About Me

My name is Jonathan Cook and I will be your guide while in Abruzzo.

I have travelled in this region of Italy for the last 10 years, and have developed deep relationships with this particular village and the people who live there. I have travelled alone and with groups around the world over my whole life. The thing that has always stayed with me, were the people who I met. Whether in India, China, Zimbabwe, Ecuador, Greece, or Western Colorado, I have learned again and again, that the story of a place is told so well through the people who live there.

As a guide, or a teacher, the job is not to spoon-feed information to people.

It is to provide the support and the opportunity for people to feel safe, have fun, and have the best possible experience. I have worked as an outdoor educator and classroom teacher. This has taught me the value of helping others deepen their experience of the subject at hand.  My education in Anthropology, Religion, History, and Architecture has taught me, that learning and success comes from collaboration. Working with groups of people inspires me. I am always amazed that the way “we” experience something amplifies the diversity and the dynamism of the way “I” experience it.

I am a renaissance man.

An architect by trade, a builder by experience, and a life-long lover of the good life: wine, food, conversation, entertainment, things close to the earth and far from ordinary. I have travelled the world near and far, and never cease to be amazed at the power that meeting new people has on fostering a deeper understanding of myself. Sharing is the greatest act of service, and I look forward to sharing my love of Abruzzo and its amazing culture with you!