Assistant Expedition Leader

Patrycja O'Brien

Patrycja O’Brien was born and raised in Poland, when the borders of the communist time were closed and travelling was only a dream. Following her interests in biology and biochemistry, she earned a Master’s degree in biotechnology, and also studied languages, fitness and dance. As soon as the times allowed, she completely changed her life, leaving an established career in logistics management of a big international company to pursue her dreams and travel aspirations. She lived and worked in Egypt, Cuba and finally southern Spain, which became her home while working for one of the biggest Spanish tour operators. In her free time she enjoyed traveling this beautiful region, dancing salsa and playing drums. It was there that she joined Lindblad Expeditions – National Geographic as assistant expedition leader in 2008, pursuing her interests in sailing on Mediterranean and Caribbean voyages aboard the magnificent sailing yachts Sea Cloud and Sea Cloud II. She has since enjoyed working in many other destinations such as Antarctica, Southeast Asia and more. Along with scuba diving, her biggest interests are whales and dolphins, so she also worked for some years as a whale-watching guide in the gray whale lagoons of Baja California.

During the pandemic she changed her home for the full off-grid jungle experience in the lowland Caribbean rainforest of Costa Rica together with her husband and her adventurous dog Mila. She continues living there today and exploring more and more of Central America.