Solo traveler finds adventure and friendship

LIBERIA, Costa Rica — A young woman traveling alone draws quizzical looks and a variety of reactions, ranging from horror to admiration, but almost always tinged with pity.

My friends thought my five-day solo trip to Costa Rica sounded cool but couldn't hide their concern that I planned the escape because I didn't have a man to whisk me away.

My parents were convinced that smugglers would hide drugs, weapons, cash and microfilm in my luggage and that I'd be arrested and imprisoned for life in a bamboo cage in the middle of the rain forest.

The plump middle-aged Chicago woman in the seat next to me on the plane, heading to Costa Rica to celebrate her 25th wedding anniversary, clucked sympathetically when I admitted under questioning that I was spending the next five days by myself.

"Well, good for YOU," she said, as if I were acknowledging an addiction and vowing to seek help.

The truth is, I'm used to doing things by myself — I live alone in New York City, cook for myself, often go solo to see live music. And before this week was over, I would watch surfers on the beach, drink cold Costa Rican beer as the sun set, ride horseback at the foot of a volcano, hike into the rain forest, listen to frogs and howler monkeys at night and enjoy steaming cafe con leche in the morning — all on my own.

Still feel sorry for me?

Last winter, I made a resolution to start traveling alone, before I start acquiring the strings that make such a luxury impossible. The advantages are endless — go where you want, do what you want, spend very little money doing it.

For my first trip, I wanted to lie on a beach somewhere in a country where I could practice Spanish and get by on a budget. I also wanted an adventure — I wasn't looking for a spring-break-type resort where I'd be hanging out with people just like me.

Costa Rica was perfect. The stable, Central American country boasts beautiful beaches, exotic jungles, a great climate and still retains an identity somewhat undisturbed by tourism overdevelopment.

To save money, I booked a trip that included airfare, hotel and meals. It was simple and a good deal. If I did this again, however, I wouldn't include meals, since I could probably eat for less than $10 a day in Costa Rica.