About
Origin: My mom is from Chile, and my dad is from France. I was born and raised in San Francisco, California, but I'm not a communist. I've been to 127 countries but keep returning to this magical city because I love earthquakes.
Languages: I spoke Spanish at home, French at school, and English everywhere. I can get by in Portuguese and Italian, barely survive in Russian and Arabic, and speak other languages when someone points a gun at me.
Education: I have a degree in Religion from Amherst College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. So, I am well prepared to start a church and make lots of money.
Work: I co-founded a Silicon Valley robotic vision company and worked at Hitachi Data Systems and Microsoft. I consult and speak about Africa, Eastern Europe, cryptocurrencies, and robotics. See my work resume or speaking resume.
Backpacking: I walked across America four times: I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, and in 2007, I became the first to do a round-trip on the Continental Divide Trail. I've hiked 10,000 miles in Africa, including Morocco's High Atlas Mountains, South Africa's Drakensberg Traverse, and the length of Madagascar. I climbed the tallest mountain in 50 out of the 54 African countries.
California Outdoor Hall of Fame: In 2019, I was inducted into the California Outdoor Hall of Fame. They assert, "Francis Tapon is one of the world’s greatest hikers and wilderness heroes." Some think that I got in because I evangelized about the glories of backpacking 50,000 km (30,000 miles), but here's the real reason: the judges were impressed that I backpacked for 45 days without a shower.
Author and Filmmaker: I wrote The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us and Hike Your Own Hike: 7 Life Lessons from Backpacking Across America. I also produced a 77-minute video about his CDT Yo-Yo. I produced the 45-minute pilot episode for The Unseen Africa: Morocco.
Professional Reviewer: I'm a top Amazon reviewer, but don't ask me to review your product on Amazon. I can review it on my website if it interests me. I review nonfiction books on Netgalley and avoid fiction because I already have a wild imagination.
Current activity: I am looking for a video production company that wants to co-produce a show about my five-year trip through all 54 African countries. Finding a publisher for The Unseen Africa book would be nice too. Both the book and documentary should come out in 2026. I consult for companies too.
10 Year Plan: If you're curious about where I've been and where I'm going, check out my future plans.
Things I have never owned: A television, couch, bed, chair, or spaceship. (I'm disappointed about the last one.)
My life goal: Visit every country on the planet and share the experience with anyone who is curious. I'm a slow traveler. Amazon.com and Lincoln-Mercury considered thousands of travelers to find the one person who best represented the dream of traveling the world. They picked me and shot this two-minute video below...
