Solo Travellers
Moreish Murcia: a gastronomic journey through south-east Spain | Murcia holidays
‘My grandmother, a widow, sold her livestock in the 1940s and bought this land to start a vineyard. That’s where she made the wine,” says Pepa Fernández proudly, pointing towards a weathered building no bigger than a garden shed. We’re standing between two fields on a chalky road skirted by poppies, daisies and thistles. One field is lined with neat rows of lush vines, the other with small bush vines soon to bear monastrell grapes (the most dominant variety in these parts). In the distance, a sandy-coloured mountain range peppered with pine trees sits beneath a cloudless blue sky.
Pocket-sized Pepa is the face of Bodega Balcona, a family-run organic winery in Spain’s south-eastern province of Murcia. The vineyard lies in the picturesque Aceniche valley, in Bullas – one of Murcia’s three wine DOPs (denominaciónes de origen protegida), alongside Yecla and Jumilla. Each has its own wine route, scattered with museums and vineyards.
My girlfriend and I are in the area to explore Murcia’s food and drink scene after a tipoff from an old friend who grew up in the city (Murcia is the name of both the province and its capital). The province hosted two of Spain’s most prestigious culinary events last year: the Repsol Guide Soles gala and the Michelin Guide gala.
“Murcia is one of the best food cities in Spain,” a suave Granada-based gentleman in a fedora tells me on the way to the tasting room. We soon learn that its wine is pretty special, too, as we make our way through Bodega Balcona’s roster of earthy natural wines. Each glass is paired with national and regional dishes: cold cuts, local cheeses, almonds, tuna empanadas, and a Murcian favourite made by Pepa’s nephew, pastel de carne – a hearty meat and egg pie topped with flaky pastry.
After, we drive to the nearby Salto del Usero waterfall, where kids are paddling and teenagers are sunning themselves on rocks, like lizards. Following a quick dip in the chilly plunge pool, we go to meet Paco Franciso Muñoz Reales, who runs an organic farm nearby with his German wife, Heidi.
Laid-back and softly spoken, Paco is part of a local cooperative of growers, including Pepa, using ecological farming methods. He explains there was a little bit of tension with local farmers when he first started, but things have settled down. On a tour of his five-hectare estate, he shows me a seed bank tucked inside a pantry, rows of apricot, olive and lemon trees, and a tomato patch.
Nicknamed the garden of Europe, Murcia accounts for around 20% of Spain’s fruit and vegetable exports. This agricultural heritage stems from a vast network of fertile gardens, or huertos, that surround the city of Murcia, where baroque buildings, palm-lined riverbanks and buzzing tapas bars cluster around Plaza de las Flores. La Huerta de Murcia, as the fertile area is called, also influences local food culture, with Sundays traditionally reserved for family meals at rustic restaurants.
Each spring, the city also throws the Bando de la Huerta festival – a lively celebration of rural life where locals don traditional dress and feast on regional dishes. We arrive a few weeks later, so instead visit the rustic El Cañal Los Almillas restaurant, where we tuck into heaped platters of beef entrecote dusted with a layer of rock salt, and a fresh tomato salad with olives and lettuce, accompanied by plates of lemon (Murcianos squeeze lemon on everything). We finish with a classic Murcian dessert of crispy, deep-fried paparajotes – battered lemon leaves served with a dollop of ice-cream.
The restaurant is named after the city’s canal system, which are part of an irrigation system dating back to Moorish times. “Think of it as the Segura River being the heart and the canals the veins that deliver the blood,” our guide, Antonio, explains.
David López, the chef at the fine-dining restaurant Local de Ensayo, tells us these ancient systems are still in use today as he shows us around his huerto. López visits his patch daily, growing everything from lettuce, beans and cucumber to strawberries and aubergines. Fruit and vegetables feature prominently in traditional Murcian cooking, in dishes such as ensalada murciana (tomato salad with tuna, olives and egg) and arroz con verduras (rice with vegetables).
“It’s a way of life for me, somewhere I can bring the children to plant things and watch them grow,” López says while trudging through the mud, checking his crops. About 20% of the produce used in his restaurant comes from his garden, the rest being supplied by an ecological farmer with a stall at Verónicas market, which sells fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and olive oil to the city.
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López and his wife, Carmen, show us around the market, pointing out local delicacies like mújol (mullet), almendra marcona (almonds), langostino del Mar Menor (langoustines) and alficoz (a type of curly cucumber). We finish at Café Bar Verónicas, which to the untrained eye looks like any other neighbourhood bar: metal countertops, shelves of pickled vegetables and wine, and locals chatting loudly. However, framed newspaper reviews hint at something more.
It’s run by Samuel Ruiz and his wife, Isabel Torrecillas. The young, tattooed chef could be Spain’s Anthony Bourdain. Ruiz, who trained at the famed El Bulli, was responsible for one of Murcia’s most exciting restaurants, Kome, a tiny Japanese-style tavern. “They didn’t have social media. No website. Nothing. But people still queued down the street,” Torrecillas tells us. Ruiz decided to shut down Kome and return to his roots, opening a barra with a twist in the heart of town, she explains as a plate of caballito (little horse in Spanish) lands on the table. The popular local dish usually features deep-fried prawns, only here it’s made with fist-sized crayfish, shell and all. It’s followed by a good-sized bowl of marinera, a kind of Russian salad with anchovies, served with crisp bread and homemade mayo.
When I ask Ruiz what sauce he’s plating up, he squirts a dot on to the back of my hand. “Try it,” he grins confidently. It is a delicious homemade saffron mayonnaise with anchovy, lemon and garlic. A frozen cocktail with an umbrella appears moments later, sent from his other bar next door, Colmado San Julián.
We finish up and say our goodbyes before wandering over to López’s restaurant. As we enter, he vanishes without a word and we’re seated by a window peering into the kitchen. Dishes soon arrive at the table from his excellent tasting menu (from about £65), which champions local, seasonal ingredients. Standout plates include a wild mushroom dish packed with umami, a deep-flavoured red Calasparra rice with vegetables, and his excellent signature dessert, a cross between a flan and a crème brûlée (a favourite of the legendary Spanish food critic José Carlos Capel).
The next day we drive 45 minutes out of town to Casa Borrego – a cosy eight-room gastronomic hotel with soft bucolic rooms and a burbling beck outside. For dinner, we’re treated to an elevated take on Murcian cuisine, including pani puri balls exploding with tuna tartare, and a massive pan of rich rabbit rice. Retiring to bed, we’re lulled to sleep by the sound of trickling water. With our time in Murcia nearly up, the following day we zip back to the city to hunt down one last dish: zarangollo, a simple courgette-and-egg scramble. We find it at a traditional tapas bar called Bodegón Los Toneles – all jamón legs and chalkboard menus.
We end the trip as we began with a local tipple, this time at CaféLab. Asiático is a heady blend of condensed milk, Licor 43, cognac and spices – said to hail from Cartagena. Like Murcia’s cuisine, its richness lies in the subtle layers – each one revealing something original, unexpected and distinctly its own.
The trip was provided by Turismo de Murcia. Sercotel Amistad Murcia has doubles from around €60 room-only; Casa Borrego has doubles from €120 B&B
Crossing Snow Patches & Moraines: Snow Moraine Crossing Safety Tips
One of the greatest pleasures of trekking through India – whether through remote villages in Himachal, remote Ladakh villages, or vast valleys of Uttarakhand – is meeting local inhabitants who live here, whose warmth, customs, and stories add an extra dimension to any trekking journey. TrekUp India welcomes people with open arms. Interacting respectfully with locals shows our gratitude towards local communities that have welcomed visitors.
Why Cultural Respect Is Important
Mountain villages are home and life. Your actions can make a lasting impression about who you are as a trekker – either positive or negative – to both local people and future trekkers who might follow in your footsteps. Engaging in respectful interactions helps preserve cultural heritage, build trust between residents, and ensure tourism enhances community lives without negatively affecting livelihoods.
Guidelines for Respectful Cultural Interactions
Do Your Homework
Gain knowledge about the festivals, customs, and traditions in your destination region before arriving.
Your learning of your native tongue may open doors and warm hearts. Even simple greetings can have a significant impact.
Adhere to Appropriate Attire
In mountain communities that value modest attire, wearing clothing that reveals your figure appropriately can help build strong friendships.
Protect both legs and shoulders when traveling to temples, homes, or monasteries.
Request Permission Before Taking Photos
Always seek permission before taking photographs of individuals, particularly elderly or child subjects.
Specific locations or ceremonies might prohibit photography at any cost, including sacred sites or religious celebrations.
Comply With Religious and Social Customs
It is customary to remove one’s shoes before entering temples, monasteries, or homes.
Avoid adhering to sacred objects without the prior permission of their owners.
Do not display affection in public places where such displays are forbidden.
Support Local Economy
To show your support of the local economy, consider buying your handicrafts, food, or even services directly from local vendors rather than third-party sellers.
Whenever possible, select porters or guides from your community.
Strive for Meaningful Conversations
To have meaningful discussions in your local area, explore its history through local farming techniques, agricultural practices, or culinary traditions. Demonstrate genuine interest by asking about these matters.
Use Your Resources Wisely
Firewood, water, and some foodstuffs are scarce resources – do not waste them by misusing them.
Spend money on hotel services instead of expecting them for free.
Conclusion
Meeting locals during your trek offers much more than simply friendly conversations – it provides a golden opportunity to build connections between cultures. Approach every interaction with humility, curiosity, and courtesy to ensure your presence has an impressionable impression on those around you. TrekUp India stands for respect, humility, and kindness as our core values. TrekUp India believes that the true beauty of mountains lies not only in their landscapes, but also in the people living within their boundaries. By being respectful of their customs and welcoming them during your trek, TrekUp India ensures that your experience will leave lasting friendships and memories that will linger long after its conclusion.
Treat every interaction as an exchange, not a transaction.
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Want To Trek Like Pro?
Check out the following videos if you want to trek like a pro trekker and improve your skills. These videos contain helpful tips, tricks, and techniques to help you trek like a pro. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced trekker, these videos can provide valuable insights to enhance your trekking experience. So, watch the videos below by Trekup India experts to take your trekking skills to the next level.
Know Everything About Acute Mountain Sickness
Acute Mountain Sickness is a medical condition that can occur when individuals travel to high altitudes, typically above 8,000 feet. It is caused by the decrease in air pressure and oxygen levels in the air as altitude increases. Symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness may include headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and difficulty sleeping. To avoid Acute Mountain Sickness, it is important to gradually adjust to high altitudes and seek medical attention if symptoms worsen. To learn more about this condition, check out the videos by Trekup India.
Solo Travellers
Women who travel alone usually share these 7 subtle personality traits, according to psychology
Twilight in a new city always makes me honest. The night markets were just warming up when I stepped off the bus in Oaxaca last fall. My map app was out of battery.
My Spanish was rusty. And the only plan I had was a scribbled list that said “mole, textiles, say yes if it feels good.”
I remember pausing on the curb, tucked between a flower stall and a man tuning a guitar, and feeling that quiet click I’ve come to trust when I travel alone: not bravado, not a dare—just a steady, subtle readiness.
When you travel solo as a woman, people often assume you’re fearless.
I’m not. I just practice different muscles — small ones you only notice when things get unscripted.
Psychology has names for many of them.
Below are 7 of the most common traits I see (and keep building) in women who love their own company on the road.
None of these are fixed or exclusive to women. They’re skills you can stretch, one bus platform, one breakfast counter, one border crossing at a time.
1) Comfort with ambiguity
Solo travel is, by design, a little fuzzy around the edges.
You book a guesthouse with three reviews and a great balcony. You wander into a café where there’s no English menu and no one has time for your translator app. You get comfortable choosing without complete information.
Psychology calls this tolerance for ambiguity — the ability to function without distress when outcomes are uncertain.
The APA definition of “tolerance for ambiguity” captures that skill, and research on international adjustment suggests that learning to work with uncertainty is part of adapting to new environments.
On the road: it looks like trying the dish you can’t fully decode or switching plans when the museum is closed without letting it derail your mood.
Try this: give yourself one unpinned hour each day. Pick a direction and walk until one sensory cue—fresh bread, a courtyard laugh—invites you in. You’re not chasing risk; you’re practicing steadiness in the gray.
2) Autonomy as a default setting
When you travel with others, your calendar belongs to the group.
When you travel alone, your days answer by your energy.
That means leaving a festival early when your nervous system is done—or adding a second long, slow breakfast because the first one felt like medicine.
This lines up with self-determination theory, which says we thrive when our needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are met.
Designing your trip around what actually nourishes you (not what looks good in a recap) keeps motivation intrinsic and travel joyful.
On the road: you stop doing things just because “that’s what everyone does here.”
Try this: write a three-line “why this trip matters to me” note on your phone. When an invite comes that doesn’t match your why, say no with gratitude and keep moving.
3) Self-efficacy in motion
Some days, solo travel is a string of tiny logistics: buying the right bus ticket, swapping a SIM card, and ordering vegetarian food without sounding apologetic.
The more you do these micro-tasks, the more you trust yourself to handle the next round.
That trust has a name: self-efficacy—your belief that you can organize and execute the actions needed for a situation.
It threads into action through perceived behavioral control in the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen), which helps explain why feeling capable often precedes clicking “book.”
On the road: you’re the kind of person who reads a ticket kiosk once, then helps the person behind you.
Try this: rehearse one friction point before you leave. Watch a short video of your destination’s ticket machines. Practice ordering in the local language with a friend. Bank a win now to spend on confidence later.
4) Psychological flexibility
Trips wobble. Trains get canceled. A street you loved by day feels different at night.
Psychological flexibility — the capacity to pivot effectively while staying tethered to your values—helps you re-choose without spiraling.
A widely cited review argues that flexibility is a fundamental ingredient of mental health; it’s also central to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy’s model of change.
On the road: it’s swapping a late dinner for a bath and a book because your body says “enough,” and letting that be a success, not a failure.
Try this: build a “Plan B bank.” For each day, list two backups for eat / move / see. When the main plan slips, you’re not starting from zero—you’re choosing from a menu.
5) Quiet curiosity
You don’t have to network your way across a city to feel connected.
I’ve had afternoons changed by asking a market seller, “What herb is that?” or a museum guard, “If you had ten minutes, which room would you sit in?”
Curiosity opens doors—especially the small, human ones.
Psychologists distinguish flavors of curiosity. The Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II (CEI-II) taps both the urge to stretch into newness and the ability to savor the moment.
When the interest is about people, interpersonal curiosity supports social connection in everyday encounters.
On the road: it’s five precise questions you bring to any barista, vendor, or ticket clerk.
Try this: keep those five on a note in your phone. Use them when your mind wants to retreat into your screen.
6) Boundary fluency (assertive ≠ abrasive)
Traveling alone means you negotiate a lot: vendors who press, strangers who linger, friends-of-friends who want your time. The goal isn’t to be “nice.”
It’s to be clear.
Assertiveness—stating your needs directly while respecting others—is linked to healthier communication and lower distress than either passivity or aggression.
If boundaries feel tricky, you’re not alone. Like any skill, this gets easier with rehearsal.
On the road: you decline firmly, redirect gracefully, and leave when vibes are off.
Try this: pre-script three lines in the local language: a polite no, a firm no, and a location change (“I’m leaving now / I’m meeting a friend”). Practice the tone, not just the words.
7) Positive solitude
Some of my best meals have been table-for-one with a notebook open, watching a neighborhood exhale.
Solitude isn’t a punishment — chosen well, it’s a refuel.
Work from self-determination theorists shows that autonomous, chosen solitude can regulate emotions and support well-being.
On the road: it’s a quiet dinner without reaching for your phone like a life raft.
Try this: schedule one “no-scroll meal” per day. Before you eat, write three sensory notes (sound, scent, texture). Let attention be the company.
Final thoughts
Back on that Oaxaca curb, a woman my mother’s age caught my eye.
She tilted her head toward the market, as if to say, “Are you coming?” I followed her into a corridor of light and fruit and smoke, bought dinner I couldn’t fully name, and shared a long bench with strangers.
I didn’t make a new best friend or have a profound epiphany. I just felt steady and awake, grateful to be exactly where I was.
That’s the secret, if there is one. Solo travel isn’t a personality test you either pass or fail.
It’s a set of quiet muscles—ambiguity tolerance, autonomy, self-efficacy, flexibility, curiosity, boundaries, and chosen solitude—that you grow trip by trip.
Pick one to practice on your next adventure. Make it small. Make it yours. The rest will come.
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