Making friends while traveling solo

Ecuador – January 2019

I arrive in Quito, Ecuador one evening after a tiring 36-hour bus journey from Cali, Colombia. Following a recommendation from a girl I met in Bogotá, I check in at “The Secret Garden Hostel” and go straight to bed. The next morning, I take my time to thoroughly look at the incredible hostel. At the reception on the rooftop (with quite possibly the best views over Quito) I learn that they have a free walking tour starting at 10am.

On tour I met Michelle from Malta and a crazy guy from Queens, who was working on a farm in the amazon rainforest until a couple days earlier. We have a great time discovering the highest capital of the world together and once the tour is over, Michelle and I decide to continue walking around town on our own and go up to Cruz Loma by cable car. On the way down we meet a lovely Ecuadorian family who offers us a ride back to town. In the evening I join a couple of people from my dorm (2 Hungarians, Marta from Spain, and a girl from Mexico) for barbeque at the hostel’s rooftop restaurant. What begins with a beer, ends with a late-night walk through Quito talking about God and the world.

The morning after, I run into Michelle at breakfast. She’s talking to a Chinese girl who introduces herself as Ellie. The three of us immediately get along and we exchange our plans for the next days. Michelle wants to see more of Ecuador too and is thinking about visiting the Galapagos Islands. Ellie has 10 days left until her flight from Bogotá to Miami and no plans for the upcoming days. I tell them that I plan to travel south to Baños in 2 days to go river rafting and ziplining. No need to convince them – without hesitation they decide to join me.

We meet again later during the day and Ellie shows us one of the delicious “Chifa” restaurants. They are run by Chinese immigrants who serve several traditional dishes from their homeland, mixed with typical South American ingredients. We end the day at a bar down the street from the hostel, which is only to be opened a couple days later and who’s owners spontaneously invite us in and ask for our opinion on their craft beer. They have 3 different flavors and of course we must try each one. The multicultural and multilingual conversations about beer, past and future travels, and relationships last until the early morning hours and we promise to come back for the bar’s inauguration if we’re still in Quito.

Unfortunately, by the time of the opening party 2 days later, Michelle, Ellie and I are already in Baños. In one of Ecuador’s most popular adventure sports destinations, we are looking for adrenaline rushes followed by relaxing baths in hot springs. Read more about this part of our journey here. On separate occasions along the way we meet Turki from Saudi Arabia and Takuya from Japan. Both have interesting stories to tell, Turki invites all of us to one day visit him his home country and I meet Takuya again later during my trip down to Argentina.

After Baños, the girls and I take a night bus to Cuenca, the last part of our trip together. We arrive at 4am and can’t immediately find our guesthouse. The locations on Maps.me and Google Maps don’t add up and we start to get frustrated with the situation and at each other. Suddenly the familiar hostel logo shows up around the corner and after ringing the bell someone opens the door. We can sleep in the communal space and when the host arrives a couple hours later are shown to our room.

On the second evening I catch the first stomach flu after 3 months in Latin America and spend most of the night and the next day in bed. Even though the hostel cat tries to help and cuddles up next to me, I feel horrible and can’t even properly say goodbye to Ellie and Michelle when they both leave Cuenca. Ellie by Bus to Quito and from there onward to Miami. Michelle to Guayaquil and the Galapagos islands. At least I know I will see both of them again; be it at a beach in Malta, in the Swiss mountains or one of the enormous Chinese cities.