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 1998. 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 study a postgraduate diploma at the country’s top journalism school, City University.

Ben worked for five years 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 (equally scary) drunken Brits in Greece. After a brief stint working in adventure tourism, Ben moved to Ecuador with his wife and children in 2007 to combine his passions for teaching and travel writing (and to avoid traveling to the office on English trains). Since then, he has contributed to the The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget and The Daily Telegraph.

Ben currently teaches journalism, travel writing, English language, and the history of popular music at UEES, one of Ecuador’s best universities. He still finds time to sing and play the guitar, and has released one self-funded album, titled Keep Dreaming—which is exactly what he intends to do.