UCL Backpackers: Cloe

THIS WEEK, JESSIE LIM AND ELLIE SYKES SPEAK TO CLOE OFORI, A SECOND YEAR ARTS AND SCIENCES STUDENT ABOUT HER TRAVELS.

WHERE’S THE FAVOURITE PLACE YOU’VE EVER VISITED?

“Rio, it’s the best place in the world. It’s got mountains, the city, and beaches, which is the best combination. And it’s not actually too dangerous.”

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE IN RIO?

“One of my favourite things we did was watching the sun go down on the Arpoador rock. It’s a rock outcrop that juts out into the sea. Just before the sun starts going down, you can go out and sit on the rock, and people take beers and picnics, and you watch the sun set. It’s stunning with the mountain scenery, and everyone applauds when the sun goes down!”

WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO VISIT?

“It’s a bit of a cliché, but Hawaii.”

WHAT’S YOUR MOST OBSCURE TRAVEL STORY?

“I went to the middle of nowhere in Sweden and did farm work through WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). We got accommodation and food provided through the scheme, but we couldn’t really travel when we were there. It was about a 15 minute walk to the closest village, which had nothing there, and then another half an hour drive to another small village…”

ANY TRAVEL HORROR STORIES?

“The people who ran the first farm we worked on through WWOOF were really strange. The woman cried when someone went swimming in the lake and ruined the water lilies, she couldn’t believe that someone could do that to ‘mother nature’. That was strange!”