Did you meet people?

Did you meet people? I have to admit that I really love this question.
Because people know you went traveling by yourself for 2 months they really wonder if you spent it ALL by yourself. Or rather they think: "he must have met people, he must have met other travelers or local people" because they simply can't imagine a single minute going there and not meeting anyone. They are simply curious about it and they are right :D
Anyway who would be crazy enough to go abroad and spend the whole time by himself not even trying to exchange/interact with other people? You would really have to be a complete weirdo or the most non-talkative person ever.

After all, to me traveling is about people. It is about all the little moments chatting/talking/laughing with people about this or that, about the next place you want to travel to, about something they enjoyed doing or they want/wish to do, about something that you enjoyed, about listening to what they think about life or politics or family or whatever else. It is about being mesmerized by the beauty, the simplicity, the kindness, the love people are showing in everyday life. I mean I can say I have met someone though I have actually just looked at what the person was doing from the other side of the street. Even if you don't talk to that person it still to me one of those instant where you "meet" someone. For instance I can say I have met a trumpeter in Chiclayo, Peru whereas I simply observed him playing the trumpet and begging for money. I just liked the moment, his music, his attitude, observing people passing by. I just liked observing some among them stopping, giving a coin or two and exchanging smiles with the trumpeter.

I really think that being living in world with no one else, being absolutely ALONE, would be the most boring thing ever. You could be mesmerized by an amazing landscapes/scenery but with no one to share it with, what's the point?

I can completely understand that sometimes you can experience something truly amazing by yourself. Reaching the top of that mountain Huayna Potosi in Bolivia is one example. Reaching finally the top at 6088m after several hours of intense efforts in the dark, in the cold, and slowly moving up one (small) step after another I can tell you that for an instant you don't think about anyone else than you. You fight against yourself, you're talking to yourself, you're saying one more step, one more step... And when you do reach stop, when you finally stand on the top and you see the sun coming out you feel happy, truly happy. The pain is gone, you don't feel cold anymore, you don't think of anything anymore. You look around you, you look at the sun rays piercing through the clouds, slowly shining on the snow, and warming up your skin. You look at the city lights far far away. It is really hard to put words on what you can possibly think of during that instant because you simply can't come up with words to describe how beautiful it is, how happy you feel, how mesmerized you are. I think that during that particular instant your brain is overflown by all your sensations and it becomes blank. Then slowly the overflow dissipates and your brain gets back in control. Finally, you start to think I need to tell someone about this. I need to tell someone how happy I feel. I need to ask someone if he/she feels the same. I need to share it with someone.

Meeting people is what gives you the possibility to share those moments and even more. It offers you the possibility to make them last forever, to make them become something unforgettable, to make them become memories.

So yes I have met plenty of people, yes I have traveled with other people for a day or more, yes I have met lots of local people, yes I have the most unbelievable persons/travelers/backpackers ever, yes I met people I think I will keep in touch with.
The thing I like so much about this question: "Did you meet people?" is that every time I am being asked I have all those people's faces that flash in my mind. After 1 sec it is not 5 faces that flash in my mind but several dozens of faces. You think of someone. It brings back a memory, an instant, something funny, amazing, sad, anything that link you to that person. One more second later you mind moved to another person, and another, and another...

Three words to say it all: I Love People