I'm a travel writer who is producing and hosting a made-for-TV show about Africa.
From 2013-2018 I traveled to all 54 African countries.
I am writing a book about the trip.
It's all called "The Unseen Africa."
To learn more, visit http://Africa54.com.

I've written two books. My most recent book is "The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us." I spent 2008-2011 visiting all 25 Eastern European countries. Learn more about it at http://TheHiddenEurope.com

Watch my 3 TEDx Talks (they're all about travel):
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=francis+tapon+tedx&page=&utm_source=opensearch

I was born and raised in San Francisco, California, USA. My father is French and my mom is from Chile. So I have 3 passports. And I am very confused.

Here are the 122 countries I've traveled to http://FrancisTapon.com/travel

I'm married to and usually traveling with:
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/rejoice-tapon

Go to http://FrancisTapon.com for more info.
It's a lot easier than writing it all down here!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm on CS because I write about the culture of every country in the world. Staying in hotels limits your ability to gain insights on culture. There's nothing like seeing families and locals interact. I love to observe the daily cultural habits.

I've discussed how I participate in CS on my webpage (http://ftapon.com/cs).
That viral article is worth reading.

I've had over 180 CS experiences! All positive references. No negative ones. Translation: I'm a safe bet. :)

The couchsurfers I enjoy most are the ones where I feel like I've known the person for years. It's rare, but when it happens, it's magic!

Interests

Reading, writing, backpacking, volleyball, and traveling (duh!)!

• culture
• writing
• books
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• magic
• hiking
• backpacking
• volleyball
• business
• religion
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I prefer non-fiction books. I read at least 1 book per month.
My favorite movie is Memento.
Like most people, I have varied musical tastes. I love Philip Glass, which drives most people crazy.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Did a roundtrip on the Continental Divide Trail! That's 9,000 km in 7 months. That's backpacking on foot from Mexico to Canada and back through the rocky mountains. I was the first person to do this. See a 4-minute video of this and lots of information about it at http://FrancisTapon.com/cdt

Teach, Learn, Share

I've summed up all my the big life lessons I've learned in my first book! "Hike Your Own Hike: 7 Life Lessons from Backpacking Across America"
Learn more at http://HikeYourOwnHike.com

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share the knowledge I've accumulated in 50 years:
- I've traveled to 120+ countries
- Written two books
- Graduated from Harvard Business School
- Was a Religion Major at Amherst College
- I read a lot

Knowledge is my thing, and I love to share and learn from others.

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