We are Adam and Christine, two people who absolutely love travel and adventure.
After years of exploring the world separately, we both moved to Hawaii to work/play on scuba diving boats in Kona. It was here that we met and started to hit it off…while dreaming of the next bit of travel!
We wanted to go see more of the world, work in and experience other places, EXPAND OUR ADVENTURES!
So when offered the chance, we joined forces to jump into the next challenge: to take off the scuba fins for a bit to run a guest ranch and horseback adventure tour company in Nicaragua.
The time at the ranch was incredible, filled with hilarious stories, but other adventures beckoned and we continued on, living out of our backpacks, while traveling off north to Guatemala, then to Mexico, then Belize…we were volunteering, taking classes, doing odd jobs…when one thing started becoming abudantly clear…
There are SO MANY WAYS TO WORK AND TRAVEL!!! It can involve anything from FINS TO SPURS!
What’s the plan for Fins to Spurs now?
We initially took off to Nicaragua in August 2014 and haven’t had a permanent home base since. In the past year, we’ve finished three seasonal work contracts, each in different countries, making it possible to visit nine…and we’re not stopping!
The goal of the site is to find work opportunities for anyone who wants to travel away from home for something a bit different.
As we try different jobs, we will share our experiences and lessons we learned, as well as ways for you to find similar ideas. We want to help you BEGIN YOUR IMMERSIVE JOURNEY, learning more about different people and cultures by working and volunteering your way around the world instead of being restricted to watching new places from the outside!
CHRISTINE REGENT WEST– Christine was fortunate to grow up in the Pacific Northwest on the shores of the Puget Sound. After obtaining her BA from the University of Washington, she decided to pursue her love of travel and the ocean to live on a Greek island, where a career in adventure tourism was born. Christine has traveled internationally full-time as a writer, educator, PADI scuba diving instructor, cook and guide for the past ten years. Christine’s passion has taken her to work above and below water in over 30 countries, spending significant amounts of time in Turkey, Thailand and Central America, and recently gained her an International Tour Director Certification. Christine spent 2015 in Guatemala, Nicaragua and Belize where one of her favorite adventures was spelunking ½ mile deep into the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave system, climbing through river water under massive stalactites into chambers filled with exposed Mayan ceremonial items and sacrificial artifacts that have remained untouched for over 1200 years. In the end, her favorite part of it all is working as a guide to help others see the incredible details of nature that continue to awe and inspire.
ADAM MAIRE– Adam grew up in rural Nebraska spending most of his time outdoors, exploring, hiking, kayaking, riding horses and camping. It was during this time that he became passionate about seeing the world and spending time in the wild. He began on the path to working with nature when he graduated from the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture with an Associate’s degree in Animal Science and then graduated from the University of Nebraska with a double major in History and Criminal Justice. In 2010, he spent a year in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army as part of a Long Range Surveillance team, working with and training the Afghan National Security Forces. Later, he moved to Hawaii and began a career as a naturalist interpretive guide on the Big Island as a Divemaster, working on boats leading scuba diving tours and working with the Manta Advocates of Hawaii. He then spent half a year working as a guide while traveling through Central America, then in the summer of 2015, he earned his Captain’s License and worked as a raft and wilderness guide in Alaska! Adam was certified as a PADI Scuba Instructor in 2016 and recently began teaching diving in Thailand!