I have 3 true passions in life; photography, telling stories, and – most importantly – travel. I like to wander and hate staying put. I use my camera as my notebook, capturing snippets of time, documenting people and conversations, and stealing momentary meetings.
I love a well-planned itinerary as much as reckless spontaneity. Drop me in any city and I’ll soon sniff out the finest coffee spots and best breweries. I’m mostly vegetarian but will throw away my morals to sample a meaty, local delicacy: whether that means mysterious taco al pastor from a shady backstreet vendor, or a chargrilled guinea pig in Peru. I find great joy in wandering around places pre-dawn before the city wakes, much to the disdain of my travel partners.
When not travelling, you’ll find me slinging beer into cans and casks for Northern Monk Brew Co. In my downtime, I’m likely to have my head buried in a book, my ears buried in my latest favourite punk band, or napping on the sofa with my cat sprawled across me.
More literally, it was born in a Mexican hostel dorm room late one night in October 2014. This blog’s initial incarnation was short-lived, lasting just a couple of months before being resurrected in late 2016 in the form that you see today.
A medicinal chemist by education, I spent a decade toiling away in a laboratory before swapping my beakers and conical flasks for a life on the road. I feel like I was pushed into travel rather than leaping in of my own accord. For most of my teens and twenties, I stayed put in Blighty, not really considering travel as an option, However, a series of personal tragedies conspired to remind me that life is short and that If I wasn’t careful, it would pass me by before I’d even realised it had begun. I needed an adventure.
Within a month of my revelation, I was on a one-way flight to Mexico City with just my backpack, a laptop and my trusty camera. I spent the next year exploring Latin America, working my way down through Central America, over the Andes and down to the southernmost reaches of Patagonia. I partied for weeks at Rio Carnival, slid at 60kmph down an active volcano, trekked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and fought my way through blizzards between the peaks of Torres del Paine.
That trip was what saved me. Travel has transformative, magical powers. The places we visit have the potential to alter who we are and the experiences I have had while travelling, both good and bad, are the ones that have had the greatest effect on me. After all, living life is about experiencing all that this world has to offer and travel gives you this in all of its undiluted intensity.
Since booking that Mexico flight on a whim, I’ve managed to explore over 50 countries; I’ve road-tripped through the desolate Salar de Uyuni, floated along the waterways of the Mekong Delta, spotted Raul Castro while marching through Plaza de la Revolución in Havana, and surfed the vast sand dunes of the Sahara Desert. I’ve seen some of the world’s most spectacular sights and met plenty of incredible people. But I’m only just getting started.
With this blog, I hope to not only share the stories of my own adventures but tell the stories of the people I meet and the places I visit. I want to instil a sense of cultural curiosity in my readers while providing the necessary resources – guides, itineraries and my own personal highlights – that I have built up through my own travels, mishaps and all, to help them roam the planet successfully and sustainably.
I’m a huge believer in the power of blogs and social media to provide travel inspiration and inspire wanderlust. More and more travellers are now turning to the internet for advice rather than traditional guidebooks, seeking out personal, authentic experiences and opinions from people like me.
I want to develop partnerships with brands and destinations that excite both me and my audience.
