Our Team
TRAVEL IS OUR PASSION.
Our passionate team is one of our greatest assets. These are the people that design and lead our tours. They don’t just know our destinations, they love them and want you to love them just as much. Our in depth knowledge allows us to make suggestions for your trip that are personalized based on your interests. We love what we do, and will do whatever it takes to go above and beyond to make your trip as enjoyable and memorable as possible.
Mero
Mero is the founder of Carpe Mundo and is passionate about adventure travel! He designs the majority of the trip itineraries and leads many of the tours. He previously worked as the American Express Travel Insider for both Iceland and Croatia- a very distinguished title to obtain requiring a six month selection process and in-depth knowledge of the destination. He loves creating and personalizing itineraries for customers, using his extensive experience and destination knowledge to provide guests with memories to last a lifetime. Mero has visited over 75 countries and all seven continents. He has guided trips across North America, South America, Europe and Africa. He won 2nd place in TourRadar’s Adventure Guide of the Year contest, selected out of thousands of guides from over 600 tour companies!
Giri
Giri primarily guides our Iceland Highlights and Germany Biking tours, however his love of travel, professional background (he used to be a teacher before embracing a more nomadic lifestyle!), and magnetic personality make him a fantastic guide on our other tours as well. His passion for photography ends up being an added bonus for his guests as he takes phenomenal photos that serve as reminders of your cherished travel memories with Carpe Mundo for years to come. Giri’s sense of humor and attention to detail add a special “Giri touch” to his tours. He also helps out on the back end with self drive tours and enhancing the customer service experience.
Giri primarily guides our Iceland Highlights and Germany Biking tours, however his love of travel, professional background (he used to be a teacher before embracing a more nomadic lifestyle!), and magnetic personality make him a fantastic guide on our other tours as well. His passion for photography ends up being an added bonus for his guests as he takes phenomenal photos that serve as reminders of your cherished travel memories with Carpe Mundo for years to come. Giri’s sense of humor and attention to detail add a special “Giri touch” to his tours. He also helps out on the back end with self drive tours and enhancing the customer service experience.
Marcela
Marcela was born in a small town near Zurich where she spent most of her childhood. She has family all over Switzerland and loves the mountains, as well as all of the adventurous sports they offer! She currently lives in Colorado where she works as an adventure wedding and elopement photographer. Her photography skills are put to great use on Carpe Mundo trips, where she loves sharing not only photos but her love and knowledge of Switzerland! Marcela enjoys spending her free time hiking, snowboarding, and of course traveling. From rafting the Nile in Uganda to hang gliding in Hawaii and hiking through the jungles of Peru, her extensive travels make for some fascinating stories.
Chef O
Olivia, aka “Chef O”, was born in Paris and has a long history of French cooking. Both of her parents were excellent chefs who taught her a variety of different techniques and instilled a love for cooking. She learned to cook at a young age at home in the family kitchen with her mother, a prototypical French country chef. She eventually opened a restaurant and worked with her father who was awarded the Michelin star, among the highest culinary honors a chef can receive. Chef O has owned several successful restaurants and a catering business where she has won numerous awards (and will soon be featured on a well known TV network food show!). She is thrilled to be sharing her love of cooking on our France Culinary Highlights tours!
Olivia, aka “Chef O”, was born in Paris and has a long history of French cooking. Both of her parents were excellent chefs who taught her a variety of different techniques and instilled a love for cooking. She learned to cook at a young age at home in the family kitchen with her mother, a prototypical French country chef. She eventually opened a restaurant and worked with her father who was awarded the Michelin star, among the highest culinary honors a chef can receive. Chef O has owned several successful restaurants and a catering business where she has won numerous awards (be on the lookout for her on the Food Network!). She is thrilled to be sharing her love of cooking on our France Culinary Highlights tours!
Sophia
Sophia is Berlin based and loves sharing her native Germany with Carpe Mundo customers! She really enjoys the vibrant city life but loves to reconnect with nature as much as possible. Her favorite outdoor activities are hiking and tour biking. She loves being outside and the speed of biking is perfect for getting to know new places and landscapes. She has been working as a bike tour guide for many years throughout Europe and has been working with Carpe Mundo since 2016.
Francesco
A native of Verona, Francesco loves showing Carpe Mundo guests his beloved Italy! He is a cyclist extraordinaire- in addition to guiding multi day bike tours he also guides day trips around Verona and has completed several long distance cycling trips, including one from Italy to Istanbul! He studied tourism and loves sharing information about the region’s history, folklore, and cuisine (his knowledge of Italian wines is also extremely impressive!).
A native of Verona, Francesco loves showing Carpe Mundo guests his beloved Italy! He is a cyclist extraordinaire- in addition to guiding multi day bike tours he also guides day trips around Verona and has completed several long distance cycling trips, including one from Italy to Istanbul! He studied tourism and loves sharing information about the region’s history, folklore, and cuisine (his knowledge of Italian wines is also extremely impressive!).
Jackie has been working in the outdoor travel and recreation industry for 15 years as an instructor, trip leader and guide, as well as serving in administrative roles. She has been leading tours to Iceland since 2012 and has completed courses with Outward Bound and the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Prior to joining Carpe Mundo in 2018, she spent 8 years as the Coordinator for the Center for Outdoor Recreation and Education at the University of Florida. Jackie holds certifications as a Wilderness First Responder from the Wilderness Medicine Institute and a Level 3 Coastal Kayak Instructor from the American Canoe Association. Jackie is particularly fond of water-related activities and also dabbles in improv comedy- one of the many reasons customers love being on a trip with her!
Zack
Zack helps with both leading trips and organizing self-drive trips to Iceland. Iceland is “hands down” his favorite country- from hot springs to glaciers, the midnight sun to the northern lights, it’s a breathtaking and captivating country with surprises galore! In addition to working for Carpe Mundo, he is a full time personal trainer and specializes in corrective exercise and teaches high-intensity bootcamp classes. His fitness background enables him to encourage and motivate customers on tours, and his love of travel and helping others succeed make him loved by everyone!
Zack helps with both leading trips and organizing self-drive trips to Iceland. Iceland is “hands down” his favorite country- from hot springs to glaciers, the midnight sun to the northern lights, it’s a breathtaking and captivating country with surprises galore! In addition to working for Carpe Mundo, he is a full time personal trainer and specializes in corrective exercise and teaches high-intensity bootcamp classes. His fitness background enables him to encourage and motivate customers on tours, and his love of travel and helping others succeed make him loved by everyone!