Ben Westwood

Ben Westwood dreamed of being a writer and musician from an early age. Growing up in England, he combined the two by studying music and getting involved in student journalism in London. He wrote his first travel journal during a backpacking trip through Southeast Asia.After graduating from college, Ben decided to follow his passion for travel with an English-language teaching qualification under his belt, he set off for Ecuador. In the year he spent there, he fell in love with the country,and one of its citizens. He returned to the UK, newly married, to complete a postgraduate degree at the country's top journalism school, City University.Ben worked for The Daily Telegraph and Telegraph.co.uk as a travel journalist and online travel editor, writing articles on everything from encounters with Maoist guerrillas in Nepal to encounters with drunken Brits in Greece. After a brief stint working in adventure tourism, Ben returned to South America to combine his passions for teaching and travel writing. In addition to Moon Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands, he is the author of Moon Machu Picchu and Moon Peru. He has also contributed to the The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, and The Guardian.Ben currently teaches journalism and tourism at Brighton University in the UK. He still finds time to sing and play the guitar, and has released one self-funded album, Keep Dreaming. Follow him on Twitter @BenWestwood and at soundcloud.com/benwestwoodmusic.Jon Jared first experienced the itch for travel during summer trips with his grandparents to England, Scotland, and Wales. After visiting Zambia and traversing the mountain towns of Colorado, he moved to Ecuador in search of a new understanding of the world around him. In Ecuador, Jon has worked at hotels, restaurants, and bars served as a local guide, a freelance writer and editor and managed the South American Explorers Club in Quito, where he currently lives.