About Travel Extremadura
(Página disponible en español)
Hola!
I’m Irene (pronounced /ee-REH-neh/), a travel content creator from Extremadura and author of travelextremadura.com. A translator by profession, I’m a language lover and a keen traveller who has lived in five countries (Estonia, Russia, Ireland, Latvia, and the UK).
I’ve been a UK resident since 2011. I spent the first nine years in England before relocating to Scotland in 2020. While you’ll normally find me in Edinburgh, I regularly travel to Extremadura for weeks at a time to keep exploring my beloved home region.
In 2014, I created a travel blog called Piggy Traveller to share my Extremadura travels and practise my English writing skills, but without clear goals or a strategy, the blog never took off. Truth be told, I’ve always been fully focused on growing ICR Translations, my sworn and legal translation business.
Once I felt more comfortable and settled in my translation career, I started thinking about ways to combine my translation activity with an Extremadura-related side project. During a long brainstorming process, I realised that the old travel blog and brand didn’t suit anymore. A new brand and format was required and that’s how Travel Extremadura was born.
With Travel Extremadura I aim to help international travellers and foreign residents in Spain plan an independent trip to Extremadura by sharing ideas, tips and practical information. I write all articles in English myself.
On this website you’ll find three types of articles: (1) single element posts dedicated to a specific place of interest, sight, accommodation, or walking route; (2) multi-element posts compiling lists of topical ideas or tips; and (3) guides covering destinations, areas, topics of interest and practical information.
Some facts about me:
1. Alburquerque is my family’s hometown. My parents and their siblings, all my grandparents and seven out of my eight great-grandparents hail/hailed from there.
2. I speak six languages at (very) different levels: Spanish, English, Russian, Italian, French, and Georgian.
3. I don’t drive. During road trips, I’m the navigator and GPS manager.
4. I have two very unusual surnames (we Spaniards have two). Less than 4,000 people in Spain have Corchado as a surname. And Resmella is so rare that just 360 people in Spain have it as a surname, the vast majority of them in Badajoz province.
5. I married a Scot I met in London, who often points out my bi-cultural character and how ‘britified‘ a Spaniard I am.
6. I love green, seafood, lemon-flavoured dishes, castles, wild swimming, stand-up comedy, and places with a view.
My blogging principles
Stick to my experience
I only share my personal experience travelling Extremadura. Unlike other travel bloggers, I don’t publish third-party articles about places I haven’t been to in exchange for compensation. You can trust that the content on this website is based on my actual trips.
Be honest
I haven’t been everywhere and I don’t know everything. I don’t make false promises, statements or claims. I don’t oversell or sugarcoat either. I give my personal opinion based on my own experience. I tell it like it is and I contextualise my words, giving you a realistic picture and helping you manage your expectations.
Be helpful
I always keep you, the reader, in mind when writing. This helps me remember the ‘why’ of Travel Extremadura and ensure the content adds value and is as accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date as possible.
Be clear
I write in simple, straightforward language, using a conversational tone. The (mobile-friendly) website design has a logical page hierarchy, a large easy-to-read font, a limited colour palette and lots of white space. And zero ads!
You do you
As an individual, I have my own likes and dislikes, opinions, and interests. While I keep readers in mind when writing the content, it’s me in the end who decides where to go and what to write about. This is, after all, my personal website.
Travel Extremadura focuses on
Road trips
From route ideas to info about roads and places to stop, scenic drives and comprehensive guides, here you’ll find everything you need to organise your Extremadura road trip.
Practical info and tips
I share well-thought-out practical guides and valuable personal tips covering topics as varied as eating out, useful contacts, transport, the weather or Spanish vocabulary.
Off the beaten path destinations
I love visiting and showcasing hidden little places often overlooked by travellers and rarely featured in online and offline travel publications.
Two recommended reads:
Website terms of use, to know what to bear in mind when using this website.
Disclosure, where I explain my participation in affiliate programmes.
My favourite things about travelling Extremadura
1. It feels authentic. Many Spanish regions with foreign tourism-oriented economies have ‘tourist theme park’ vibes. Extremadura is not quite there yet in terms of international tourism, so you can expect a much more local and authentic travel experience.
2. It gives a sense of adventure. An underdeveloped transport infrastructure and a very low population density give a sense of exploring a different, less travelled Spain.
3. It’s full of surprises. Extremadura has great potential as a travel destination, but even locals are unaware of many sights. There’s a high chance of randomly learning about ‘new’ sights and stumbling upon great things while travelling.
Follow Travel Extremadura
Travel Extremadura is only present on two social media platforms (Instagram and Facebook), where I regularly share mostly inspirational and entertaining content. My focus is on personal stories, travel anecdotes, customs, and cultural and linguistic curiosities.
Following Travel Extremadura is a great way to receive a regular dose of Extremadura inspiration and engage with me and other fellow travellers.
Alternatively (or additionally), sign up to my email list to receive a monthly email with the latest articles, as well as news and updates.
Contact Travel Extremadura
Read the Contact page to find out how best to reach out.
