If you had told me a year ago that I’d be alone in the middle of the Agafay Desert, surrounded by strangers and riding camels, I would have thought you were crazy.
As someone who spends all her time with family and friends, I rarely do things solo. But since graduating from college, schedules have gotten busier, plans don’t always line up, and I’ve had to get more comfortable showing up for myself.
This comfortability was really put to the test on a recent trip to Morocco to visit family. One evening, everyone else already had tickets to an event, leaving me on my own.
Staying in the hotel felt like a waste in such a beautiful country, so I booked a single ticket for a group excursion into the Agafay Desert, which included a camel ride, an argan butter tasting, and a group dinner with a show.
I had doubts about being on my own, but it turned out to be the best solo travel decision I’ve ever made.
At first, the experience felt a bit awkward
The tour guides picked everyone up from their hotels in a Sprinter van. When I got into the vehicle, I immediately noticed that everyone was there with someone — couples leaning into each other, families chatting, and friend groups laughing. I was the only one alone.
On the drive there, everyone chatted within their own groups while I sat quietly. Multiple languages blurred together in the background as conversations bounced around the van.
After a 45-minute drive, the van came to a stop at a desert camp with camels lined up in a row.
As the guide helped us onto the camels, the awkwardness started to fade. Everyone’s attention shifted away from the social dynamic, and onto the shared experience.
A man led the camels through the desert as the sun began to set, and the views were absolutely stunning. For the first time that evening, I stopped thinking about the fact that I was there alone.
What was most important was that I was experiencing something beautiful for myself.
Once we started to engage in real conversation, the tension disappeared
After the camel ride, we were brought to a hut where we drank tea and learned how to churn argan butter. We sat in a circle, dipping bread into different spreads and slowly easing into conversation.
Eventually, a woman turned to me and asked where I was from and why I was alone. Somewhere in the midst of speaking to her, I realized that the entire circle had joined in. One by one, everyone shared where they were from and bits of their story.
I found myself speaking Italian with a couple from Italy, while a woman who only spoke Spanish joined in with the help of translations. We chatted despite any language barriers, filling in gaps with gestures and smiles.
After we finished our tea, we were led to a cluster of tents deeper in the desert, where long dining tables were set up under the open sky.
Dinner was served family-style, and it felt unexpectedly special to share a meal with people who had been strangers just hours before.
I sat next to a couple from Ireland, with a family from the Canary Islands across from us. Small talk quickly turned into real conversation — jobs, favorite foods, and fun travel stories.
We kept discovering how much we had in common, despite being different ages and from all around the world.
Then the music started. Instruments came out, and suddenly everyone was dancing together.
At some point, I found myself singing on a chair, cymbals in my hands, while my new friends cheered me on. It felt like we had known each other for much longer than a couple of hours.
On the ride back to the hotel, I realized I had made a new group of friends
The drive back was filled with laughter and conversation. We passed phones around, exchanged photos, and shared numbers. The quiet ride there felt like a distant memory.
We arrived as strangers, but somewhere between shared plates, music, and dancing, we formed connections. It didn’t matter where we were from, and it definitely didn’t matter that I showed up alone.
Not only did I have a blast, but the experience taught me that I can do anything on my own, because there will always be opportunities to find connections along the way.
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