Inspiring Travel Writing from Rupert Eden

Having grown up between remote sheep farms on Scotland's rugged Argyll coast and Portugal's arid Alentejo hills, Rupert Eden has traveling and adventure in his blood. After studying Hispanic studies at Liverpool University, he ventured into financial news gathering, which took him to countries as diverse as Peru, Argentina, Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Journalism was always a good way to travel and it was the stark economic contrasts seen in Latin America that led him to explore other forms of writing. Rupert's interest has always been in blending in with the language and locals of a country rather than remaining a tourist.

In 1998, while promoting Peruvian culture for the government in Lima, Rupert vacationed in Argentina for a month. The four-week visit stretched into year, which took him across Patagonia by bike, skiing in the Andes and writing for magazines and newspapers from the capital Buenos Aires. Rupert developed "industry insider" awareness working for a mining and oil newswire in Argentina that eventually led him to concentrate on raising environmental awareness through travel writing.

Initial work came in the form of contributing to Conde Nast Traveller magazine, Fodors, The Rough Guides, Time Out Guides and various British and American broadsheets and newsletters. Rupert's first book "The Adventure Guide to Southern Italy" was written after a year's posting in Rome with the Reuters News Agency in 1999. Spare time was spent discovering Rome's huge historical and artistic patronage - a city where you can get lost admiring buildings and churches, not to mention sampling the ever-tempting cuisine. Weekends were spent on snowboarding excursions to the Dolomites or on train trips south to explore Naples and the Amalfi coast. Rupert regularly works in Spain and Italy, although he is currently based in Lisbon.