No 504 – Alice Bowers

A fascinating interview with someone who has chosen a different path which requires sacrifice and bravery to live life with more adventure and see where the journey takes her. We talk about life decisions and living for today, plus the financial challenges and practicalities of travel.

Alice Bowers put time aside an hour from her temporary job this cold December day where she is selling Christmas Trees to happy Londoners, to tell us all more about her story. Currently homeless but not depressed, she feels free to explore with world and all her savings are going towards her next trip on the Camino De Santiago during January and Feb 2020. 

Hopefully we will chat agin at the end and see how she got one out of the normal hiking season.

She describes herself on her website as follows; “I am basically just someone who enjoys doing stuff and finds it hard to stay still. In terms of background I worked as a geography teacher in Manchester for a few years before quitting my job and seeking an alternative lifestyle. Since then I have spent the last three years adventuring on my bicycle, paddling down rivers in an inflatable boat and working in either the charity sector or as a Bushcraft Instructor. 

I am incredibly passionate about travelling, but more specifically people powered adventures, as a result of this I spent 13 months in 2016-2017 cycling the length of Australia and New Zealand and from Indonesia to Nepal. A journey that really opened my eyes to how kind people can be, how lucky we are to call this planet our home but also the devastating effects that humans are having on the environment. 

Most recently I have just returned from spending a month paddling on rivers in rural Bangladesh, starting in the north of the country close to the Indian border and finishing close to the Bay of Bengal in the south of the country. It was dry season so the rivers were low but the most interesting part of the trip was meeting people along the way. Bangladesh is the most densely populated large nation in the world, so just the sheer amount of people around was baffling. 

Now back in the UK I am most likely to be found hiking in the mountains of Snowdonia, living in the woods teaching young people outdoor skills or planning the next trip!”

During the podcast I also mention the new kid on the Podcasting block, Alastair Humphries and if you want to hear his current series on Living Adventurously click here.