As a little girl, I had always dreamt of moving out of my small town and traveling far beyond the bounds of Siskiyou County. I desperately yearned to experience life rather than just simply live it. However, I knew that truly experiencing life meant learning to find comfort in the uncomfortable by continuously pushing myself to new limits. Over the last few years, I have deliberately made decisions to forge my own path into adulthood, and as my dad would say, “build some character” along the way. Nervous for college? Let’s attend a university where we don’t know a single soul. Searching for a new college friend group? Let’s do random roommates, not once but twice. Uncomfortable with public speaking? Let’s apply for multiple jobs that require public speaking on a daily basis. Wanting to travel the world, but waiting for the right time, and with who? Let’s book the two-month solo backpacking trip throughout Europe. Without a doubt, I have certainly made some serious progress into finding myself as a young woman all while (you guessed it) building a little character along the way.
Quite frankly, it always seemed impossible for my adventurous soul to stay confined within the limits of the Marble Mountains; however, the idea of solo travel seemed like a distant thought that would take a lifetime to turn into a reality. Yet, the desire to travel has always been instilled within me for as long as I can remember (even dating back to one of my favorite childhood toys: VTech Fly & Learn World Globe). For countless years, I BEGGED my parents to even consider the idea of an exchange year in high school with an entire powerpoint presentation (twice). Shocker: it was quickly shot down for reasons being too young for something as adult as studying in another country. At the time, I felt that my parents were crushing my only dream, but now I see, it simply wasn’t the right period in my life to embark on such a journey during my teens. It’s truly been such a transformative experience solo traveling in my early 20’s – such divine timing. It still feels surreal to finally be living out my childhood dream of traveling even if it’s only a wee bit of the world (for now).
Honestly, I never thought I would have the courage to book the ticket, much less travel to a completely different country alone. However, I strongly believe that all those “character building” decisions over the years have shaped not only my mindset of unfamiliar situations, but served as the foundation of my confidence in navigating life. It truly propelled me to finally live out my dream and book that ticket.
First Solo Trip
It was finally time to cash out that lovely PTO check. The limited employment contract was coming to a quick end, and I had no summer plans until embarking on my two-month solo trip in the fall. In all honesty, I felt perfectly content hunkering down for two months spending time with family, and booking the occasional trip to visit friends in Southern California. But, unfortunately, I had caught that illness that consumes you for the rest of time: the travel bug.
It didn’t take much to open the google flights tab, and start deep diving on potential adventures for the coming months. Thanks to the generous PTO check and some gentle encouragement from a friend (you know who you are), I decided to book a 16 day solo trip to Portugal and Spain.Without a doubt, it was a spontaneous trip in the heat of the summer, but it perfectly prepared me for the longer travels ahead. Two short weeks later, I was boarding my flight to Portugal to embark on my first solo trip.
It wasn’t necessarily ideal to arrive in Portugal with 4 hours of sleep over the past 26 hours, but it was all worth it to experience such a beautiful pocket of the world as Portugal. I arrived in Lisbon, and immediately boarded a 2-hour train to Porto where I would spend the next few days exploring the funky neighborhoods, drinking my weight in port wine and enjoying the sunset over the Luis I Bridge with new friends. I decided to spend my first full day in Portugal completing all the tourist spots such as the Sao Bento Train Station (I stayed at The Passenger Hostel located inside the famous station), Porto Cathedral, Livraria Lello, eating dinner at the TimeOut Market, and of course, enjoying some pastel de nata pastries overlooking the city at sunset at Jardim do Morro. Following the sunset, we stumbled upon an older man with a stereo playing classic European hit songs. All the locals, tourists and fellow travelers joined together to dance in the streets. It was genuinely one of the most wholesome things I’ve ever seen, and from that very moment, I knew that I would love my time in Portugal. It was a perfect first day.
Portugal is known for many amazing things: pastel de nata pastries, Fabo music, cork, tinned sardines, azulejos and port wine (my favorite). Luckily for me, the Douro Valley is located a short 2 hour drive from Porto, so I decided to book an excursion to the beautiful wine region on GetYourGuide. At the end of the day, I had toured three different family owned wineries, learned about the port wine making process and enjoyed the beautiful Douro Valley scenery by boat on the Douro River. We ended the day at a local restaurant enjoying traditional Portuguese food that was prepared in an old traditional Portuguese kitchen (the meat was cooked underground!). On the way back to Porto, our guide Sean decided to show us his favorite “secret photo spots” which entailed veering off the main road onto a one-way dirt road into the winery fields. It was absolutely incredible to view the Douro Valley Region from a bit higher up to enjoy the unique terraced vineyards of Portugal. It was truly such a special experience, and it was by far one of my favorite days in Portugal.
The last few days in Porto consisted of wandering the various hilly neighborhoods to discover local shops, street art and hole-in-the-wall eateries. Across the Luis I Bridge, I discovered the funky area of Vila Nova de Gaia full of street art, including the iconic ‘half rabbit’ piece by Bordalo II. The artwork is made entirely of trash as a representation of society’s wastefulness. Around the corner, I stumbled upon a market selling local handmade products and found the perfect souvenir for my loved ones: cork wine stoppers. However, these wine stoppers featured little ceramic busts that depicted the tired faces of farmers behind the port wine production process at major wineries in the area. Born and raised in the Douro Valley, the artist was inspired to “give life back to the wine” by depicting the faces of those who often go unseen in the wine making process: the farmers. The perfect souvenir to represent my time in Porto (cork wine stoppers: almavina).
On my way down to Spain, I decided to make a pitstop in Lisbon to see one of my close friends Alina who was traveling through Portugal with her younger sister. Two years prior, Alina and I had studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain for 6 weeks so it was delightful to relive our European summer days together. We spent the day on a Tuk Tuk tour bumping Snoop Dog through the streets of Lisbon while sightseeing all the famous spots (our driver insisted us Americans listen to Snoop Dog, but we weren’t complaining). Afterwards, we enjoyed some drinks on Pink Street until midnight before saying our goodbyes. The next morning, I boarded a 6 hour train to southern Spain where I spent the next few days trying to beat the heatwave.
Despite the heat, Spain was such a magical experience full of massive palaces, culture and insane natural beauty spots. On the first day, I decided to walk around the city center to visit the Plaza De Espana before touring the impressive Royal Alcazar of Seville. The palace is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is considered the oldest royal palace in Europe that is still in use today. In addition to the breathtaking palace, the area was surrounded by glamorous gardens full of fountains, shrubs and wild peacocks roaming around. In the evening, I booked a Flamenco Show with a hostel friend in the city center before grabbing some tapas on the way back to the hostel. It was absolutely incredible to witness such a passionate performance expressed in music, song and dance. A day spent enjoying history, culture and food with new friends is always a day well spent.
It was time for a little thrill. During my research of southern Spain, I discovered the hike once known as the most dangerous walk in the world: Caminito del Rey. In the small village El Chorro, there lies an impressive aerial walkway built in the walls of the Gaitanes gorge once providing access to a hydroelectric power station. Overtime, the trail became highly damaged from natural circumstances causing its closure in the 1980s before restoring the trail nearly 30 years later. Now, the Caminito del Rey walkway is reopened to the public to enjoy the thrilling heights and sights along the gorge. It was truly such a fun experience learning about the history of such a unique spot in Spain, all while conquering my fear of fights.
It felt unreal that my first solo trip (spontaneous might I add) was nearing its end. But, there was nowhere else better than Lisbon to enjoy my remaining days. One thing about Portugal is the hills are no joke, but alas we prevail. I spent the remaining days wandering the neighborhoods and visiting the best viewpoints in Lisbon (and of course, devouring endless pastel de nata pastries). Luckily, I had met a hostel friend from Canada, and we decided to venture off to the city of Sintra to explore the beautiful Pena Palace. Upon arrival, we were trying to figure out the best way to reach the palace from the bus station, and we discovered a little green tram that looked like a promising option. Without any time to waste, we jumped on the tram and zipped up the mountain towards Pena Palace. The views were absolutely breathtaking of the palace even though we missed our entry time for the Moorish Castle.
Well, that’s enough rambling for now. As promised, I will be posting blog updates here for my upcoming travels (likely a bit delayed – sorry not sorry). I have learned one thing: it’s challenging to find the time to journal/blog while actively researching/booking travel logistics, deciding on every little detail of the day (If you know me, you know I hate making decisions), meeting new friends at the hostel, soaking in the culture and everything else in between. But I do know one thing: I will be so incredibly grateful to look back and reminisce over all those crazy times solo backpacking in my early 20’s – so why not document it?
Afterall, it’s all for her. The little girl that dreamt of finally traveling the world. I think I would make her proud.
xoxo,
m
P.S. due to some weather conditions, I’ve had to alter the route a bit, and unfortunately reschedule my adventure to the Dolomites, but don’t you worry, I have already started to plan my hut-to-hut hiking trip for next summer during peak season. The route has been changed ~ once again ~ but that’s what makes for a great story. Plus, it’s fun to keep y’all on your toes on my next destination.