we are go epic

On my way home from boarding school in Ireland, I had an overnight stop in Paris. I went to the Eiffel Tower and jostled with the crowds to get to the top, but beyond the view of the city, I was underwhelmed. After less than 5 minutes at the top I was wondering, “ok, now what?” I always felt like there was more to the world than crowded tourist landmarks. Being touristy wasn’t fun.

I was on the road a lot as a child and I remember always gazing at the mountains we passed on the route and thinking to myself how awesome it would be to clamber up the side to the top. As I got older I found that most people liked the idea of adventures but didn’t have the drive to actually do it. There was a lot of talk but no walk. Other than a handful of friends, people were generally “adventure-averse” with the mindset of, “not for me”.

I, on the other hand, couldn’t get enough. The first time I went skiing I could barely make it down the bunny slope. Where my friends gave up after one bad fall, many ski days and crazy wipeouts later, I went skiing in the Rockies. I got my PADI scuba certification and discovered the boundless and mysterious world beneath the surface of the world’s oceans.  I wanted to visit Costa Rica so I started looking up trips offered by various companies. Many of them were “adventure travel” companies, but their “adventures” didn’t excite me. For the most part they were filled with a few hikes, lots of free time and visits to a couple markets. You call that adventure? I knew in my heart there was a lot more to adventure than that.

So I started planning the trip myself.  I put together an action-packed itinerary and took along a friend who had never done anything of the sort and had only ever travelled as a tourist. In one short trip we covered half the country. We swam in the jungle, rafted through rapids, traveled by horseback, ventured through the cloudforest, snorkeled & scuba dived in the ocean, rappelled down waterfalls, ate at roadside cafes, gave rides to strangers, slept on the couches of locals, traversed miles on local buses, rode ATV’s through rivers, jet-skied, had lunch at a farmhouse, got chased by a wild turkey, and enjoyed quesadillas at a quiet beach when we got lost in the middle of nowhere.

My friend said that, “these were the 7 most adventurous days of my life.” Now that’s what I’m talking about when I say adventure. It was an ah-hah moment. I realized I can put together and run fantastic trips. I love exploring, I love meeting new people, I love trying new food, I love finding secret spots free of tourists and known only to a few locals. I found my calling.

We started running multiday rafting trips, pioneered kayak routes, led mountain bike rides and took groups around Canada and to South America.

Along the way we formulated our identity: we specialize in creating awe-inspiring guided adventures for small groups of adventurers like you.