CURRENT MISSION

To keep living and loving life, and get seriously sun and surf drenched

ABOUT ME

ALL about me eh? Always been a bit of studier just because I love to learn (it doesn't at all have to be academic), and over the last three years I've become more addicted to the ocean/beach and now surfing than almost anything before... it sums up what I want out of life. Relaxation, that chilled vibe, with some crazy excitement now and then, a good connection with nature and as little stress as I can manage. The solo traveling is a bit of a new addiction, though my family always traveled. Having just finished 1 year traveling Europe, Central America and South America I'm now setup in Manly.

To experience life in all its forms, to find what I like and then to live it is the bigger fuzzier sounding aim.

PHILOSOPHY

A toughie... it evolves and will continue to. Right now it`s to enjoy life, to help others enjoy their lives more, and to escape the disease that is stress and work controlling life. I live my life to enjoy it. Giving and receiving, teaching and being taught, helping and being helped etc. all falls under than umbrella.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

So far, relying on the kindness of others to host me while traveling and discovering how CS'ing works and what makes a good host. I'm now setup in Manly, heading out to lots of CS events (mostly Northern Beaches group ones) and will be helping out where I can! Not really hosting at the moment as my place doesn't suit it but I'll be getting into that too when I have one that does.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

A few couches here and there. Guatemala (where I started CS'ing), Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela... The experiences, all good =) Loving it so much! It creates a totally different style of travel to hostels. I still love both and like to mix them up for the different lifestyles they bring. I've had everything from staying in beautiful shack kinda place over Lago de Atitlan in Guatemala with some temporary residents, to a packed out 5 CS'ers to 2 hosts house in Mexico, to a place in Belem that was nicer than any home I've had, all with interesting quirky social people that make top company.

Interests

Surfing, swimming, snorkeling, anything beach related, staying fit, computers and other nerd stuff, discovering whats out there and learning new skills, and amongst all that meeting lots of new people falls into place. Oh, and beer, love it and the whole process of it being created, though the consuming part is the most fun

• make up
• beer
• movies
• traveling
• surfing
• snorkeling
• swimming
• solo travel
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Pulp Fiction, hands down. Step Into Liquid (surf movie) too. Riding Giants (another surf movie) for the thrill, or Freakside (you guessed it, a surf movie) for incredible music and some of the most insane drops you`ve ever seen, and "A Broke Down Melody" for relaxation and a smile...

Music: Metallica to Jose Gonzales to Nirvana to Armin Van Buuren. A real mix. Brazilectro albums are ruling my ears at the moment and have been for months.

Books: Haha, I'm a lousy reader. I'll have to relate to childhood here where The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton made a seriously life long impact on my imagination thanks to my parents reading it to me when I was real little. I read a chunky chunky book on Che Guevera while traveling that was brilliant too and have started reading "Profits of War" by Ari Ben-Menashe

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Surfed some brilliant spots like Pavones and Sunzal (though not very well), seen a Grand Canyon sunset, fallen in love with Lisbon Portugal, played in Disney World, seen a rocket launch and an active volcano spew lava, walked over flowing lava, seen some incredible ruins like Tikal and Copan, partied for a week solid at Carnaval in Brazil, dived and snorkeled with sharks / rays and other marine life, sandboarded down an active volcano, seen the highest (Angel) and most wide (Iguassu) waterfalls, just being able to immerse myself in and travel around amazing countries like Nicaragua and El Salvador... this is such a hard section not to blab in so I'll stop there.

Teach, Learn, Share

Listen to others and act politely. Take in all the advice you can, but sift it through your own judgment and opinions, and then make up your own mind. And from past and present experience, make sure you learn some of the language of a country you are visiting before you get there... you might be able to get around without it, but the amount you miss out on can be crazy. I`m learning them inside the countries I am traveling but given more time I wish so much that I could have had a better level before entering the countries (a stable basic level, not a "where is the bus" level where you still can`t understand responses to your questions anyway!). Making this possible and easier for others will be a goal of mine after my travels.
Inflatable coat hangers are the shit! Incredibly useful and a good talking point - they've started a lot of conversations for me!
The nerd in me wants to say "take a travel laptop" too. I bought one midway through the trip and it was so damn handy for travel blogs / photo backups / watching movies. Nice to be able to help out others that need to do the same too.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia

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