Elena Sandford-Hawken

I grew up listening to stories of my mother living in Greece for the summers and skiing in France for the winters; and my father travelling to America for work and making up bedtime stories from the insects that were beautifully hand-sewn onto a Tibetan blanket he bought me on a trip there. You could say I was a natural-born traveller; my first holiday was to Hawaii as a foetus. 

I love slow travel. Once  I started exploring the Americas and The Caribbean I knew the expressions of joy through colour and music was for me. I’ve been lucky enough to live in Mexico, Jamaica, America, Guatemala

One place that stole my heart as the first stop on my 8-month Latin America trip is Mexico. Mexico is truly a feast for the senses. Here you can explore Mayan ruins, be serenaded by a mariachi band on a canal and eat your bodyweight in tacos. It’s a place where you can soak up the eclectic mix of nature: jumping in cenotes (sinkholes), exploring verdant jungles, paradise islands, cities and mesmerising mountain towns. I love  it so much I live here now. 

I spent 2 months in Jamaica It is a country with music at its very core where you can smell the jerk sizzling on the side of the road and learn to love dominos (you see locals playing them everywhere). I decided to base myself in Treasure Beach  – a calm, quiet place that stole my heart. As I was working from at a restaurant on a beach, I was mesmerised by some young girls dancing without a care in the world. I thought to myself ‘how did I get so lucky to turn this dream into a full-time job?’

My passion for the Caribbean way of life is what lead me to expanding to Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Turks and Caicos. The similarities: they are all paradise. Yet, each of these beautiful islands has been chosen for its unique traits. Antigua has 365 beaches – one for every day of the year. St Kitts and Nevis is a hidden Caribbean gem, with authentic charm. And Turks and Caicos with crystalline turquoise waters and white sand beaches on over forty islands and cays is the World’s best kept secret.

My first big trip was to Thailand and Laos: the next was 6 months in India travelling from Kerala to Kolkata by land. There was no wifi then and whilst that sometimes made things tricky, it was incredibly rewarding. I loved travelling without having any desire to be on my phone – which  seems unthinkable now. From this point on I was always going to live a life full of wanderlust, always planning the next adventure and always daydreaming about different cultures. 

I’ve also lived in Australia, Sweden and Bali. Sometimes travel can be tough, but there’s nothing more rewarding than realising you’ve created a life for yourself in a far-away destination and a new existence in a home away from home. With over 50 countries visited and many more on the list, I think we can gather that this is a lifestyle and not just a job. I guess you could say I geek out on finding alternative routes and ways to do things.

Researching and planning trips is a true passion and I feel honoured to be able to help people experience all of the magical things that I love about this world! So please reach out and let’s plan your next adventure….