Who is The Glorified Gypsy?
Carlitos de Jeffers is one of the most famed backpackers of the late 1990s and is still active today. Known to many simply as The Glorified Gypsy - or even more simply as Glorified or Glory - he is the writer of dozens of travel journals and short stories which both shed light on backpacker life and lift/lifts the lid on the cultures and countries through which he travels. Unlike The Lonely Planet and similar guidebooks, Carlitos believes travel is about discovering a place for one's self. It is his commitment to "FreeStyleTravel™" which saw him rebuff The Lonely Planet's many requests to use his journals as a template for their "guides".
He is a keen photographer, winning “photo of the month” in consecutive months in 2001* (April and May, since you asked).
Voted “Mr Backpacker” in December 2000, January 2001, February 2002 and again in August 2002, he’s the guy you think owns the hostel you’re staying in but doesn’t; he’s the guy regaling you with interesting tales; he’s the one offering you tips and tricks (free of charge!). He could go on.
A native of the UK, Carlitos speaks medium-to-high level Spanish and can say numerous words in many other languages.This is his website and these are his travel journals. Enjoy.
* TNT magazine, Australia
Carlitos wrestling an anaconda*
*It's a rope actually and he's climbing it. Unfortunately the memory stick with the photos of his solo canoe trip down the Amazon was misplaced by Avianca Airlines in 2009, so this is as near a recreation of his infamous encounter with a large snake as he could find.