Our Trip Leaders - Wilderness Travel https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/ Tour Agency in Berkeley, California Mon, 01 Apr 2024 21:44:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.wildernesstravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/cropped-Wilderness-Travel-favicon-144x144.png Our Trip Leaders - Wilderness Travel https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/ 32 32 Lhoucine Bensghir https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/lhoucine-bensghir/ Fri, 29 Mar 2024 21:42:46 +0000 https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/lhoucine-bensghir/ Lhoucine was born and raised in the Middle Atlas Mountains. From childhood, his dream career was to be a tour leader and after graduating from Sultan Moulay Slimante University with a degree in English Literature, he became a certified guide. As a Moroccan Berber who knows both the Arab and Oriental cultures and the traditional […]

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]]> Lhoucine was born and raised in the Middle Atlas Mountains. From childhood, his dream career was to be a tour leader and after graduating from Sultan Moulay Slimante University with a degree in English Literature, he became a certified guide. As a Moroccan Berber who knows both the Arab and Oriental cultures and the traditional nomadic way of life, he feels he's an ambassador to his country. Having lived a somewhat nomadic lifestyle himself throughout his life, he is happy traveling around his country introducing guests to Morocco's cultural wonders, from the Tuareg nomads who wander the desert to the photogenic “blue” city of Chefchaouen

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]]> 38646 Karen Bell https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/karen-bell/ Wed, 27 Mar 2024 00:12:53 +0000 https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/karen-bell-2/ Karen Bell, born in the northwest of England, is a specialist of all things English and a lover of the country and its varied landscapes. The wife of veteran Trip Leader Richard Bell, she is a medical scientist, world traveler, and keen naturalist who has an uncanny ability to identify just about every plant and […]

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]]> Karen Bell, born in the northwest of England, is a specialist of all things English and a lover of the country and its varied landscapes. The wife of veteran Trip Leader Richard Bell, she is a medical scientist, world traveler, and keen naturalist who has an uncanny ability to identify just about every plant and flower we'll see along our hiking trails. Karen is a delightful traveling companion who brings enthusiasm and good energy to every trip.

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]]> 38615 Joe Mann https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/joe-mann/ Tue, 26 Mar 2024 20:50:43 +0000 https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/joe-mann/ After receiving a BA in Outdoor Leadership, Joe worked all over the mountain areas of the UK, falling in love with the Scottish highlands. He was 18 when he first explored Scotland's highlands, hiking all 282 of Scotland's “munros” (mountains over 1,000 meters) in 62 days, and in doing so, becoming the youngest person to […]

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]]> After receiving a BA in Outdoor Leadership, Joe worked all over the mountain areas of the UK, falling in love with the Scottish highlands. He was 18 when he first explored Scotland's highlands, hiking all 282 of Scotland's “munros” (mountains over 1,000 meters) in 62 days, and in doing so, becoming the youngest person to complete the ascents in one continuous attempt. He says discovering the diverse mountains, lochs, and wildlife he found on that trip is still the best experience of his life. When he's not guiding, you'll find him running or racing in the hills, rock climbing on remote mountain crags, or swimming in a refreshing loch. Joe says, “If I'm lucky, I'll do it all in one day!”

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]]> 38597 Victoria Rastall https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/victoria-rastall/ Tue, 26 Mar 2024 19:32:03 +0000 https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/victoria-rastall/ Growing up on a hill farm in the Trossachs of Scotland, Vic learned to love lochs, rivers, hills, trees, cows, and dogs (not in any particular order), She spent many years traveling solo around the world, but settled in the beautiful Scottish landscape of Argyll and Bute. While working in outdoor education, she also built […]

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]]> Growing up on a hill farm in the Trossachs of Scotland, Vic learned to love lochs, rivers, hills, trees, cows, and dogs (not in any particular order), She spent many years traveling solo around the world, but settled in the beautiful Scottish landscape of Argyll and Bute. While working in outdoor education, she also built her own business creating clothing, until recently trading online and at festivals, including the acclaimed Glastonbury Festival. For the last few years, the woodlands of the lesser known area of ‘Scotland's Secret Coast' has been Vic's playground.

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]]> 38592 Rhona Steel https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/rhona-steel/ Tue, 26 Mar 2024 19:20:48 +0000 https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/rhona-steel/ Rhona has worked in health care, education, and most recently, agriculture. In the 90s, she went to work in Europe but missed the Scottish highlands' diverse landscape and proximity to the sea. One of her best decisions was to return to live in the highlands, where Sutherland is her long-term Scottish favorite place, but she […]

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]]> Rhona has worked in health care, education, and most recently, agriculture. In the 90s, she went to work in Europe but missed the Scottish highlands' diverse landscape and proximity to the sea. One of her best decisions was to return to live in the highlands, where Sutherland is her long-term Scottish favorite place, but she loves any place handy to Inverness, where she now lives. She is named Rhona for an ancient island near Skye.

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]]> 38590 Paul McCaffrey https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/paul-mccaffrey/ Tue, 26 Mar 2024 19:15:11 +0000 https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/paul-mccaffrey/ An enthusiastic outdoor practitioner, Paul always hated the idea of a mundane job, and at university, he even started his own business as a means of escaping this fate. A perfect day for him is hiking adventures with other like-minded people in beautiful wild places. Torridon and the Outer Hebrides are some of the regions […]

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]]> An enthusiastic outdoor practitioner, Paul always hated the idea of a mundane job, and at university, he even started his own business as a means of escaping this fate. A perfect day for him is hiking adventures with other like-minded people in beautiful wild places. Torridon and the Outer Hebrides are some of the regions that contain special memories for him. As a youth, Paul received his certification to fly an aircraft before he could drive on this own!

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]]> 38588 Ray Allwood https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/ray-allwood/ Tue, 26 Mar 2024 19:09:56 +0000 https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/ray-allwood/ Ray is a keen hiker, cyclist, climber, mountaineer and skier (not necessarily in that order!). His interest in outdoor life started in 1989 when he was sent on an Outward Bounds course—a week of walking, climbing, and camping in England's Purbeck Peninsula in Dorset. That experience created in him a lifelong joy of climbing and […]

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]]> Ray is a keen hiker, cyclist, climber, mountaineer and skier (not necessarily in that order!). His interest in outdoor life started in 1989 when he was sent on an Outward Bounds course—a week of walking, climbing, and camping in England's Purbeck Peninsula in Dorset. That experience created in him a lifelong joy of climbing and hiking, ultimately leading to him earning certification as a professional guide.

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]]> 38586 Argiro Filiou https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/argiro-filiou/ Mon, 25 Mar 2024 16:19:45 +0000 https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/argiro-filiou/ Argiro Filiou was born in the atmospheric city of Ioannina in northern Greece and has lived there her entire life, except for time spent on Kefalonia in the Ionian Islands, where she earned her nursing degree. She has always loved the outdoor life, hiking and hunting with her father while growing up. Argiro has been […]

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]]> Argiro Filiou was born in the atmospheric city of Ioannina in northern Greece and has lived there her entire life, except for time spent on Kefalonia in the Ionian Islands, where she earned her nursing degree. She has always loved the outdoor life, hiking and hunting with her father while growing up. Argiro has been a professional guide for several years and is thrilled to have turned her love of outdoor life into a profession. In her winter off-season, she works as a nurse in patient care.

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]]> 33779 Karen Lund Petersen https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/karen-lund-petersen-2/ Thu, 21 Mar 2024 22:58:55 +0000 https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/karen-lund-petersen-2/ Karen Lund Petersen, born and raised in Buenos Aires, has a degree in Environmental Science and a passion for sharing nature with people–especially Patagonia's wild nature. She now lives with her family in a small village in the forests of northern Patagonia. When not out guiding our trips, she works in her vegetable garden, teaches […]

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]]> Karen Lund Petersen, born and raised in Buenos Aires, has a degree in Environmental Science and a passion for sharing nature with people–especially Patagonia's wild nature. She now lives with her family in a small village in the forests of northern Patagonia. When not out guiding our trips, she works in her vegetable garden, teaches sustainability, and lectures on food production and consumption. “I love how wild Patagonia still is. When you travel here, you feel a deep respect for the powers of nature—the strong winds, the vast openness, the magnificent granite walls, glaciers, plants, and animals… I love it all. And I especially love sharing it with others.”

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]]> 33701 Dennis Ballesteros https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/dennis-ballesteros/ Mon, 18 Mar 2024 23:25:46 +0000 https://www.wildernesstravel.com/leaders/dennis-ballesteros/ Dennis Ballesteros, born and raised in the Galápagos, has been a naturalist guide in these famous islands since 2009. His passion for ecology, natural history, and conservation stems from his earliest years—as the son of a science teacher, he gobbled up all the reading he could as a child, and continues to constantly expand his […]

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]]> Dennis Ballesteros, born and raised in the Galápagos, has been a naturalist guide in these famous islands since 2009. His passion for ecology, natural history, and conservation stems from his earliest years—as the son of a science teacher, he gobbled up all the reading he could as a child, and continues to constantly expand his breadth of expertise. Dennis is an incredibly warm and deeply knowledgeable leader and a highly skilled wildlife photographer as well. “I'm genuinely enthusiastic about meeting new people, forging meaningful connections, and sharing experiences of the wonders of Planet Earth.” His lectures and fascinating stories bring joy and learning to every journey.

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