Sports fan? It’s the perfect entree for a solo traveler. Perhaps you play a sport. Perhaps you’re a big fan of a sport. Either way, it’s something you have in common with a large group of people in other countries.
Sports bring travelers and locals together in several ways, according to a post in Vagabondish, a Web travelzine. You can learn about a new sport in a foreign country; you can join locals playing casually; and you can visit during a big sports competition.
When I was in Spain (see post) last June, I ended up by accident in a small restaurant in Barco de Avila during the final match of the country’s soccer league. It was Real Madrid against…another team. (Maybe you soccer/football fans remember). Well, this place was hopping!
The entire town came out, it felt like, to drink beer, eat tapas and watch the match together. Gray
haired men with canes and dark-haired, dark eyed beauties – both men
and women. As long as you were drinking and cheering one or the other
team you were part of the gang. You didn’t have to speak Spanish. No
one could hear you anyway!
It’s similar in Cuba with baseball. My friend Penny and her husband Mike
visited Cuba several years ago and Mike ended up playing baseball with
the hotel staff. It was one of the highlights of their trip.
My friend Anya visited Buenos Aires and caught a
match of The Boca Juniors, (La Boca) one of the biggest soccer teams in
Argentina. A solo traveler can easily arrange a visit to the stadium
with a company that picks you up and drops you off and seats you in the "correct" part of the stadium for foreigners who would like to keep the trampling at bay.
Maria, a soccer player and fan who I wrote about before, met a great bunch of Irish lads because she went out to a pub to watch a soccer game between Ireland and Brazil one night.
So. Anyone know of sports leagues or competitions around the world readers might be interested in? Write in!
Photos: Ellen Perlman
1. Soccer on television in Barco de Avila, Spain
2. Watching soccer on television in Barco de Avila, Spain.
Boldly Go Solo 
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