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Whoa am I?
Passionate traveler young in Spirit and always eager for new adventures.
My favorite way of traveling is with my bicycle or hiking but sometimes I just take a backpack.
I joined CS on 2006 when some of those reading this have not yet started primary school. Does this mean I'm getting old? Naaahhh !! Just more experienced. :-)

CURRENT MISSION

Planning trips

ABOUT ME

I'm a democratic crazy guy. Why? Because my parents when hear about my planned trips they say I'm crazy; my colleges at work when they hear that i'm hosting unknown people at home or when they hear about my trips they say i'm crazy... My friends, well they can understand about travelling and hosting people but when it turns to running marathons and running more than 60km per week (over 80km in the past), they say I'm crazy...

So... Don't you believe there are too many people and different backgrounds considering me mad? I can not contradict them !!! They've the majority !!! :-D

A little more about me:

Instagram: xtarafa

My travel blog (in Catalan, but with some pics):
http://xtarafa-viatges.blogspot.com/

Photography:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xtarafa/sets/

PHILOSOPHY
Take it easy, but take it (W. Guthrie)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Hosting people !!! I live close to Barcelona so I get lots of requests.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Couchsurfed "only" in Romania, Spain, Ethiopia, Georgia, FYROM, Mongolia, Italy, Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan, Croatia, BiH and Russia... But I hosted over hundred people so far among Hospitallity club (you can find me there as xtarafa), Warm Showers (for cyclist) or CS.

Interests

too muchs interests !!!!
Travelling, sports(running, mountaineering, mountain biking ...), reading, listen to music, learning history and politics, And ... having fun

• marathon
• running
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• alpinism
• music
• live music
• jazz
• rock music
• blues
• world music
• cycling
• hiking
• history
• adventure travel
• food
• trekking
• adventures
• climbing
• restaurants
• cycle touring
• dinner
• adventure sports

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: I do not go too often to cinema but I love european cinema and documentaries.
Books: Have not much time to read... but I would say that my favorite writer is Kapuscinski. Yep, I tend to read lot of journalists/reporters... specially from the areas I travel the most, thus: Kaplan, Jagielski, Aleksievich ....
About novels, among my favorites are some catalan writers as Sanchez Piñol (La Pell Freda, Victus) or Cabré (Les veus del Panamo) ...or some Worldwide classics such Bulgakov's Master and Margarita.

About muisc I am quite eclectical: World music, 70'rock and progressive rock music, jazz, world music ....
To name a few groups / players :
King Crimson, Phish, Bela Fleck and the flecktones, Leadbelly, Hedningarna, Dakha Brakha, La bottine Souriante, Marisa Monte, Alabama Shakes, Eli Paperboy Reed, Goran Bregovic, DDT, Jethro Tull, Blind Willie Johnson, Paolo Conte, Capercaillie, ELP, Pink Floyd, Madeleine Peiroux, Avishai Cohen, Armenian Navy Band.... well quite eclectical.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Play, observe and stay with my nephew !

Well, I'm not considering it so amazing but people consider it so:
- Cycled5 weeks in Indonesia: Sumbawa, Lombok and Bali
- Cycled 1000km in Kenya among zebras , jiraffes, impalas and huge elphant dungs... and also hiked for 4 days in Mt Kenya massif up to Lenana peak at 4985m
- Cycled 2800km in Iceland
- Cycled Khardung La (5359m) )in Ladakh !!!!
- Cycled in the Pamirs (up to 4655m)
- Cycled in Bolivia (up to 4930m in Geyser Sol de Mañana)
- Cycled two months alone in Mongolia,
- Cycled three "unnoficial" countries: Nagorno - Karabakh ,Abkhasia and Transnistria, and in an UN protectorate: Kosovo.
- Trekked on one of the most remote areas of Asia: Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan, where in 2008 only 250 foreigners got into.
- Climbed active vulcanoes and seen bears in Kamchatka.
- Climbed Huayna Potosí (6088m) in Bolivia
- Cycled in Altai Mountains including Katu Yaryk and Austrain road:
http://www.dangerousroads.org/asia/kazakhstan/4757-austrian-road.html
http://www.dangerousroads.org/eastern-europe/russia/5118-katu-yaryk-pass.html

- Last but not least: Met lot of wonderful people through a website called CS.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach:

I'm going to teach you something right now :-o

-- BEGINING OF THE LESSON ---
Barca doesn't mean anything for a local from Barcelona (well, not 100% true, barca is boat in catalan).
Barça is short name for Barcelona football / soccer club, but no ways to refer to the city. If you wanna a short name for Barcelona use either BCN or Barna, but never Barca. Saying "I'm going to Barca" for locals sound as weird as may sound "I'm going to Lakers" to refer to a visit to L.A. Got it? ;-)

There is nothing called "Sagrada", it is called Sagrada Família and there is no way to shorten the name.
--- END OF THE LESSON--- :-D

I love to learn about traditions , history and politics of places around the world ... Every place has something that makes it unique.

Countries I’ve Visited

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Spain

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