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Short Story 6

Nicaragua, Mexico, Colombia, Portugal, Spain, Italy 

[PART 3] 26 Memorable Countries for Solo Traveling Adventures

January 2025

Contents

Countries to visit

Introduction

Welcome to PART 3 of this short story. In Short Story 4 (PART 1) and Short Story 5 (PART 2), we traveled to 10 countries (10 from each story). For PART 3, we'll explore 6 additional countries (21-26), highlighting one vivid encounter from my solo travels. You know what to do from here.

21. Nicaragua
21. Nicaragua

Julio, a former guerilla fighter for the Sandinista National Liberation Front (the acronym is FSLN in Spanish) during the Nicaraguan revolution (a civil war beginning in 1978), is the tour driver and guide during my five days in Nicaragua. This friendly, talkative, and funny sixty-year-old native has been showing me the heartbeat of Nicaragua by taking me to local towns. The humidity right now feels like a swamp, and it’s been that way around the clock.

 

Today, I’m in Granada, a town I’d never heard of before booking this trip. Granada’s colonial buildings, with their bumpy and uneven roads, give the town a warm and old-school vibe. It doesn’t appear to be a tourist destination. I’ve come across some sweaty foreigners here and there, but no tourist crowds or large vans. I like that Granada has a hustle-and-bustle street in downtown and a laidback Parque Central de Granada (the central park), where the community locals gather daily. The town doesn't feel sketchy to walk around either.

 

Exploring Granada on a horse carriage ride is a first for me. It’s a cool and relaxing experience too! The guy maneuvering the two horses speaks English. We’re shooting the breeze about random stuff as he gives me a simple rundown of his beloved town, and we’re laughing about trivial things. This is a heartfelt moment and one reason why I enjoy traveling solo. Granada has surpassed my expectations of a place to visit in Nicaragua thanks to Julio Tours.

Countries to Visit - Nicaragua
22. Mexico
22. Mexico

Guadalajara's most popular food market, Mercado Libertad San Juan de Dios, is jam-packed on the second floor this Saturday afternoon. The cluttered, dense, and loud open area has a bunch of Mexican food stalls close together. Owners and workers cook food fast, as their greeters constantly holler at people walking by, inviting them to eat now. The hustle and bustle is real!

 

Meanwhile, a mariachi band of five guys randomly stops at tables where folks are chowing down on food, to play classical Mexican folklore music. Some guys carrying a guitar or accordion do solo music rounds throughout the eating zone. Random individual men roam the second floor, shouting if people want to buy their product. This includes hands-free phone chargers, a hand-held massage gadget, and USB flash drives containing albums from different Mexican musicians or bootlegged movies. One guy walks around with a microphone attached to a large speaker and raps in Spanish.

 

The downtown market is a little rundown and somewhat rough around the edges, with graffiti outside on the building, but it has been a safe and vibrant environment inside since 1959. Sure, there are a few homeless persons asking individuals, including me, for monedas (coins), but nothing annoying or scary. Other than the abundance of delicious and cheap local food, the soul of Guadalajara is on the second floor. Eating at the Mercado Libertad San Juan de Dios is the best thing to do in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, especially on Saturdays.

Traveling abroad in Mexico
23. Colombia
23. Colombia

The atmosphere is vibrant in Medellin’s Comuna 13. It’s a dense community on a hill covered with square brick houses, closely stacked together, going uphill and downhill, and has been around since the 1940s. The colorful murals scattered among the walls, community locals selling bright souvenirs and tasty street food, along with the rhythmic Latin/Colombian music, have me eager to explore the zone more.

 

Another compact area has three young Venezuelan guys from Comuna 13 rapping in Spanish. There are roughly 12 foreign spectators, sitting tightly together. The males freestyle rap without explicit lyrics in this lively, kid-friendly environment. Now there’s Latin dance music. The three men randomly pick one audience member to dance with them in the center spot. Everyone, including myself, is smiling and giggling or laughing.

 

I’m brought to the stage area, and without thinking, I put my hands behind my head and do a standing hip-thrust dance, moving my hips in a circular motion, while the crowd makes some noise. As I walk back to my seat, one of the guy rappers taps me on the shoulder and takes me back to the center to dance. A retired Caucasian lady and I closely grind in front of each other. I turn my back to the woman, twerking my butt against hers, as the small crowd cheers to our freak dancing. I feel energized and light-footed at Comuna 13 in Medellin, Colombia.

Countries to visit - Colombia
24. Portugal
24. Portugal

Sintra’s mountain region of green hills is popping out at me, regardless of the heavy overcast and misty sky. The scenery in Sintra, Portugal is intriguing, as to what lies ahead. It feels somewhat off-the-grid, but with tranquility and mystery. Buddhist monks, spiritualists, and meditation enthusiasts who need lots of quiet meditation time will appreciate the Sintra Mountains.

 

After a 30-minute drive from Lisbon, Portugal’s capital city, along with a five-minute bus ride on a cobblestone road in the middle of nowhere, I arrive at one of the county’s national monuments: Pena Palace. It’s a bulky castle, constructed and completed during the 1800s, and where the former king and royal family used to live. The yellow, dark red, and gray exterior colors of the castle are noticeable despite the thick foggy sky. Different animal heads are sculpted on stones and strategically placed throughout Pena Palace.

 

The most provocative sculpture is above me, underneath one of the castle’s large arches. It’s a half-man, half-fish with a long octopus-type beard, holding the tree of life over his head. The ferocious look on his face is telling anyone who crosses this arch that “you ain’t going to see anything like this!” This vivid sculpture, plus the well-kept interior and exterior castle are impressive at Pena Palace in Portugal.

Countries to visit - Portugal
25. Spain
25. Spain

“Wow,” is my first reaction to the astonishing Sagrada Familia basilica. It’s a massively tall church that people from all over the world flock to when traveling in Barcelona, Spain. In fact, the Sagrada Familia plans to be the tallest religious monument in the world at 566 feet high, and with 18 towers by 2026. The tour guide is right, people can spend a few hours just observing the 12 high towers and exterior elements of this Roman Catholic basilica. This includes the nativity façade, sculptures, and other fine details around the temple. My eyes feel somewhat overwhelmed because there’s so much to see.

 

The inside of Sagrada Familia is structured like a colorful forest that will take me to another dimension, or up to the divine spirit. It’s like a church jungle with hardly any statues. Tall stone columns are designed as forest trees holding branches up to the ceiling. The east part’s walls have stained-glass windows containing different shades of blue, which represent daylight. The west zone’s walls carry orange stained-glass windows to symbolize the sunset. I can see why the inside of the temple is called the “Temple of Light.”

 

This is the most creatively built church I’ve ever witnessed! Whether someone is religious, non-religious, or atheist, the beauty and creativity of this basilica will grab anyone’s attention. Traveling to Spain and not visiting the Sagrada Familia temple in Barcelona is a no-no.

Traveling abroad in Spain
26. Italy
26. Italy

Exploring some of Italy’s major highlights has been a cool experience, but Florence resonates with me the most. Other than the interesting homes and buildings demonstrating Renaissance heritage, the narrow and curvy cobblestone roads, and the exquisite sights inside various churches, one place stops me in my tracks. It’s not on my agenda to check out Museo Galileo. Even though the outside of the brick-and-mortar building of this two-story museum isn’t eye-catching, my intuition says to give it a try, despite being tired from walking and sightseeing.

 

To my surprise, Museo Galileo is about astronomy, with about 1,000 items inside this museum. Galileo and a few former top-notch Italian astronomers utilized different astronomical tangibles during the 16th through 19th centuries in Italy. The telescopes, astrolabes, navigation tools, and other artifacts are hitting my psyche hard.

 

What’s compelling is Galileo and other scientists during his period knew that higher planes of existence and metaphysical dimensions existed, containing at least seven realms outside of the world. I first discovered some cosmic levels beyond the sky during my psychedelic therapy sessions and ceremonies with a few mind-altering medicines. Museo Galileo confirms that other dimensions have existed for a long time and that I’m not crazy. I never thought that out of all the places I visited in Italy, Museo Galileo in Florence would be my favorite encounter.

Traveling abroad in Italy

Check out 20 other countries, 10 in Short Story 5 (PART 2) and 10 in Short Story 4 (PART 1)!

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