When you stop being a tourist

In a few weeks, I’ll be back where I was born. ❤️🇪🇸

And every time I return, I’m reminded that Northern Spain is not somewhere I discovered.

It’s where I come from.

I was born and raised in Northern Spain. I grew up surrounded by its food, traditions, landscapes, villages and, most importantly, its people.

The rhythm of life there is something I carry with me, even after more than 25 years of living in Australia.

It’s the long lunches around a table. The little bar where everyone knows someone. The market stall you’ve been buying from for years. The pleasure of walking through an old town without needing to rush to the next attraction.

It’s knowing that sometimes the best experiences are the ones that aren’t written on a sightseeing list.

And that is exactly why I created Secrets of Northern Spain.

I wanted to share the Northern Spain I know.

Not just the famous places, but the stories behind them.

The small producers, family businesses, traditional food, local wines, historic towns and the people who keep these traditions alive.

When I take guests to Northern Spain, I don't want them simply to photograph a beautiful place and move on.

I want them to sit at the table.

To taste something made by someone who has been making it for generations.

To hear the story of a family business.

To walk through a medieval town and understand why it looks the way it does.

To discover a little restaurant that they might never have found on their own.

And perhaps, by the end of the journey, to recognise a few faces and feel just a little bit at home themselves.

Northern Spain is incredibly diverse.

The Basque Country has its distinctive language, extraordinary food culture and deep-rooted traditions.

Álava and the Rioja Alavesa bring together medieval villages, beautiful landscapes and some of Spain's most fascinating wine traditions.

Further west, the landscapes become greener and wilder, with mountains, dramatic coastlines and a completely different rhythm of life.

But what connects these places for me is the same thing that makes Northern Spain so special: people still have a very strong relationship with their land, their food and their communities.

Living in Australia has given me an interesting perspective.

I see Northern Spain both as someone who belongs there and as someone who has lived away from it for many years.

I understand what Australian travellers are looking for because Australia is now my home too.

And I understand the places I take them because Spain is where my story began.

That is the perspective I bring to Secrets of Northern Spain.

I don't want to be another person telling you where to go in Spain.

I want to be the person who can open the door to a part of Spain that I know personally.

Because sometimes the best way to experience a destination isn't to see more.

It's to go deeper.

To slow down.

To meet people.

To eat well.

To listen to the stories.

And to give yourself enough time to feel the place rather than simply visit it.

In September, I'll be back home again, preparing for another season of sharing Northern Spain with guests from Australia.

And I can't wait.

Maybe I'll see you there one day.

Maria ❤️🇪🇸

Founder, Secrets of Northern Spain