ABOUT US
Who we are
Alive & Roaming is the two of us, Alicia and Rubén, two Madrid natives who have always been curious to see what lies beyond home.
Our life abroad began in Austria, surrounded by mountains with the Alps practically on our doorstep. Switzerland came next, where we lived for four years and where hiking, campervan trips and photography became a huge part of our everyday lives.
We now live in California and continue doing much the same thing, just on the other side of the Atlantic. We explore national parks, mountains, coastline, forests and all those places that make us reach for the camera and remind us why the journey was worth it.
Alive & Roaming was created as a place to share everything we learn along the way. Here you will find hiking routes, travel guides, photography and experiences told from our own perspective. We try to go a little beyond the must see sights and also share the places you often discover only after spending years getting to know an area.
In the end, this blog is simply an extension of the way we like to travel: slowly, with curiosity and, whenever possible, surrounded by nature.
The team
Alicia
I'm Alicia, one half of Alive & Roaming.
I'm a nurse by profession, although a large part of my free time inevitably ends up revolving around travelling, writing or looking for the next place we want to explore.
Living close to the Alps for several years made my love for nature and the mountains grow even stronger. I love discovering new places, learning about them and, above all, sharing those experiences afterwards in a way that can help or inspire other travellers.
On the blog, I'm mainly behind many of the stories, articles and ideas that gradually give Alive & Roaming its shape.
Rubén
I'm Rubén, the other half of Alive & Roaming.
I work as an engineer, but when the weekend arrives you are much more likely to find me carrying a camera, wearing a backpack or driving somewhere we have not explored yet.
Photography and the mountains are probably the two things that have shaped the way I travel the most. I enjoy planning routes, looking for lesser known places and really getting to know an area before visiting it.
At Alive & Roaming, I try to bring all of that into our guides through detailed hiking routes, maps, photographs and all the information we wish we had before setting off on each trip.
Bio
Meow. I'm Bio and, although I do not always appear in the credits, I'm probably the most important member of Alive & Roaming.
I was found when I was practically newborn, together with my siblings, at a waste treatment facility near Madrid, which is where my name comes from. After spending several months at an animal shelter, I eventually ended up living with Alicia and Rubén.
Since then, my travel résumé has improved considerably. I have lived among the mountains of Switzerland, travelled many miles in a campervan and can now also say that I live in California.
At first, I was not entirely convinced about spending my weekends going from one adventure to another, but over time I have learned that a campervan can actually be a pretty comfortable place to sleep while the humans take photos.
Why Alive & Roaming?
Because we believe travelling is about much more than simply ticking places off a list.
We like to walk, slow down, take photos, discover places that do not always appear at the top of Google and genuinely get to know the destinations where we are lucky enough to live or travel.
After several years exploring Europe and now beginning a new chapter in the United States, we want Alive & Roaming to be the place where we bring together everything we learn along the way.
If one of our guides takes you somewhere you had never heard of, helps you plan a trip or simply makes you want to head outside and explore, then this blog has already achieved what we set out to do.
