Ismail and Jacob

On Monday evening, I was feeling a bit down overall. The past week was a hectic busy week where I was adjusting to jet lag. Then I had a fun weekend in Sevilla with less than optimal sleep. On Monday morning, I decided to try to escape the rain by heading over to Granada early. I took an early train to Granada and got settled in and even went on a run.

It was largely a great day but as the night and the rain started to settle in, I started to get a bit lonely. It felt like a typical case of the Mondays, but vacation style. Everything was largely closed being a Monday and the rain was putting a damper on things. On top of this, I was exhausted. Not my ideal first day in Granada.

I spent some time wandering and stopped at a couple bars for drinks but got bored quickly given the unfriendly crowd. I decided to grab some food at a local tapas/wine bar quickly and probably call it a night. Of course, most good things happen when you’re not expecting it. It was at this bar that I met Jacob and Ismail who ended up turning around the trip for me.

I was standing alone, probably looking a bit sad and lost, when Ismail came up next to me and started a conversation. He was a local from Granada but now lives in Madrid. He had spent some time in California and his English was fantastic. We spoke about life, kids, travel and work. He had decided to spend some more time at home in Granada as he’s been stressed with work. I could relate so we talked a lot about work, being connected 24/7, etc.

Ismail ordered some local wine for me which came with an amazing tapas. We spoke a lot about food and he even wrote down his favorite spots in Granada which I actually visited today before I left. Our time spent was short, but Ismail reminded me of the good things in life. Traveling is about meeting amazing people from all over the world. We texted today a bit and he was as friendly as he was in person.

Jacob coincidentally was standing behind Ismail and quickly joined the conversation. He was an engineer who had moved to Seattle so we had the Seattle connection going. Jacob was in Barcelona for work and had been riding his motorcycle all over the South of Spain. He was making a quick stop in Granada before heading back to Barcelona. He was also traveling alone so we connected and decided to have dinner together the next day after seeing the Alhambra.

Last night, we had an amazing dinner with a great view where we talked about life, travel and work. He had been going through a hard time during COVID so the travel was a great way to get away. We both talked about the isolation issues we’ve been having in Spain so far. It felt really good to have someone else understand what I was going through.

Meeting Ismail and Jacob turned the trajectory for this trip around for me. Prior to meeting them on that lonely Monday night, I was feeling a bit down and tired. I have traveled solo a lot, but this time felt differently. Mainly because I wasn’t staying in a hostel and looking to party all the time and because I wasn’t with Sophia or another close friend which I have been used to for the past few years.

After meeting both of these guys, I remembered the beauty of traveling. Serendipitous encounters. New friends. Experiencing something new for the first time. I started to open up again after being closed off for 2+ years in COVID. This big realization hit me today.

I made conversations with people at the lookout point today. I talked and smiled with the waiter at lunch as he brought me out a plate of snails. I was back to enjoying life and being okay with being by myself again. It was an amazing feeling and I feel free once again.