My official CV/resumé >>

Another take on 'my-life-in-800-words >>

I was born in London in 1972, but was irreversibly affected by watching too many episodes of the cult British children's TV programme Mr Benn when I was little. I've since spent most of my adult life trying to emulate Mr Benn's ability to visit the costume shop down the road, walk through the back door, and find myself in the midst of a foreign adventure.

I grew up and live occasionally in West London. I believe I was perhaps born a latino in a previous life — i.e. I'm always late and I like hammocks — but I attended a French lycée in London for my entire schooling. So now I reckon I'm just plain confused.

I began my journalism career while living and working in Venezuela in 1996. I initially went to the country chasing a French girlfriend. But instead fell head over heels for the unique Gran Sabana region in the southeast.

While living there, I wrote for an online news site, VHeadline, as well as for the fledgling Environment News Service, which is still going strong today.

In early 1999, I landed the commission to write the first edition of the Traveler's Venezuela Companion. I spent eight months researching it and took nearly a year to complete it. I made no money, but came away a better writer, with a ton of experience and a 1980 Toyota Land Cruiser. I had a very good, thorough and understanding editor. See news for latest jeep odyssey.

The Traveler's Venezuela Companion won the Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Guidebook 2002. The award was given by the Publishers Marketing Association in the US.

I went on to work on two more Traveler's Companion guidebooks, published by America's largest independent travel publisher, The Globe Pequot Press. In 2001, I updated the Traveler's Ecuador Companion and then revamped and overhauled the never-published Traveler's Russia Companion. Since then, I have worked on various Footprint Handbooks, publishers of the biblical South American Handbook, as well as for Fodor's, Dorling Kindersley, Insight Guides, Intelliguides and the Starservice hotel reviews.

As a writer and photographer, my work has been published in the UK, US and in Latin America - titles include Geographical, BBC Wildlife, The Independent on Sunday, Wanderlust, Global, Adventure Travel, Interval World, New Law Journal and thisistravel.co.uk (the Evening Standard and Daily Mail travel site).

Conversely to what many people think, I haven't travelled that widely. I've never been to Africa, for instance, nor Australasia or South-East Asia. I only made it to Ireland in 2001. This said, you can't get much wider than Russia.

I was Chief Travel Writer for the Caracas Daily Journal from 1999 to 2001, where I acquired an unofficial (and hilarious) fan club, and I have been Contributing Editor of South American Explorer magazine in the US since 2000 (I am also now a board member at the clubhouse in Quito). Both these publications have been willing to adopt and send forth various 'brats of my brain' which no-one else would, so I owe them a thank you here.

I designed the pages you see before you now, as well as various other ventures, such as SouthAmericaVideos, SarahDarling.com, BirdVenezuela.com, Jo's Place, VenezuelaVoyage, Ecuadorial and TheLostWorld. These now provide me with a modest income, exposure and er, 'brand-building'.

As an early-adopter of the web, I've always enjoyed writing for the net. Over the years I've distributed articles liberally over such sites as the great planeta.com, bootsnall.com and 2camels.com. I was a founding member of guidebookwriters.com, and am Contributing Editor of the excellent Travel Intelligence and Perceptive Travel.

In June 2002, I reached the last ten for the role of presenter on Channel 4's next 'young independent travellers' show. For my show-reel, I got to play James Bond for a day. So even if I didn't get the job (I live in hope -- I think..), at least I'll be able to tell my grandchildren I was 007 for a day.

I worked on a book project in Venezuela for several years. Unfortunately, due to economic and political strife in the country and other things getting in the way, my plans have been put on hold. The travel book is about my cherished region of the Gran Sabana, tentatively titled Travels in the Lost World. For more on that go here.

I launched into video-making in late 2002. This proved an excellent new avenue for my skills. I'm now more multi-media than Microsoft. I've sold various short videos of travel destinations in South America. These include Angel Falls, the Inca Trail, the wonderful Galapagos Islands, and mountain biking down the highest active volcano in the world in Ecuador. To view the videos, see my mini-site southamericavideos.com.

In October 2003, I worked as the associate producer in Ecuador for a three-part programme for the BBC, PBS and CBC. The documentary was produced by the award-winning London-based Paladin Invision and was broadcast in late 2004 as 'Extreme Oil' and 'Oil: The World Over a Barrel.'

I plan to continue to work in film, with the aim of making video-diary, travelogue or documentary style videos for television in the near future. Several ideas are now 'doing the rounds.'

I am now based in Quito, Ecuador, with my wife and two young sons . I work as a International Media Relations Officer for the Quito Visitors' Bureau. I'm very much enjoying my role promoting my adopted city. I also copywrite for various tourism industry clients, occacionally contributing to Ecuadorian magazines, or writing and editing books published in Ecuador. I continue to write articles and work on various guidebooks on Latin America, focusing primarily on Ecuador and Peru, for the UK and US press and publishers, although I am these days more and more Quito-focused!