Negatives of group travel

Oddly enough the majority of the negatives are the same things only tweaked.

For instance the increase in in-group fun, leads a person to stop seeking out new friends. After a week of hanging out with one group I realized I hadn't met anyone new in awhile. The positive of a group is it gets you through the downtimes, but the negative is that you can overrely on the people you know. Why make new friends when you've got friends who know you, know your jokes, your routines etc?

Then of course there are those routines... If you always let someone else ask the questions, you stop practicing your Spanish. If you let others figure out the directions, you stop being aware of your surroundings.  

In Potosi I realized I hadn't done any of my research, didn't know where we were staying, didn't know how to get to the next spot. When I left I felt like I hadn't seen the city because I hadn't put any intention into it. 

Worse though is when everyone does it at the same time... Groups trying to figure out where to eat, stay, etc when no one knows anything or cares all that much = a group of people wandering with no one happy.  This gets aggravating pretty quick and sometimes leaves you stuck in routines that are mostly just lazy (Sure we all like that restaurant but only because we haven't been to any others in 3 days). 

So you can become sort of lazy when traveling with a group... And this was one thing I realized I was struggling with. I hadn't journaled or blogged or drawn or read in weeks, it made me feel unproductive and a little lost even though I was surrounded by homies. Balance is really important when traveling and too much group time can throw you off your game...

Finally what happens when there is an imbalance? Normal social dynamics are intensified while traveling so of course you are going to have your crabby day. There is going to be one day when everyone annoys you, but you are part of a group now so you can't just be the loner you've been... What to do?

Similarly what if one person is constantly being a pain, or a mooch, or totally negative all the time? They are part of the group and you don't want to throw off the dynamic by starting a conflict...

Luckily these things didn't come up much. I had one day I woke up super crabby and assumed I would be irritated all day but within an hour I was laughing and joking again, and it made me realize how much I enjoyed the people around me. I wanted them around to cheer me up, and they were there to do it... Super convenient.

In all I don't think you can say solo or group travel is better... But it's nice to experience both on a trip.