HOLA!
My name is Raúl but my friends calls me Raulin :)
I was born in NYC but I was raised in Guatemala.

After college, one of my best friends invited me to take a trip to Europe as backpackers. I did not think it twice, I knew that it was my opportunity so I gave up everything, I even told my family that I was not coming back, I did not know where it would end after the trip, but that same fear, that emotion, those feelings were what gave me the push to explore.
We traveled only 6 countries, Italy was the main goal, we spent almost 3 months there, from the south to the north (from Puglia to Piedmont).

After the trip I decided to start my life again in Chicago, without family, without friends .... It was the perfect restart of my life. After a year and a half, my body asked me for more adventure, the sensation of wanting to explore returned to me. Chicago is beautiful as a city, can´t complain (except for the cold), but I really needed to be close to the nature.

Sep 2019 I decided to make another bikepacking trip, I was 80 days on the road, from Chicago to Seattle then all the west coast. Then I moved to New Zealand and I lived there for 2 years now I’m back into the US just trying to figure out my life again.

So, in short, this is me, Raulin.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

When we were traveling with my friend we received a lot of love from many people and friends, so the best way to return the favor is to do the same for other travelers.

There is nothing more pleasant for me than to show travelers the places that have seen me grow. I think that visiting certain places seeing the perspective of local people is much better than what is written in the travel guides (I´m not saying they are bad, of course they give you an idea of what to expect, but to see the people in their element, in the places where they have laughed, eaten, cried, shouted is something completely different).

Interests

My next big adventure will be traveling with my unicycle through all the American continent.

• bouldering
• hiking
• hitchhiking
• mountains
• adventure
• bike riding
• surf
• bikepacking
• volcanoes
• hitchhike

Music, Movies, and Books

Techno fo suuuuuure!
I love when people recommend me their favorites books, cause for me it's too hard go to a book store and pick up a book, all of them looks really interesting.

But my favorite author by far is ISABEL ALLENDE

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Quit to my job and my life to start traveling.
Swim on the coldest lake of the Montviso, Italy and the Iceland sea.
Jump from 17m from a Cliff on Puglia, Italy
Bike from Chicago to Niagara Falls
Bike from Chicago to Seattle and all the West Coast until Santa Monica.
Became a DJ and radio host
Learned how to surfing
Learned how to unicycle

Teach, Learn, Share

People always said that they love my travel stories... so I can share you some crazy stories about Raul's travels.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A god cup of coffee.
A good listener of stories and a very comfty place to stay.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, El Salvador, England, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Guatemala, Italy, New Zealand, United States