In her latest book, “Estrellas,” Penngrove local author Suzanne Maggio shares the profound experience of her nearly 500-mile solo journey on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Maggio, also author of “The Cardinal Club” and host of the podcast “From Sparks to Light,” reflects on the beauty and benefits of solo travel.
As Maggio approaches his 65th birthday, his story is a testament to the idea that it’s never too late to embark on transformative adventures.
Since his Camino de Santiago journey, Maggio has undertaken several other solo hikes, most recently his 19-day trek along the Via Francigena in Italy. The inspiration for this journey came from his Italian heritage and fascination with identity.
“I’m Italian and I love Italy,” she explains. “I have cousins who live in Rome and I’ve been lucky enough to go there a few times. So when I heard about the Via Francigena, it was an easy decision.”
As a social worker and professor of psychology, Maggio is deeply interested in what makes us who we are.
“I have an Italian passport, which I got 10 years ago after applying for Italian citizenship,” she said. “I wanted to explore what that means to me. Walking the Via Francigena was one way to do that.”
Maggio described her journey on the Via Francigena as extraordinary, difficult, challenging and inspiring. She emphasizes that, even without family ties to Italy, the beauty of the adventure can give meaning to everyone.
“Tuscany is incredibly beautiful,” she said. “It has everything you see in the pictures. Rolling hills. Cypress trees. Vineyards. Olive groves and hazelnut trees. Walking into Vatican City was like nothing I’ve ever done before. I’ve been there many times, but walking into it was completely different.”
One of the most memorable moments of Maggio’s walk came towards the end of her journey, when she met Gina, a young woman from the Romagna region.
“She started her journey from her home,” Maggio recalls. “At the age of 21, she had the courage to step out of her door and start walking.”
Maggio and Gina formed a deep bond during their journey together.
“Despite the fact that she was more than 40 years younger than me, that she came from a different country and had different experiences, we formed a deep bond,” she said. “As we climbed the Tuscan hills, through the hazelnut trees of Lazio and entered the Vatican square, it was just the two of us. When we got there, we held each other and cried. It was profound. We had experienced something remarkable together.”
These relationships and moments are what make solo travel unique and can’t be experienced when traveling with groups of familiar people, Maggio discovered.
“When you travel with friends or family, you have a safety valve, a built-in support system,” she noted. “There’s nothing wrong with that. I also like to travel with other people, but those experiences are different. I always go alone because I want to challenge myself. I’m naturally outgoing, so I like meeting people, but that doesn’t mean it’s always comfortable.”
Getting out of your comfort zone is the first step in planning a solo trip, Maggio firmly believes. It’s the first step toward what can be a truly transformative experience. As she writes in the novel “Estrella,” “Along the way, something inside me had changed. I could feel it in my bones. I left one person. I went home with another.”
That’s the appeal of traveling alone: experiencing a personal transformation and realizing it’s never too late to embrace it. In fact, as Maggio pointed out, for older people, now is the time to book those trips.
“Age is a funny thing. I’m going to be 65 soon, but deep down I don’t feel any different than I did at 40,” she said. “On the other hand, the older you get, the more you realize that forever is not here. There are so many things I want to do. There are so many places I want to see. I don’t want to waste time wondering if I’m going to do it. It’s time to do it.”
For more information about Suzanne Maggio and her work, visit suzannemaggio.com.
