The Very Beginning
They met by a lake on a sunny day in May. He impressed her with his wide vocabulary and dashing smile and she won him over with her choice of picnic foods and her infectious laugh.
They spent eight hours solid together, sharing their travel stories and dreams of adventure, until they were finally kicked out the pub for closing.
After Adam heroically broke Emily out of the locked up parking lot, she had little choice but to agree to a second date!
Just don’t ask about the first kiss!
Emily
As a child my parents would take my siblings and I on holiday to the most amazing places.
I don’t mean exotic exactly, most of our time abroad was spent in France while my friends were off to Florida and other far flung places! But where ever we went we explored.
My Dad would drag us round the backstreets seeking out local cafes and markets, or we would drive for miles to find the beach with the best rock pools or fossils. We camped and swam in lakes and got up early to watch the wild rabbits. We lost teddies in rivers, cut our feet on sharp rocks and spent days hiding from downpours. We survived. We laughed. And it made me feel alive.
As I got older I started looking into travel opportunities and found a volunteer opportunity in Thailand. It sounded utterly terrifying! My Mum gave me the push I needed, I pressed ‘book’ and have never looked back.
Next was Australia, then Cambodia and Vietnam, China, Nepal, Kenya, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, India and many other amazing and beautiful countries.
After university I fell in love with teaching. It was a job I was passionate about and gave me long summers to explore the world.
But I would still dream about having a big adventure. I’d sit through inspirational school talks from people who had climbed mountains and rowed across the Atlantic and I’d almost hurt wishing I was them.
The trouble was, I was too scared. But then I met Adam and it all feel into place. Not only was he smart, funny and incredibly good looking (haha!) but he wanted to travel too.
He helped me find the brave I’d been searching for.
Adam
I’ve always been a bit of a vagabond. At 18 I set off for a summer job in Spain and didn’t come back for five years!
I spent my summers learning Spanish from the locals, swimming in crystal clear waters, watching hazy sunsets and helping drunk English people find their hotel rooms.
In the winter I went snowboarding every day, practised my German over way too much gluhwein, photographed stunning mountain vistas and helped drunk English people find their hotel rooms.
I was lucky enough to live in Italy, Austria, Spain, Ibiza, the Canaries and and the French Alps, until deciding to play at being an adult for a bit and moving to London to work in Silicone Roundabout’s tech startup scene.
I worked for some brilliant companies and got good at wearing suits and walking quickly at rush hour and being angry at people for no reason.
I thought about buying a house in London, but then I remembered I wasn’t a Russian oil baron or a premier league footballer so I bought a leaky old steel boat instead. It was my transport and my home, and it suited me perfectly.
I spent my spare time learning about engines and bilge pumps and pulling everything apart then working out how to (sort of) put it back together again. After a few years of this I became pretty handy on a boat, which has paid off well on our sailing adventures!
I’d been living on boaty for two years when I met Emily, and when she didn’t run a mile from my floating building site slash crack den I knew she was the one. She joined me for evenings and weekends of ripping out joinery and grinding back rust, and didn’t complain (too much!)
Luckily she’s also pretty great at life and I’m pleased as pie that she wants to travel the world with me.
Our Favourite Countries For
Trekking
- Nepal
- Sri Lanka
- Spain
Wildlife
- Kenya
- Tanzania
- Sri Lanka
Beaches
- Greece
- Caribbean
- Australia
