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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.

The Traditional Vietnamese Breakfasts That Make American Mornings Look Boring

Vietnamese Breakfast – Vietnamese cuisine is one of Asia’s most popular cuisines so it’s very typical to be curious of what a breakfast in Vietnam looks like. A traditional breakfast in Vietnam can be a hot soup like Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese coffee and of course, Banh Mi. If you think breakfast is just toast …

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The 7 Things You’ll Wish You Packed When Something Goes Wrong

Packing for a trip can be stressful, but having a well-organized list of essentials can make the process smoother and ensure you don’t forget anything important. Here is a comprehensive packing list for various types of travel. It’s a sinking feeling every traveler knows: you’ve just boarded a plane, or arrived at your destination, and …

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Portugal Isn’t Spain: 15 Unspoken Rules of Portuguese Life Tourists Learn the Hard Way

Portugal is often celebrated for its stunning coastlines, historic cities, and world-famous cuisine. Yet beneath the charming surface lies a rich cultural fabric woven from centuries of tradition, subtle social cues, and unspoken ways of life. For tourists, especially those visiting for the first time, many aspects of everyday Portuguese life may seem puzzling or …

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The Browser Trick That Can Stop Americans Overpaying for European Hotels: The Hotel Search Habit That May Be Making Your Trip 40% More Expensive

You open a hotel booking site from the U.S., click the same dates your friend in France clicks, and somehow your “same room” costs meaningfully more. This is not paranoia. It is also not always a scam. It’s a stack of small, boring mechanisms that compound, and Americans tend to hit the worst combination: different …

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Van Life Influencers Show Sunsets But They Don’t Show This Part: People Spend $80,000 on Vans to Discover They Hate Van Life

Van life looks glamorous on Instagram endless road trips, cozy camper setups, and waking up to stunning mountain views. But is it really as carefree and dreamy as influencers make it seem? Scrolling through Instagram, it’s easy to romanticize the #VanLife movement. Curated photos of boho-chic vans parked in front of mountain vistas or oceanside …

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I Did Laundry Like a Spanish Household for a Month: Cold Water, Line Dry, Half the Detergent

The first thing you notice about laundry in Spain is that nobody seems to own a tumble dryer, and the balconies are full of clothes flapping in the sun. The second thing you notice, if you pay attention, is that people wash in cold water, use little detergent, and do not launder every garment after …

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Forget Tapas: The Food Spanish Grandmothers Make That Tourists Almost Never Taste

Tapas is what you eat out. Spanish home cooking is what keeps the week running, with cheap ingredients, repeatable methods, and leftovers that actually make sense. Tapas is Spain’s greatest marketing trick. It makes visitors think Spanish people spend their lives hopping between bars, nibbling little plates, and somehow staying thin and happy forever. Real …

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A Retired Firefighter’s Pension Goes Further in Portugal Than His Union Predicted: The Ledger

At the retirement seminars his union ran, the numbers were always laid out plainly. This is your pension, they would say, this is roughly what it will afford, and here, they would conclude, is the careful, modest American retirement it all adds up to. He listened closely, he planned, and he made his peace with …

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Americans Make $100K and Still Feel Broke: Why Europeans Don’t Need $100K to Live the City Life Americans Want

Why Bother Understanding This Topic? Many Americans dream of spending time in a European capital Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, Amsterdam only to balk at perceived high costs or imagine that you need a six-figure income to manage daily life there. Yet millions of Europeans (earning modest wages) do just that, living in cities that rank among …

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Mozzarella di Bufala vs Fior di Latte: The Pizza Question Naples Answers Differently Than You Do

Here is a question that quietly separates people who love Italian food from people who truly understand it. When you make a pizza, which mozzarella do you reach for, the luxurious, tangy mozzarella di bufala, or the humbler fior di latte? Most people, if they know the difference at all, assume that the more expensive, …

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I Aired the House Every Morning for 30 Days Like an Italian: The Habit That Beat the Candle Aisle

For years, my answer to a stuffy house was to buy something for it. A scented candle here, a plug-in air freshener there, a spray to chase away the smell of last night’s cooking, all of it lined up in the cupboard like a small pharmacy for the air. And yet the house never quite …

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Mediterranean Fishermen Over 70 Keep a Schedule Cardiologists Would Prescribe: The Day, Hour by Hour

There is an old fisherman in a hundred Mediterranean harbors, past seventy and often well past it, who still takes his small boat out before dawn as he has every working day of his life. He would be quietly surprised to learn that his ordinary working day, the early rise, the physical labor, the fresh …

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