My name’s Steph, and I’m an English teacher turned travel journalist and guidebook author from the United Kingdom. When I gave up my career and moved to Bolivia in October 2014, I really had no idea what my plan for travelling was; I had a volunteering position lined up with BiblioWorks in Sucre for six months, and then: the world was my oyster.
Fast forward ten years and I’ve lived in four countries in Latin America and spent extended periods of time in many more. I’ve volunteered for educational organisations in Bolivia and Peru where I was interviewed in Spanish on live Bolivian TV, taught English lessons, led biology classes and delivered photography workshops (in Spanish), and overall, discovered how fulfilling spending many months living in a destination could be.
I started Worldly Adventurer back in 2015 and since then, I’ve hiked a lesser-known route to Machu Picchu and through Patagonia’s most famous national park, learned about the remarkable history of the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, and spent four days sailing into the magical depths of the Patagonian fjords, among many other adventures.
Many of these trips have come about thanks to my role as a guidebook author and travel journalist. I got my break thanks to the UK-based Rough Guides, but have since worked on over a dozen guidebooks including for US publisher Hachette writing a brand new edition of Moon Chile, which saw me traverse the entirety of Chile.
I also write for publications around the globe. I’ve rafted with ex-FARC militants in post-conflict Colombia for CNN Travel, explored how sustainable tourism can be a key preserver of cultural traditions for the South China Morning Post, learned how Medellin is shaking off its image of drugs and violence for Adventure.com, hiked to Machu Picchu along a less-travelled route for The Independent and searched for pumas in Patagonia for JRNY Magazine.
My travels as a journalist, guidebook author and blogger have allowed me to visit some of the furthest corners of Latin America – and made me hungry to travel even deeper into the continent.
Along the way, I’ve become even more convinced that travel can be a means of stemming the tide of xenophobia and bringing sustainable and long-lasting opportunities and money to communities all across the world. Travel when done the right way, can be a tool for good.
These days, it’s not just me writing on the site. I’ve got a handful of contributors who either live in the countries they write about or have spent extended periods of time exploring Latin America and who can offer detailed and personal advice about exploring this incredible continent. You can learn more about them here.
