Hi guys, I'm a 35 year old lawyer tired of laws and a traveling, capturing photographer and I'm Sofia, also very much tired of laws, haha. Although I didn't study law, I studied art and design which I love profoundly to this day.

We are both very sociable people with a great number of interests. We love being around nice people, there is so much we can learn from one another! Another absolutely amazing thing about traveling - fully indulging in different cultures. We love to learn, surround ourselves in the true essence of every place we travel to. We like being outdoors in nature, exploring and trying new things, soaking in our interests and discovering new ones through our interactions with new people. We are obsessed with movies, although Nico is the expert both of us are film-fiends haha! We love reading, from novels to philosophy to spirituality but hey, we love drinking beer too! Street food, local delicacies, rice wine and socializing. We love learning languages and ultimately immersing ourselves fully into the country we're in. We are BIG foodies and really enjoy cooking -- Sofi's flour skills will surprise you, guaranteed. Also, we're sick for tattoos and are always thinking of inking, wherever we go. Any tattoo artists out there needing some skin?! 😄

Nico: "Yes, I know; it's not so common, a lawyer tired of laws and covered in tattoos? How can this be possible? But it is, thankfully."

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Well, it was when I wrote this 7 years ago, and I used to find myself in this daily contradiction between what I'd studied and what I wanted to do with my life, which, of course, was touring the world. The contradiction lasted two years, until I finally made it!

I went out to see the world in March 2017, backpacked and volunteered through Europe and Asia. Made amazing friends from multiple places, religions and backgrounds. Saw breathtaking landscapes and tried the most diverse foods you can imagine. Fuck, what a ride it was! Almost two years of experiences in the bag, best decision I've ever made. However, we can't just go travel around forever, right? Money's always an issue. What happened? I became an ESL Teacher in Vietnam for almost two years! Got a job, a work permit and managed to save money again to do what I love...Travel the world!

However, like everybody else, COVID hit me right in the face, although in my case it was far away from home: volunteering in North India. It was madness. No one knew anything about the virus; airports and trains were shut down and suddenly we couldn't get out of the country nor buy food at the local market. After several weeks of tv interviews and newspaper reports we managed to get a repatriation flight from our government. So now, after two years of pandemic life (and a 9-month comeback to the lawyering world, which SUCKED by the way), I'm once again packing my bag and hitting the road, this time with my beautiful girlfriend Sofia. The hype is real!

Myself and Sofia met 1,5 years ago in India. I'll let her introduce herself now and tell you more about our story below;

Hi! I'm Sofia :)

I've been traveling for about 2,5 years now and like Nico it took me a really long time to decide to finally do that, which has been one for the greatest yet most challenging things I've ever done. It's a constant teaching everyday and the best gift I've ever received and better still, given to myself. I'm still quite awe struck every time I think about it.

I was born in Madeira. Yep! The island of Cristiano Ronaldo. Haha, I mention this specifically because I get it a lot while traveling and well, he pretty much put us on the map. I was pretty much born and raised in London though, which was incredible. It's a multicultural and fully packed artistic city, which was really great.

I started traveling very young, at the age of 21 when I got my first job in fashion after my college degree. Working as a fashion designer I was fortunate to travel the world, from China to India, Spain, France, Greece and Italy. It's worlds apart to how I'm traveling now, but I would definitely not change that. It's already been the experience of a lifetime.

So finally, at the age of 30 I decided to quit my job and take off, leaving it all behind, selling everything I owned and going out into the world, with a determination to live freely, on my own terms. Breaking away from all those laws! It's liberating. I still have a massive passion for textiles, art and illustration, it's pretty embedded in me. I'm highly creative and love working with my hands, I've always been this way and I love that about myself. I've come to realise that my creativity doesn't lie only in art and design, but in everything I touch and see. EVERYTHING is art. Everything is a means of creation, from writing, to speaking, to thinking, to movement, which in itself entails it all, absolutely everything we do.

I've been studying yoga and meditation since I was 29, which is what led me to India. From London to Bulgaria, I finally ended up in India, where I'd always longed to live and further develop my love for yoga and meditation. I've always been very much into sports, physical activity and movement, I'm highly adventurous and together with meditation it's been extraordinary!

I always knew I'd find the love of my life in India, isn't that funny. Whether that be constantly rediscovering myself, yoga, meditation, traveling, art, nature, people and last but not least, Nico. I knew India was where I was meant to start... and it's led me to numerous other places around the world, from Sri Lanka, to Thailand, Nepal and Vietnam.. and yet there is STILL so much out there. Amazing.

We'll tell you more once we meet! Haha. Highly looking forward to it ☺️

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We're here because we want to see as many countries/cities/towns as we can and get to know as many people as we have the chance to. We're thrilled with the possibility that Couchsurfing offers, I mean, exchanging culture and experiences with people from all over the world for us is great! Crashing at places is also incredible (saving up money for sharing in food and experiences together always is!), but for me the country is the people you meet and this platform gives us that possibility on a golden plate.

Nico: In my travels I've discovered so many - secret - places and had so many local adventures just following the advice of CS members that I can honestly say this is the best thing that has ever happened to traveling -- although now they set up a pay-wall which goes against everything this community stands for, but whatever. I'm forever grateful of the experiences CS has provided me and I'll continue to discover the world and connecting with people using this tool.

Interests

Photography, yoga, meditation, art, music, film, adventure, cultural exchange, history e.t.c

• writing
• books
• photography
• tattoos
• cooking
• beer
• yoga
• meditation
• walking
• music
• hiking
• camping
• table tennis
• languages
• hitchhiking
• volunteering
• films
• adventure
• football
• trekking
• teaching english

Music, Movies, and Books

We listen to EVERYTHING. Through our playlists you can literally get a bit of Britney Spears before shuffling to Metallica, passing through Zeppelin, Shakira, Bowie, Bad Bunny and/or Bob Marley.

Nico: On the other hand, Movies. This is my life. When I was a teenager I started this infinite journey that is the world of Cinema. Year after year I've been discovering the masters of filmmaking from the past century as well as the ones of the present one. I've done online courses on Film Appreciation and is one of the best decisions I've made! We're packing two hard drives with an illegal yet ridiculous amount of movies so we always have something to watch. Let's talk film!

You can find Nico geeking about movies here: https://letterboxd.com/NvargasCamus/

Last but not least, BOOKS. Yes, my other passion. Personal favorite authors? Haruki Murakami, Frank Herbert, Arthur C. Clarke, Khaled Hosseini, George Orwell, Fyodor Dostoyevski, Charles Bukowski, Ken Follet, Isaac Asimov, Jeffrey Archer, Santiago Posteguillo, John Steinbeck, and so on! Alan Watts, Ram Dass, Thich Nhat Hanh, Krishnamurti are also among our faves when it comes to spirituality.

Personal favorite novels?
- 1984, George Orwell
- Kafka in the Shore, Haruki Murakami
- Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevski
- Bonus track: East of Eden, Steinbeck

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I quit my job as a lawyer in a firm in Chile after two years of law-practice in 2017. Did it again in 2022! Fuck bosses and offices hahaha.

Volunteering/building/teaching in a small village on the top of a Nepali mountain for 75 days in 2018!

Hitchhiking all of Bulgaria, Turkey and Iran. It is, by far, one of the best experiences of my life. Sharing a couple of kilometres with people that really wants to help you, even though the language is not the same. Kindness in its true form.

Read 51 books in a year!

Teaching English in Vietnam and actually enjoying my job inside a classroom. I'll be back soon!

Living around the world for seven years! Getting to know different cultures, learning new languages and experiencing life with an open mind.

Finally: appearing live on every single TV channel in Chile in order to get a rescue plane for all 267 Chileans stranded in Asia when COVID hit. Wrote a piece for a Newspaper and when it went viral I was suddenly the face of all of us. For several weeks it became an emotionally and physically exhausting responsibility, but the honest gratitude I got from everyone on the 56 hour flight back made it totally worth it!

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Sofia:

Teaching at the school in Nepal with Nico.
Hiking the Manaslu mountain in Nepal.
Studying yoga and meditation in India and Thailand.
Meeting new people. Learning constantly through every interaction and movement.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach you some Spanish, Portuguese, English and numerous recipes we've fused together throughout our travels.

Share experiences, we've got a couple of stories.

Learn everything and anything you want to share.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Experiences, a massive film collection, yoga and meditation classes together, moving library for your Kindle, amazing cooking skills, conversation over some beers, expertly rolled cigarettes and stress less laughter. We like to laugh so hard to the point that there are tears and a little pee, haha 😁

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Argentina, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Chile, India, Serbia, Viet Nam