OUTBOUND WITH RON

Madrid, Spain

Madrid is the perfect place to begin my new series of videos from Spain.

Spain’s capital and largest city with some 3.4 million people—quite literally in the geographic heart of the country—has a way of making a first impression.

Renowned for its royal palaces, museums, elegant boulevards and a lifestyle centered on its lively cafes and tapas bars, Madrid is a place where bustling plazas and inviting neighborhoods seamlessly co-exist.

It’s a major magnet for expats.

From the plaza Puerta del Sol you're at Spain’s symbolic "Kilometer Zero," where, historically, the nation's major roads began.

What’s especially impressive, however, is the city’s energy. People linger over coffee; parks fill with families well into evening, and every plaza seems to have its own personality. Madrid doesn't rush you. It invites you to slow down and enjoy the moment.

In this series I’ll explore not only Madrid but other incredible destinations across Spain, and the culture, history and local character that make them unique.

If you've been to Spain, I'd love to hear which place stole your heart. And if you’re planning your first visit I hope the videos help inspire your travel list.

5 days ago | [YT] | 6

OUTBOUND WITH RON

Evora, Portugal

I’d like to say that Evora surprised me.

But that wouldn’t be quite true, since while planning my Portugal itinerary I envisioned Evora pretty much as I’ve found it—an ideal change of pace from more mainline destinations.

If you’re a travel vlogger you have to love the Evoras of the world; places that possess much of what their better-known counterparts do, but with fewer (or lesser) crowds.

Such places offer the traveler a unique gift; the sense of getting a more authentic and less-filtered experience of what a place is like.

Evora gives me that sense.

After each day of taking in the town’s considerable “sights” I’ve been able to retreat to the neighborhood near my guest house and find a restaurant or bar where the clientele is overwhelmingly local.

That, my friends, is travel gold.

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1 week ago | [YT] | 13

OUTBOUND WITH RON

Evora, Portugal

I’ve come to the beautiful, historic town of Evora in Portugal’s south-central region of Alentejo.

Alentejo means “beyond the Tagus,” a reference to the river that empties into the Atlantic Ocean near Lisbon.

It’s a region of rolling hills and plains with wheat fields, olive groves and the distinctive cork oak tree, famous for producing cork for wine bottles.

Evora, its most important town (with a population of about 60,000) is a delightful, less-trammeled place to unwind while soaking up Portuguese culture and history.

For centuries it was the residence of choice for Portuguese kings, enough of whom lived here at least part-time to give it a reputation as a “royal city.”

As the video shows, there’s a lot to see in this relatively compact, walkable city, including ruins from when the Romans conquered Evora and turned it into a major outpost after 57 B.C.

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 14

OUTBOUND WITH RON

Cabo da Roca, Portugal

Cabo da Roca, or Cape Roca, with its picturesque 1772 lighthouse, is a gorgeous spot on Portugal’s rugged Atlantic Coast.

It’s roughly 25 minutes by public bus from the historic town of Sintra, which can be confusing unless you know the following:

Sintra, the town, isn’t to be confused with Sintra, the county. The latter is a 319-square kilometer area that encompasses several towns and villages plus Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, which includes the cape.

As my latest video suggests, the cape is a must-see. Come for the lighthouse. Stay for the bluff-top trails.

For the intrepid, Ursa Beach at the bottom of a steep cove north of the lighthouse is known for its towering sea stacks, roaring ocean and seclusion.

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3 weeks ago | [YT] | 13

OUTBOUND WITH RON

Sintra, Portugal

Sintra is 45 minutes by train west of Lisbon, yet occupies a different world.

The countryside here is lush with green hills and home to several historic castles. Much of the town is a declared World Heritage Site.

It’s a charming place with cobbled streets and well-preserved architecture at the foot of Sintra Palace—the oldest of the castles. Once home to Portuguese royalty, the castle has been a museum for more than a century.

As the video shows, a special charm of the place is in the surrounding countryside stretching to Cabo da Roca, home to one of Portugal’s oldest lighthouses and with marvelous Atlantic Ocean views from trails along the bluffs.

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1 month ago | [YT] | 10

OUTBOUND WITH RON

Lisbon, Portugal

Of all the attributes great touristic cities possess none is more important than the human element, and by that I don’t mean merely how “lively” a place is, but rather how people generally interact with one another.

In other words, the vibe.

Lisbon clearly has a great vibe. It’s a bustling place, as you would expect of most any European capital, but you don’t feel ground down after a day on the streets here.

Part of the reason is that the city is largely a collection of differentiated neighborhoods that have maintained unique characteristics despite modernization.

That doesn’t happen just anywhere and never by accident—all the more reason to appreciate Lisbon.

In my next video I explore the historic town of Sintra and the countryside that abuts Portugal’s magnificent Atlantic coastline.

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1 month ago | [YT] | 14

OUTBOUND WITH RON

Lisbon, Portugal

What better place to begin a series of videos from Portugal than in its beautiful capital Lisbon.

Lisbon is one of Europe’s most atmospheric cities, with steep hills, charming neighborhoods, sweeping views of the Tagus River and a history that stretches from ancient times to the glory days of 16th-century Portuguese exploration and beyond.

The city—and Portugal generally—is among the most popular spots in Europe for expats from North America and elsewhere.

If you’re a traveler, Lisbon has it all: quaint neighborhoods, lively cafes and markets, historic landmarks from the country’s Age of Exploration as well as a vibrant, modern culture.

In this video I explore some of the best of what the city has to offer, including Baixa, its gleaming downtown, and Alfama, its oldest neighborhood and birthplace of Portugal’s evocative fado music.

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1 month ago | [YT] | 16

OUTBOUND WITH RON

Portland, Oregon

I’m back home in Portland after a super-enjoyable two months in four Mediterranean countries—three in Europe and another in Africa.

As regulars of the channel know, the videos are delayed so that I can offer a steady stream of content year-round while traveling roughly 6 months a year. Which accounts for the most recent videos on the channel being from Costa Rica and Panama.

Of necessity, my upload schedule is about to change temporarily, something I explain in the video.

If you see random new YouTube Shorts, Instagram Stories and Facebook Reels populating my social media feeds going forward, don’t be surprised. I’m going to try to do some catching up on short form videos I’ve wanted to create but couldn’t find the time.

One other thing, I’m now on TikTok and have begun adding content there. I invite you to check it out and follow.

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1 month ago | [YT] | 16

OUTBOUND WITH RON

Panama City, Panama

No visit to Panama would be complete without spending time in Panama City, the country’s capital and overwhelmingly its most important city.

First-time visitors often experience a kind of reverse culture shock, enveloped by sprawling high-rises that seem to stretch forever along the city’s Pacific shoreline.

With the Pacific terminus of the Panama Canal just outside town, Panama City has been a major world commercial hub for more than a century.

Besides Spanish and English it isn’t unusual to hear German, French, Arabic, Chinese or even Hebrew spoken here.

But the city’s importance long predates the canal.

It was from here that Spain staged its conquest of the Inca Empire in the 16th century and through here that gold and silver plundered from Peru and elsewhere were portaged across the pre-canal isthmus to be loaded onto treasure ships for Spain.

Among other things, I visit both the ruins of the original Panama City (Panama Viejo) and the still-thriving 17th-century historic district (Vasco Viejo) that replaced it, as well as the canal itself at the famed Miraflores locks.

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2 months ago | [YT] | 9

OUTBOUND WITH RON

Bastimentos Island, Panama

It would be a shame to come to Bocas Town on Panama’s Caribbean island of Colon and not do some island-hopping within the Bocas del Toro archipelago.

One can take an organized boat tour or, as I did, hire a water taxi.

My destination: Bastimentos Island, about 10 minutes across the choppy channel.

To get there, my good-humored boatman, who calls himself Senor Barca (Mr. Boat) charged me $5 US, quite the bargain since I was his only passenger.

There, I hiked the two-mile width of the island on a trail from the village of Bastimentos through a hilly forest to secluded Wizard Beach facing the open sea.

As the video shows, it’s an experience greater than the sum of its parts.

There’s the village, on the spot where Christopher Columbus is said to have put ashore five centuries ago; there’s the trail stretching through the leafy forest, and there’s Wizard Beach, a remote, unforgettable Shangri-la of protected oceanfront.

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2 months ago | [YT] | 12