CURRENT MISSION

Giving something back to couchsurfing!

ABOUT ME

I graduated from university in 2008, took a year out to travel around the world and fell in love with doing so. Sadly I couldn't do that forever so I then spent 3 and a half years working in London earning some money for the next trip, which finally arrived in 2013. For most of the year I travelled up through the Americas with my girlfriend Tess, and we then spent the winter working out in the Alps.

Tess and I have now settled down again for a while in Yorkshire, where she's working as a teacher and freelancing as an outdoor instructor among other things, and we're hoping to give something back to couchsurfing by hosting some travellers in return for the hospitality we've received all over the world.

We're both easy going, friendly and chatty, with an emphasis on having fun as much as we can. We both love spending time in the outdoors, and are looking forward to finding out what sort of couchsurfers find themselves travelling to Skipton!

PHILOSOPHY

Be happy.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I was fortunate to do a fair amount of Couchsurfing during my trip in 2008-09, meeting some fantastic people in the process. Managed to host a couple of people back in London but living with housemates who weren't as open to the idea held me back from doing more. Tess and I again met some more wonderful folk during the next trip in 2013-14, and now we're back in the UK again and hoping to repay some of our debt!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Between us we have surfed in Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, the USA and a few places across Europe, and have seen the most hospitable side of people in every instance and have always found it a great break from constantly rushing around - nice to actually have a home to come back to even if only for a day or two, and even if it's somebody else's.

Interests

I play plenty of sport and have a very active lifestyle, particularly rock climbing, hiking, kayaking, cycling (both on- and off-road), and I'm adventurous and always keen to try new things. I listen to a lot of music but have a mixed taste, and I enjoy reading.

Tess is similarly active, gets out hiking and cycling whenever possible, plays netball and is the musical one of the pair, playing a bit of guitar and violin when she can.

• festivals
• instructor
• working out
• off-roading
• reading
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• violin
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• kayaking
• sports
• rock climbing
• netball
• economics
• teaching
• freelancing

Music, Movies, and Books

Most kinds of music, but mainly a mix of rock, indie and electro. Favourite films include The Usual Suspects and A Beautiful Mind, and I like reading anything which makes me think. Favourite book at the moment is Ishmael.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Have seen the Angel Falls, climbed a 6000m+ volcano, trekked through jungle and up the Andes, been invited to some Peruvian village festivals by locals who weren't invited themselves, explored the west coast of Australia, been dive-bombed by a 2m bird of prey on the African plains, hitch-hiked in Laos, Chile and a fair few places in between, and too many other incredible experiences to mention. I've been pretty lucky so far, and still adventuring!

Teach, Learn, Share

My degree is in Economics, so if anyone really wants to learn any of that I might be able to help, but to be honest that's usually the end, not the start of a conversation... and I'm conversational in Spanish, so could try and pass some of that on if anyone's keen to learn. I'm trained as an outdoor instructor, and always happy to chat about anything outdoors-y if anyone is interested or (more likely) can teach me something new!

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Laos, Malawi, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United Kingdom

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