Hi there! I’m Teresa, the traveller behind Brogan Abroad, an award-winning travel blog that focuses on responsible travel through cultural experiences, adventure and local flavours – always with sustainability in mind.
My goal is to inspire people to explore the world, particularly less frequented destinations and little known aspects of popular destinations, through deeper travel and more meaningful local experiences.
Here on Brogan Abroad I share my travel stories, useful travel tips and my travel photography from around the world.
Where it all began
I grew up in Northern Spain in a sleepy fishing town that came alive in the summer, attracting people from all over the world. Meeting people from different cultures every year made me realise that I wanted to experience those cultures myself. But it wasn’t until I was 19 that I took my first ‘proper’ trip across Europe – and from that moment on, I was hooked.
Two years later I decided to pack my bags and move to London, from where I’ve been exploring the world since, one adventure at a time.
In the summer of 2016 I decided it was time for a career break as a marketing manager for a technology company, so I packed my bags again, this time South East Asia bound.
After six months on the road, I returned home and the reverse culture shock was serious. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I knew I had to get a job (one’s gotta live!), but I knew I didn’t want to go back to the corporate world. So while I decided what my next step was going to be, I decided to start a blog so I did not forget all the adventures I’d had in SE Asia.
The idea of starting a blog sprung up a couple of weeks before I left on my six-month trip. During a weekend break in Berlin with two friends, we started coming up with ways on how I could make my upcoming trip my new way of life. The conversation became a brainstorming session of outlandish ideas, one of which was to create a blog. I knew nothing about blogs at all at the time.
I let that idea brew in my head while I was on the road. And it was on my return that, with the intention of creating a collection of memories for myself, Brogan Abroad was born. It just so happened that a couple of weeks after launching my blog there was a travel blogging conference happening in town, so I decided to attend to find out what this travel blogging malarkey was all about.
It was at this conference that I found out that travel blogging was an industry in itself, and that there was a tight knit community of travel bloggers around the world, and I suddenly was part of it. And the rest, as they say, is history!
My travels
For me travelling is a chance to get out of your comfort zone, making all your senses come alive with the thrill of living new experiences, meeting new people and discovering new places. For me, learning about the history and culture of these places, meeting the locals, eating the local food, and experiencing the local life is an integral part of any adventure.
While I enjoy off the beaten path destinations, some of my most memorable experiences include visits to what I now consider my own personal seven wonders of the world.
These are some of my travel highlights so far…
- Doing a 3-day road trip on a motorbike of Ha Giang, Vietnam
- Diving with manta rays and sharks in Komodo National Park, Indonesia
- Exploring historical Gold Rush towns in California
- Walking the Camino de Santiago from France
- Visiting the Libearty Bear Sanctuary in Romania, one the most ethical animal sanctuaries in the world
- Trekking the Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia, Argentina
- Celebrating Halloween in Derry, the best Halloween destination in the world
- Staying in a Berber Lodge in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco
- Overcoming my fear of water by doing white water rafting in Trentino, Italy
- Learning to cook paella in Valencia, Spain
- Trekking the W Circuit in Torres del Paine, Chile
- Visiting Predjama Castle the largest cave castle in the world.
There are quite a few highlights, I know. But there are so many to choose from that it was hard to narrow it down to only a few.
Who is Brogan?
I get asked this a lot. Brogan is a Celtic name very close to my heart.
According to legend Brogan (or Breogán in Spanish) was the Celtic King that founded the Kingdom of Galicia, where I come from, and one of Galicia’s most revered heroes.
Many years ago I became the human to a dog, a very energetic English springer spaniel, who I called Brogan as a way to link to my roots. When he was no longer around and I started focusing more and more on my travels I decided to honour him and my roots on the name of my blog, as a way to keep them both close to me.
Let’s connect!
I love hearing from my readers and followers!
If you’d like to connect with me on social media, I share photos of my travels on Instagram. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.
Alternatively, you can say hello through this contact form.
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