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Ruben Arribas

About the Author: Ruben, co-founder of Gamintraveler.com since 2014, is a seasoned traveler from Spain who has explored over 100 countries since 2009. Known for his extensive travel adventures across South America, Europe, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Africa, Ruben combines his passion for adventurous yet sustainable living with his love for cycling, highlighted by his remarkable 5-month bicycle journey from Spain to Norway. He currently resides in Spain, where he continues sharing his travel experiences with his partner, Rachel, and their son, Han.

Before Making Pastéis de Nata, Learn These 3 Grandmother Rules: How to Make Pastéis de Nata With Flaky Layers and Blistered Custard

And what it reveals about dough, devotion, and the kind of silence that lives between oven checks No dessert is more photographed, imitated, or mispronounced than the Portuguese pastéis de nata. Tourists in Lisbon line up for them. Instagram travelers stack them in boxes. Michelin chefs reinterpret them. But in tiled kitchens across Portugal, grandmothers …

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Stop Calling It Cordon Bleu: How to Make Authentic Spanish Cachopo at Home

When you think of Spanish food, dishes like paella or tapas probably come to mind. But in northern Spain, particularly in Asturias, there’s one indulgent dish that locals can’t get enough of: Cachopo. Imagine two large beef fillets sandwiched around cured ham and melted cheese, then breaded and fried until golden perfection. It’s a meal …

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The Perfume Rules French Women Follow That Department Stores Never Teach

Walk up to a perfume counter in an American department store and you will be handed a bottle, encouraged to spray liberally, and sold on the biggest, longest-lasting, most noticeable scent they can move. Walk into the life of a French woman and you will find something almost the opposite, a quiet, practiced, deeply considered …

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Stop Making Boring Tofu: How to Make Authentic Jamaican-Inspired Jerk Tofu at Home

Jerk seasoning is one of the boldest, most recognizable flavors to come out of the Caribbean a fiery blend of spices, heat, and smoky undertones that define Jamaican cuisine. While traditionally used for chicken or pork, jerk seasoning can transform plant-based dishes, too, giving tofu a flavor punch that surprises even die-hard meat lovers. Tofu …

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The Spanish Sleep Habit That Works Better Than Most Americans Expect

A man in his late sixties in Córdoba finishes lunch at 3:15pm. A bowl of gazpacho, a piece of grilled lamb with roasted vegetables, two pieces of bread, a small glass of red wine. He clears the dishes and walks to his bedroom. The shutters are already closed against the afternoon sun. The room is …

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Travelers Think They Are Covered: Your Travel Insurance May Be Invalid the Moment You Book a One-Way Ticket

Do you scramble to find the best travel insurance for your trip? And while we’ve traveled all the time in the last ten years, we’re surprised to find out just recently that some travel insurances don’t cover one-way tickets! We’ve always used SafetyWing as our leading travel medical insurance. Digital nomads and frequent travelers often …

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The 20 Adventures You Will Regret Not Taking This Year

A bucket list isn’t just a collection of wild dreams it’s a reminder to live intentionally and make time for the moments that matter. While we often tell ourselves “someday,” the truth is that life rarely slows down to make room for adventure. That’s why this year might be the perfect time to finally start …

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Italy Shuts Down on August 15 and Calls It a Holiday. Ferragosto, Explained Before You Fly

You land in Rome on the fourteenth of August, thrilled to be in Italy at the height of summer, and by the next morning the country you came to see has quietly vanished. The neighborhood trattoria you circled on the map is dark, a handwritten sign in the window reading chiuso per ferie. The little …

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I Stopped Eating American Bread for 60 DaysAnd My Stomach Changed Completely

So here is the uncomfortable sentence. Most supermarket bread in the States eats like a chemistry set, and when you live in Europe long enough you forget that until a trip back reminds you. If you remove fast yeasts, emulsifiers, sweeteners, oils, and added gluten from a daily loaf and switch to long-fermented wheat or …

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The 7 Office Customs In Europe That Would Get Americans Fired

A German engineer in Frankfurt closes her laptop at 5:00pm on a Friday in late July. She does not check email over the weekend. She does not check email when she lands in Mallorca on Monday. She does not check email for the next three weeks while she is on holiday. Her boss does not …

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What It Really Costs an American Couple to Live in Portugal for 12 Months

The most popular cost-of-living posts about Portugal share one thing: they are wrong in a way that feels right. The rent looks reasonable. The groceries look cheap. The total looks like freedom. Then people arrive, sign a lease, live through January, fly home once, and discover that the number they budgeted was missing about €700 …

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Why Spanish Attitudes Toward Public Bathing and Nudity Shock American Tourists: The Spanish Bathing Habit Tourists Are Never Warned About

An American couple from Ohio arrives at a public pool in Valencia on a Tuesday morning in July. The pool is half full. A grandmother in her sixties is doing slow laps. Two women in their thirties are reading on loungers. Several teenagers are playing in the deep end. About half the women are topless. …

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