Who else watches the HBO show Game of Thrones? I don’t want to brag but my brother and I have been watching the show since season one. Yup, we never had the pleasure of binge watching. We had to wait each week for a new episode and each year for a new season.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel to a few of the show’s filming locations. My first time to Europe was actually a study abroad trip to Croatia. They filmed a lot of the first couple seasons there! In some of the later seasons, they started filming in Spain where I lived and worked last year. While there, my family and I drove to Norther Spain to see one of Game of Thrones most iconic locations: Dragonstone.

My family and I visited here before they dropped off my brother and I to start El Camino de Santiago; read all about my first time walking the way of Saint James.

Gaztelugatxe, or the stairs above the sea, has a beautiful winding staircase from the mainland to a tall inlet. It’s located in the Basque region of Spain where they speak their own unique language. Gaztelugatxe translates to “the craggy fort” or “difficult castle” in Basque.

The inlet is called San Juan de Gaztelugatxe after the Saint. On top of the inlet sits a small hermitage to John the Baptist dating to (at least) the tenth century. The hermitage is stunning in the middle of nowhere. It’s quite isolated and has panoramic views.

Althought it had been made more popular by the show using it as a filming location. I still think it’s absolutely insane. It might even show up in the final season! If so, I will unabashedly fangirl. It’s just a lovely spot that I enjoyed seeing with my family but especially my brother. We were on the bandwagon before it was cool because of our mutual interest in fantasy. (Did you see I wrote a fantasy book? Fantasy is awesome!)

So without further ado, enjoy some pictures!

Happy Traveling-

Happy travel Tuesday! (I totally just made that up.) I’m still getting around to sharing some of the last pictures of my travels last year. Just a couple more (literally two) posts featuring some of my pictures.

My parents and neighbors visited me in Spain after I finished my school year in Córdoba. My parents then dropped my brother and I off in Jean St. Pied de Port and we walked El Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage across northern Spain. (Read my reflection here after walking 460 km!) In a nine-passenger van, we drove around Northern Spain, visited wineries, and ate pinchos. Here are some of my pictures of the region!

Segovia

La Rioja

As always, I wish there would have been more time to explore this rich region more. But it just means I’ll have to visit again to experience some more famous La Rioja red wine.

Happy Travels-

During the last week of May, American friends of mine came to visit and stay with me before embarking on their own European adventure. We wanted to go somewhere close, near Córdoba. Plus with so many of us, we could rent a car and finally go to Ronda. Because it’s not exactly easy to get to.

I wanted to go to Ronda ever since my Spanish professor at university showed us pictures of his hometown. Yes, he was from this unbelievable place. Once you see the pictures for yourself you see just how incredible this place is. People actually get to live here!

Setenil de Las Bodegas

This town is right outside Ronda and is special for this one feature: an awning made of rock and buildings built into the cliff side. There’s not much to do there but we had a great traditional Spanish lunch at a cafe outside, sitting next the stream, and under the rock cliff itself.

Ronda

We were lucky enough to visit Ronda while they were having a small festival! There was a skit on the steps of the municipal building and the park was full of food and trinket vendors. The weather was gorgeous but it was nothing compared to the epic architecture of the town itself.

Ronda is home to the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain. This stadium is half museum and half equestrian center.

Caminito del Rey

On Sunday, we headed east to walk the Caminito del Rey or the walk of the King. This walk is not strenuous and people of all ages were walking this path. However, if you are scared of heights (like me) you might accidentally pee your pants or be shaking quite a lot. The walkway is built on the side of the massive canyon that gives impressive views of the river carved natural wonder.

Don’t you see how crazy it is that people get to live in these places? What do you think of architecture? I must admit that Ronda inspired a middle grade fantasy book idea that hopefully I’ll get to write someday. And I’ll be using these pictures as inspiration!

Happy Traveling-

I’m a huge proponent of keeping a written account! It’s such a personal and individualized keepsake. I think its purpose is twofold. While you are hiking, it acts as a gratitude journal by writing your daily reflection. The other purpose is a record of your time, thoughts, and feelings that you can read at a later date. Already, my memory from my time has really faded. Of course, I remember the big bright spots and some of the dark lows, but with my journal I recorded everything. Like seriously, everything. What we ate, who we meet, conversation topics, ideas, beliefs, just all the things that came to mind as I sat that night and scribbled away. What a valuable gift to give yourself, a perfect recollection of the past as you saw fit to write.

I am a writer and an artist. For months before the hike, I prepared my journal. I wrote some background about my time living in Spain and the reasons why I wanted to do the hike.

Materials

Keep it light and take only what you need. This is what I had in my “pencil” bag:

• Black pen
• Blue pen
• Red pen
• Pencil with an eraser
• 2 rolls of washi tape

Along with my journal I had some other document type things. Again, only bring the essentials! For hiking El Camino I also had:

• Pilgrimage passport
• List of albergues and distances (obtained at piligrim’s office)
• Guide book (This is the best one out there; this was not the original one I purchased either but the one I wish I had bought.)

Tips for Journaling while Hiking

Before Hiking

1) Get a journal! It’s important to get something rather small and light. The journal I used was a gift I received many years ago and hadn’t used yet. My boyfriend at the time purchased one with blank pages (not lines) so I could draw if I wanted.

When purchasing a journal consider these things:

• Weight
  
  • The lighter the better! But also consider it’s durability. You don’t want something that will easily crumple.
• Size
  • Measure the size of the pocket or sleeve you would like to keep it in. Purchase accordingly.
• Type of pages
  • Blank pages for drawing, lines for mostly writing, or dots for a bullet journal style.
• Price
  • For me, free! But remember, you don’t want to get something too expensive. The journal, while important, is going to be tossed around in your bag and potentially exposed to elements (or spillage).

My journal was definitely on the heavy side (well, my whole pack was on the heavy side). But if I ever hike the Camino again, I have room (two thirds) in the journal to add my experience.

2) Set goals and ask yourself reflection questions. These are the questions I asked myself in late May:

1. Why I am doing El Camino?
2. What do I hope to gain?
3. What are my thoughts on religion?
4. What does El Camino mean to me?

3) Set up the beginning of your journal! This was so fun for me. I used fancy pens and watercolor (knowing I wouldn’t take these frivolous things with me on the hike itself). You can do whatever you want. I even put my packing list in my journal to keep track of my belongings.

While Hiking

1) Write, write, write

Write every day even if you are tired and don’t want to. It’s especially important at the beginning to get into a good habit and to not fall behind on documenting your journey when you’ve only just started. The longer you go without writing, the more you will forget.

2) Figure out what works for you and what you want to write about

You don’t want journaling to be a chore. I decided to write the events of the day, as a narrative. I kept track of the little details of what I ate, felt, and people I meet. For me, I would write at the end of the evening and it was a way to reflect on the day as a whole and to decompose before I went to bed.

Other things you could write about instead: ideas you thought on the way, drawings, essays, interviews of others on the trail (for personal recording only), drawings, facts about the Camino, fun facts about churches you visit, etc.

As you can see, I also taped things into my journal. Mostly hostel tickets and plants I found on the path. (I promise I found them already on the ground. I didn’t pluck them from plants. I mean I was staring at my feet a lot so I saw things on the path.) Besides being a diary, it can also be a sort of scrapbook.

If you don’t want to write a lot, then something I did was create a title for each day. For example, day 14 was “Plague of Mosquito Bites” and day 15 was “Ode to Mom, Follow the Cherry Pit Trail.”

After Hiking

I think it’s important to journal after hiking as much as is it to do so while you are hiking. Never will your thoughts of the hike and your experience be as fresh as right after finishing. Take the time to pause and reflect. Be mindful of the experience as a whole and who you are in the moment you are writing.

I asked myself these reflection questions:

1. What do I think of El Camino after finishing it?
2. What does El Camino mean to me?
3. What did I gain?
4. What do I think of my overall experience walking El Camino?

Have you ever journaled while doing a prolonged hike? Or while traveling for an extended period? I hope I’ve convinced you to journal on your next trip. It’s such a beautiful thing to have.

Happy Writing-

Last June, my brother and I walked 460 km of the French Way of El Camino de Santiago, the way of Saint James, in northern Spain. It’s a medieval pilgrimage through Spain and ends in Santiago de Compostela. The remains of Saint James are in the cathedral of Santiago. Make sure to read my reflection of my experience.

I also journaled every single day of the walk. (And recorded everything I experienced in painstaking detail.) That journal is very personal and well, long. I wrote an average of six pages a day. And my brother and I walked for 21 days. You can check out this blog post where I share some photos of my journal and some tips for how to write while hiking.

The way was stunning, and honestly, I didn’t take a lot of photos! I usually take so many pictures but while walking it was laborious to get my phone out of my bag to take a picture. Plus when you’re walking it’s slow going so to the walker it seems like I was seeing the same thing over and over again.

Here are my pictures for my first time walking el Camino de Santiago!

It was seriously such a privilege to do this pilgrimage at the end of my time living in Spain. I would recommend it to anyone!

Buen Camino!

Last June, my brother joined me in Spain to walk El Camino de Santiago. It was my way of saying thank you for a great year after living and teaching in Spain. I lived in the south and this was a great way to slowly explore the north, truly experiencing each small town along the way. Be sure to check out my photo diary to see my best pictures.

On the walk, I kept a journal and wrote about every single day of our hike. I’m not going to write each and every day of my Camino experience on my blog. It was a personal journey and honestly, I don’t think many people would be interested in reading every excruciating detail of our day to day life (including what we ate which was mostly uneventful and only sometimes interesting). But make sure to check out this other blog post I wrote with a peek at my journal and tips for writing while hiking.

I’m currently using my journal to help write this blog post. The florid details are fading in my hapless human memory. I asked myself four questions after completing our 460 km walk. I encourage you to ask yourself these same questions after you walk El Camino (if you do). And be sure to do so right after while the memories, the experience, and the feelings are fresh and poignant. This reflection (my absolute rambling) was taken from my journal. I hope you enjoy reading my reflection.

What do I think of El Camino after finishing it?

I really enjoyed my experience walking the pilgrimage. I learned about living with less. And practically, just wear the same outfit every day since you’re going to smell anyway! Life is simplified: wake, walk, eat, sleep. Everything is reduced to the essentials of life. And I realized socializing is one of these things; human connection is vital. After a day of straight walking and not talking or interacting with others much, having good conversation stimulates the brain.

My body was pushed daily and most nights I sat, rested my body, and met others. It was so important and I loved this part of the Camino. I met so many incredible people from every continent who each brought their own hardships and stories. In this way, the walk was refreshing. I was not concerned with what others thought of me– appearance wise especially. (Tiredness makes you prioritize.) When interacting with others it’s about sharing self– what’s on the inside, not the outside, that matters.

As for the outside, my body and what I thought I could do was tested always. Heat, hills, soreness, bug bites, sickness, asthma. I overcame each time. I survived and continue to thrive. Staying healthy and exercise is so important and having such a great amount of time dedicated to it was refreshing and rejuvenating for my body. Especially since I sat a lot during my year in Spain and commuting a total of three hours a day.

I definitely would do the Camino again and be more prepared! I wish I could have walked the whole thing but it was hard after a year in Spain and being away from home so long. I did so much traveling last year and I enjoyed all of it, but I’m looking forward to a break and a recharge.

Financially, it was a bit tough. Doing the hike is not expensive but I would have felt more comfortable with a bit more of a cushion. Not to mention packing smarter, not harder. I learned the hard way that you don’t need much!

What does El Camino mean to me?

There is no right way to Camino! Every person’s walk is their own. It’s flexible and it’s what you want it to be. What are you gain is up to you. Having intentions before starting and working on your personal mission can shape your experience. And practically, you set the pace yourself. There should never be a time restriction. (In a vague sense, yes but you should stop when you need to stop.) You can walk as much or as little as you want or can each day. No one– and no book especially– should set your pace. That’s the great thing about it. You can do as much or as little as you want/need.

This also brings the hardship of saying many goodbyes. It’s the nature of the Camino. People come in and out of your time on the way. Some are only brief flashes of light why others might brighten your path for longer. It’s a great sadness and such a bittersweet part. It’s just like life. People walk in and out of your life and, for however long, walk with you and keep you company.

In the end, the pilgrimage did help me realize some of my beliefs more certainly. In all aspects of my mind, body, and spirit, I was in a state to do this walk for three weeks. What a privilege to be able to do this and what an achievement to finish. Spain was good to me! The country isn’t for me (to live and work) but it has so much to offer and it gave me a lot. I learned so much and grew as I walked step by step, kilometer by kilometer, town after town, and was hosted and granted space to reflect again and again.

What did I gain?

I gained a strong body and a love of walking. It really is my exercise of choice. Just walking this Earth. I like that it’s steady and slow so I can take and what’s around me and appreciate it. Talk with people that I walk with and not rush but take my time. I can breathe in steadily. Breathe in my surroundings with all my senses. The sensation of the five senses become melted together.

I didn’t become enlightened but I have my dreams and I’m ready to tackle them. I wasn’t anxious or worried during the whole hike. I do struggle with anxiety and get easily stressed by the pressures of life. But I was either too tired to worry or not concerned because I was living in the moment. Every day I was living in the moment, taking it in. Now, to incorporate this mindset into daily life.

I gained so much that I’m sure I don’t even realize some of it. I’m so happy I journaled and documented this experience. Reflecting is how I can grow and be grateful. Just the act of putting thoughts to paper and formulating words is existence itself. I know that I want to write and I’m itching to get my world created.

What do I think of my overall experience walking El Camino?

Overall, it was a good experience. I loved that my brother could do it with me and keep me company. What a comfort it was to have a companion and such a great support and motivator. He really did get me through tough times when I just wanted to quit.

I would definitely do it again (the whole thing) and I would love to do the northern route with its beautiful coast and mountain views. I want to meet pilgrims again. I think at any stage in your life, it can offer you different things. Thanks to a good first prolonged walk! I’ll never forget what appreciation I felt for a bed after a long day, lots of water on a hot day, food after working your body sore, and wine shared with incredible people.

Buen Camino!

I went to Seville to catch my bus to Morocco when I went over the late April puente. After returing from Africa, I got to spend some time in Seville but only for a handful of hours; I was only there for half a day before catching the train back to Córdoba. I didn’t get to see their most famous attraction, the Royal Alcázar of Seville, which was a bummer. We saw only two of the cities main attractions.

The city never sleeps! There are flamenco shows every night, parties, festivals, and cultural sights that require at least a couple days to truly experience. But here’s just a taste of my time there.

Plaza de España

Cathedral and Bell Tower

Catedral de Sevilla y la Giralda

Around the City

Seville is one of the most iconic southern Spanish cities. I regret not being able to see it or really spend time there. There is so much to do and experience in such a vibrant city. But alas, it only means one thing… I have to go back!

Happy Travels-

My best friend from elementary school flew to Spain to meet me for her spring break. I mentioned showing her around Cordoba before we flew to the Canary Islands! And let me tell you… wow! We had such an amazing five days exploring some parts of the island and soaking up the sun on black sand beaches. To be fair, my friend Amanda did most of the planning and organizing for this trip, God bless her. She had a list of things she wanted to see and do. And we even managed to do some things we didn’t plan, like relaxing on a nude beach. We did pack a lot of sight seeing into our couple days of vacation.

Tenerife is the biggest of the Canary Islands and its landscape is so diverse. The southern side of the island, I was surprised to find, was very desert-like; with dry heat and cactus plants thriving in the hot sand. The middle of the island is home to a huge mountain, the temperature lowers as the the altitude rises. The northern side that faces the Atlantic was lush with vegetation and humid air. The whole trip surprised me at every turn and exceeded my expectations. Just take a look for yourself at my best photos from the trip.

The Southern Side

Mount Teide Volcano

The Northern Side

Honestly, Amanda and I were busy swimming that I didn’t take a lot of pictures on the southern side. Just look at that water and you’ll know why! Plus, warm black sand beaches and eating sandwiches in the sun. Does this convince you to take a trip there? I know I want to go back. Thanks Tenerife!

Happy Travels-

At this point in the year, it had been raining in Spain for three straight weeks. In February, I didn’t travel a lot because of the crappy weather and that was a nice change. I also knew that the upcoming weeks in March were going to be full of travel. But I hadn’t been to Madrid yet! Living in Spain for almost six months at this point and I hadn’t been to the capital only a couple hours away.

Related: See my expat memoir post here about my time in March living in Córdoba and teaching English in a bilingual elementary school.

My friend from Penn State, Sarah, lived in Madrid and did the same program as me but in the big city. She was nice enough to host Hailey and I at her apartment for a night. We didn’t want to spend a lot time or money on this little trip. We knew that it was going to rain a bunch and we really had one mission: museums. Hailey loves museums– probably more than I do– and was happy to tag along for a rainy weekend of museum hopping.

And that’s what we did. We saw the Prado, the Reina Sofia, and the royal palace of Madrid. It was fabulous! But of course you can’t take pictures inside these places so this photoblog is seriously lacking. But I did want to give you a taste of Madrid. Because what I discovered was that Madrid isn’t a pretty city. It’s more modern and industrial than other older European cities.

Madrid does offer a ton of attractions though. And for me the other main attraction (besides the museums) was the food! There are so many diverse and delicious food options in Madrid. Besides making our way through museums, we also ate our way through Venezuelan arepas, Asian stir fry, and a huge (and I mean three course, wine and tea included) French brunch.

Have you ever been to Madrid? What did you think of the city? I definitely think I need to go again with more time and, hopefully, with a little less rain!

Happy Travels-

I mentioned in this post of my expat memoirs that Belinda hosted a couch surfer in our piso for a couple days. It was such a lovely experience hosting Tram from Vietnam and getting to know some things about her and her culture. Belinda is an active couch surfer and utilizes it a lot while traveling. Both of us wanted to go to Extremadura for a short weekend trip. We also both didn’t want to spend a lot of money and it was a bit of a last minute trip so what did we do… we couch surfed!

Yes, sorry not to tell you, mom, but I spent a weekend on the couches of random strangers in western Spain. Okay, but honestly, I felt like I had the best first-time couch surfing experience. So, what is couch surfing? It’s when locals host travelers in their homes for free for a short amount of time. It’s a free place to sleep for a couple nights but it can be so much more than that. It’s about sharing a common experience with others and meeting new people of different backgrounds.

Of course, there are right and wrong ways to go about couch surfing. To be fair, I am not really involved in the couch surfing scene. One of the pillars of couch surfing is to give back and host other people at your own place. I’ve never had my own place to be able to do this and before living in Córdoba, I have never lived in a desirable enough area where others would want to stay on my couch. Besides the fact that I’m a scaredy cat.

The whole theme of this trip was about meeting people. We interacted with so many locals and Spaniards between our couch surfing hosts and the BlaBlaCars we took, a carpooling app. I seriously got to practice my Spanish with all these interactions. And doing something like this really proves that people are good at heart.

One of the reasons I really wanted to go to Extremadura (and specifically Mérida) was because the teacher that recommended this program to me was an auxiliar in Mérida! Extremadura is the westernmost autonomous region of Spain. It borders Portugal and is generally known for its agriculture. It also has a sad history of being one of the poorest regions of Spain. Extremadura is home to some of the oldest cities and tourism in these areas is slowly growing because it’s home to many Roman structures. I don’t have many cool photos from the trip. The time of year that we went was just not the season for eye-catching pictures.

Mérida

Belinda and I arrived in the early afternoon and got lunch. It was so good it was insane! Or maybe it was because I was so hungry. Our couch surfing host for Friday night was Jose Luis who meet us after lunch for a beer and a tapa. And that tapa happened to be pig’s tongue! Trying it was actually not too bad. The texture was definitely off-putting but the sauce was good.

Our host went home since he had just finished a long day of work and Belinda and I explored Mérida. We really only had this half a day since the next day we had a ride to Cáceres. We had no plans; we just were organically wandering the quiet streets. Mérida is an ancient city founded by the Romans. Much of the Roman architecture remains and remains in great shape. Mérida has aqueducts, a temple, and the best preserved Roman amphitheater and theater.

Jose Luis didn’t just have a couch for us to sleep on but our own beds, in our own room. It was way nicer than most hostels I’ve stayed in. As a thanks to our host, we cooked dinner for all of us. He had some of his friends over and we all got chatting and listened to music and felt at home in his place.

Cáceres

The next morning our carpool to Cáceres was with a student and we got to know her on our two hour ride to our next city in Extremadura. Cáceres is another Roman city with intact Roman structures as well as medieval streets, Gothic and Renaissance buildings, and, even, Moorish walls.

In Cáceres we stayed with Antonio, a Cáceres native who is also a history major at university. He meet us and showed us all around, explaining the history and fun facts as we went. The old city is just quaint and picturesque with its cobble stoned streets and old brick.

Later that afternoon Antonio even drove us to Trujillo to see another pretty town with a castle at the top. The castle was closed for siesta so instead we walked the town, seeing all the high end restaurants full of tourists drinking wine and children playing in the square. We didn’t stay for very long since we were all feeling a bit tired after walking around all day.

Belinda and I were treated like queens. We didn’t have to couch surf; we had our own room with our own beds! His piso was spotless too. We cooked dinner for our host and ourselves. Cooking allowed us for another way to save money and treat our host who is letting us stay for with them for free. The least we can do is provide a meal (and maybe some leftovers).

On our carpool ride back to Córdoba, we were accompanied by husband and wife musicians and a wine taster. I learned something new as she called herself an oenologist. She said it in Spanish and we translated in not knowing what it was. However, we didn’t even know what oenologist was in English. So she had to explain that it dealt with wine. She mostly instructs waiters and restaurant owners how to pair wine with different food. Talk about a dream job!

Overall, I’d say my first experience with couch surfing was a success. I don’t think I would ever do it on my own. I know that the concept of couch surfing can be daunting and uncomfortable. But stepping away from your comfort zone can be so rewarding! I think my first experience was such a success because of a couple factors. First, traveling with Belinda, an expert couch surfer, knows exactly how to handle any situation and knows how to navigate finding good hosts. Second, the region we traveled to, Extremadura, has more tight knit communities and is kind to strangers.

Couch surfing allowed me to learn so much and get a different perspective on the places we visited compared to being a regular tourist. Many hosts, like Jose Luis, are long time couch surfers and huge proponents of the idea. Safety is always my number one priority so if you decide to give couch surfing a go, make sure to send information about where you are staying with a friend. We saved money, meet cool people, and had an authentic experience learning from locals.

This was the trip of meeting interesting and friendly people. I’m an awkward person who likes to hid behind my computer, my camera, or my sewing machine so this definitely got me make rich connections with people. And I’m glad I did it! Have you ever couch surfed? Do you think it’s crazy or crazy awesome?

Happy Travels-