This is the page where you’ll find all my blog posts about Spain. I’ve been to Spain an awful lot of times. My absolute first time was when I was a crotch goblin in L’Estartit (Catalunya) with my family, which I don’t remember. Another time right after being house-trained, I went to Tenerife with my grandma—which was tradition.
The first time I went to Spain with some kind of agency was when I was a shopaholic teen with my parents in Barcelona in 2006 or 2007 or something like that. The second time I was barely 18 and I joined one of those horrible teenage bus tours to L’Estartit to get drunk and ‘learn’ Spanish (it was useless) and make a day trip to Barcelona. The third and fourth times (2011 or 2012) I went to Madrid for a weekend to visit my back-then lover who did their Erasmus in Spain.
In 2015, I hitchhiked from France via the Spanish coast to Andalucía to hang out with family first and then hitchhike on to Tarifa. In Tarifa, I met Jonas for the first time. On our way to South America, Jonas and I rendezvoused in Gran Canaria. On our way back from South America (2017), Jonas and I flew from Bogotá to Madrid, where we stayed for a week to acclimatize to European winter before going to Germany and the Netherlands. In 2018, we drove a scooter around Mallorca during my ‘reflection week’ (i.e. vacation) while I was trying to graduate from university in the Netherlands.
Despite many experiences with many pieces of Spain, I think it’s never a bad idea to return to this European country. That’s why I have a whole list of things I want to do and places I want to see for future trips.
Things I’d Like to Do Next Time in Spain
- Hitchhike even more with locals. Mainland Spain is a notoriously shit place to hitchhike. The Absolute Worst, if you will. In the north, I almost exclusively hitchhiked with foreigners holidaying through there (Andalucía was better). Next time, I hope to have hacked this and gain the local’s trust
- Improve my Spanish lisp (my usual Spanish is a delightful mix of Central and South American vocab + pronunciation)
- On the mainland: visit Basque Country and Galicia (parts I haven’t been to)
- Plazas de soberanía: visit as many as possible, but at the very least Melilla and Ceuta
- Balearic Islands: visit Formentera, Mahón, preferably by (sailing) boat (click here to see my Crewbay profile and here’s my Find a Crew profile)
- Canary Islands: El Hierro, La Gomera, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote are on my radar. And yes, going up Pico del Teide on Tenerife is also something I crave. From there, I’d love to travel by yacht to Madeira, the Azores, the mainland of Spain/Portugal, Cabo Verde, or Morocco
- Visit some observatories, such as IRAM 30m in the Sierra Nevada, the Teide Observatory, and Roque de Los Muchachos on La Palma, and others
- Kayak on the Tejo River. I’d love to hike next to the source in Spain till it becomes deep enough to paddle.
- Go hiking more, perhaps in the area close to Andorra? (tips for good hiking areas are very welcome!).
- The exclave of Llívia and Pheasant Island
If you know cool places and things to do in Spain, comment at the bottom of this page so I can always find your suggestions again once I start plotting my return! Si eres español y conoces lugares hermosos o aventureros, por favor, compartelos en los comentarios.
Are you a travel blogger and do you have good posts about Spain? Drop them in a comment below and I’ll read them!
Yurt-Surfing in Andalucía, Spain
How life gives you awesome people: what began as a spontaneous one-night freecamping invitation after a bad ride, turned into a three-day yurt-surfing adventure with my new friend from Hungary! Turns out she lives at this awesome place hidden in the woods with alternative housing. Housing such as yurts, caravans, and other ‘outdoor furniture’ (Spanish law is strange). The first night I pitched my tent next to her caravan, from where you could even see the Rock of Gibraltar! After that, we crashed at a yurt (i.e. yurt-surfing) at her neighbor’s place, because the winds were too strong. Yurts areContinue reading
A Little Tibet in Spain: Karma Guen Buddhist Center
Oh my, this mountain vista from the stupa of the Karma Guen Buddhist center in Vélez-Málaga is stunning! Yes, I didn’t spontaneously leave Spain for Nepal or Tibet, although I’m hoping to visit in the future. I visited this Buddhist retreat center in Andalucía with my sort of spontaneous Couchsurfing guest from Russia. Lots of the people at Karma Guen are actually Russian, so we received a tour of the place in Russian and English from one of the people that’s involved there. The whole demographics of this center was very international. We got our blessing at the main hallContinue reading
The Sierra Nevada from the Road (Spain)
Dramatic skies, flawless tarmac, and mountains everywhere: the Sierra Nevada in Spain! Just some shit-stains on the window, still it’s a pretty good photo taken through the windshield! Here’s the Google Streetview version, much cleaner: This day I finished my speed hitchhiking trip towards Málaga in the south of Spain. It was a pretty rough trip of continuous hitchhiking for four days because Spain is just not that easy to get around. The people at the HitchGathering that told me hitchhiking in Spain was difficult spoke truth to power. My lowest point was when I was stuck at a roundaboutContinue reading
Why We Started Catsitting + How to Start Housesitting to Travel
It all started with a cat named Monday. At least, that’s what we called her. And after finding a forever home for her, we wanted to have more cats in our lives without the drama and the tears. More happy stories of beloved felines that receive regular veterinary care. Fewer stories of kittens discarded on a hiking trail or born in a colony on a rooftop. Just taking care of cats for a few days or weeks or months and then handing back the responsibility to their pet parents who missed them dearly and are grateful for the help. ThatContinue reading
Two Days in Sion, Valais (Switzerland)
Between two catsits in Geneva from the 22nd till 24th of May, 2023, we took the train to Sion in the Canton of Valais (German: Wallis) of Switzerland. We spent two wonderful days in the town and the surrounding villages before hitchhiking back to Genthod, Geneva. Contents1 Planning our Visit to Sion2 Train from Geneva to Sion + Checking into the Airbnb3 Valère Basilica + Tourbillon Castle4 The Underground Lake Of Saint-Léonard5 Les Pyramides d’Euseigne Rock Formations6 Hitchhiking with a Swiss in Switzerland (Finally!)7 Thanks for being here, consider buying me a (small) bottle of Valais wine!8 Enjoyed the picturesContinue reading
Walk + Work the Dutch Coastline: the Idea, Long-Distance Hiking Preparations, and Interactive Map
After traveling by hitchhiking for long distances and kayaking a generous portion of the Danube, we felt it was time to return to the basics: feet. As Jonas and I were both born able-bodied, walking was our very first mode of transportation as little shitlings. And now we’d like to experience traveling on foot for a bit. But because our fitness levels for hiking are atrocious, we decided to make the first long-distance hike something easy and flat: the Dutch coastline. Here’s how we planned for this trip. Contents1 Mind of a Hiker2 Famous Long-Distance Hiking Trails3 Mapping the DutchContinue reading
Transitioning from Solo to Couple Travel: Bloggers Share Their Experiences
You’ve read the hashtags #solotravel #coupletravel and might follow some travelers based on these attributes. But what about the people who started out as solo travelers and then found someone? I asked travel bloggers to share their experiences on how the transition to couple travel has changed their travels. Adjusting to a whole other person while adventuring definitely comes with its challenges, disadvantages, and, of course, advantages—otherwise, we wouldn’t do it. Contents1 Kate (+ Partner): Solo to Long-Distance to Couple Travel2 Kerry (+ Jason): Similar Tastes in Travel3 Eloise (+ Ben): Overcoming Fears4 James (+ Kevin): Decades of Travel, NowContinue reading
The Great Synagogue of Edirne: My First Synagogue Visit (Turkey)
During our eight-day stay in Edirne, Turkey, I had a very long list of places to visit or check out. The city is really full of history. One site stood out on Google Maps: the Great Synagogue of Edirne. When I read that it’s actually open to visit for non-Jews, I thought it would be cool to go there. So on November 30th, 2021 we visited. Why Have I Never Been to a Synagogue? The Synagogue Exterior More rain was in the forecast for later. Jonas navigated to the synagogue because he really wanted to walk via Saraçlar Caddesi—the mainContinue reading
Vaccine Tourism: Why I’ll Probably Get My COVID-19 Vaccines Abroad
As more and more people outside the risk groups are receiving vaccines, I’ve been thinking about how to get one myself. Vaccine tourism is becoming a better option than making a trip to the Netherlands and risking getting stuck there. This post is probably highly unrelatable unless you’re also a Dutch passport holder, nomadic, and in a relationship with someone with a different passport. Contents1 Where Am I?2 Medical Tourism is Great3 When Is it My Turn in the Netherlands?4 Old News: Vaccine Passports Are Coming5 Vaccine Diplomacy vs Nationalist Dumbfuckery6 Why I’ll Get Sinopharm or Sinovac (If I GetContinue reading
Transnistria: A Time Capsule of Soviet Nostalgia between Moldova and Ukraine
After stumbling across Heidi’s blogs about Transnistria and Gagauzia on A Southern Space Cadet, I (Iris) wanted to invite her to write a guest post for Mind of a Hitchhiker. I really enjoy her love for unrecognized or partially recognized states. Enjoy her guest post, learn something new, write a comment, and make sure to check out Heidi’s blog and give her a follow on social media! Featured photo: House of Soviets: Tiraspol with an appearance from Dieter the Panda, my travel mascot Contents1 Transnistria’s time capsule2 What is it like to visit Transnistria?3 Is Transnistria safe?4 How do youContinue reading