CURRENT MISSION

Study and travel forever. I am happy when I do this.

ABOUT ME

I am Ricardito or Dev (depending on what language we are speaking). I'm a 40 year old half Aussie, half Canadian. I've spent my life travelling the world and I won't be stopping any time soon.

I've spent years living and travelling in different countries. I am currently living in Asturias (Northern Spain) for a year working in a high school here.

I love reading, writing, sports and music. I love stories too. And dogs, I freaking love dogs.

PHILOSOPHY

Time is more valuable than money.

Money comes and goes, time can never be replaced; invest it wisely.

Enjoy now. Don't dwell on the past too much, don't look to the future too much either, just enjoy the moment now.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have crashed on many couches and met amazing people in a variety of places. I love to host people, or show them around my great city. I also love going to events to meet new people. Couchsurfing is great!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Couchsurfing is the best thing ever. I have met so many amazing people and I have never had a bad experience. In fact, I've met a number of people with whom I hope to be friends with for the rest of my life.

I have visited places that I never knew existed thanks to the local knowledge (and generosity) of the hosts who showed me around. I can't wait to repay my debt to Couchsurfing by hosting, but for now, I will just try to visit and many places and meet as many people as I am able.

Interests

I love to travel, I live to travel in fact. I haven't got a clue how many countries I have been to (I don't like to count actually) but it is somewhere around 50. I first travelled alone when I was 17 (for a year in the USA and Canada) and I am now 40, so that is pretty much half of my life.

I am away from my home in Melbourne way more than I am there, but travelling makes you appreciate your friends, family and home way more than if you stay.

I also love reading. So much so that I'm an English teacherl. I try my hand at travel writing, fiction and poetry. One day I would like to compile my stories into something that is publishable.

I'm a sucker for animals too. I love them all. I have to say though, my favourite animals are dogs. Get me near a dog and I will be playing with it for hours. At my parents' place we have two amazing dogs, they keep us young.

I love telling stories and meeting people.

Hablo español.

• animals
• dogs
• writing
• poetry
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• sports
• teaching
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

Movie: Big Lebowski, The Darjeeling Unlimited, Moonrise Kingdom, The Straight Story

Music: Paul Kelly, Christy Moore, Frank Turner, Justin Townes Earle, Old Crow Medicine Show, Bruce Springsteen, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits

Books: I have a degree in Literature. I loooove books. John Steinbeck is the best. Kurt Vonnegut is good too. Haruki Murakami, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Roald Dahl and Charles Dickens know how to tell a tale as well. I have read Don Quixote too, not in Spanish yet though.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I am lucky because I get a enjoy the small things in life, especially the characters that it offers.

The most amazing natural thing I have seen was when I was doing turtle research in North Queensland. I saw more than 100 baby green turtles rise from their nest, out of the sand, and walk into the ocean.

I have also stood on top of the highest pyramid in the world in El Mirador, Guatemala. My brother and I hiked through knee-high mud in Guatemalan rain forests for 6 days to get there. There were no roads, only ancient trails. We saw jaguars, monkeys, tarantulas and our lives were entirely in the hands of our guides to prevent us from getting lost or attacked by banditos.

I was in Santiago de Cuba for the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. It was a very interesting experience, this one I have to say in person because it is a long story!

I stayed on a Cacao plantation with a Mayan family in Southern Belize. There were no roads, the only way to get there was rush a dory (flat bottomed boat) upriver for more than an hour, hard work!

I lived and worked as a tour guide in Uluru (Ayer´s Rock) in Central Australia. The job gave me the opportunity to travel and work all over Australia. I was able to visit remote indigenous communities, travel to uninhabitable regions in a helicopter and meet people from all over the world.

I lived in a village called Hoyos, in Spain. It is a small pueblo with just over 800 people and is on the border of Portugal. There the people don't speak Spanish, they speak 'Fala' which is a combination of Portuguese, 16th century Castellano and Asturiano. It is a VERY interesting place to live.

When visiting the village of La Higuera en Bolivia, I met a man who saw the assassination of Che Guevara. To hear his story I had to work on his farm for a day because it didn't feel right paying him for it.

Teach, Learn, Share

Rule number 1: There are no rules.

Rule number 2: Visit charity shops in every place you visit.

Rule number 3: Smile, laugh, repeat.

Rule number 4: If you see a dog, give it a pat.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, Guatemala, Scotland, Spain

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