A little about Myself

Hi there fellow bloggers!

I'm Bart de Graaf, I was born in The Netherlands some 35 years ago. I'm married to Karin and father of Edie, our beautiful 16 month-old baby girl. I studied International Tourism Management and Consultancy at the Superior Institute for Tourism Studies in Breda, The Netherlands, but my constant urge to get away into the wide open spaces of traveling freedom made me a nightmare for my professors and fellow students.

I dreamt up the idea of setting up a tour operating company on my way to Ecuador's inner jungle in 1994, on one of several trips through the area. I've been an active South America explorer for over 12 years now and have seen and experienced many of the surprises one can encounter living, working and traveling in this wild continent. After barely graduating in 1996 I almost immediately made my way to Peru to make my two dreams reality: turn my hobby into a professional way of living and try to help building the cultural bridge between South America and the rest of the world.

After 10 hard working years in Peru we now own and run what we like to think of as one of the most efficient tour operating companies in the region, managing not only Peru, but also Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, with proper offices in the first three countries and growing! You're welcomed to visit us at www.cat-travel.com.

What I expect of this blog is to share the experience of how traveling up and down Latin America has molded my life and determined in one way or another, who I am today.

Well, guess that's pretty much my life so far. In the words of Jan Myrdal: "Traveling is not just seeing the new; it is also leaving behind. Not just opening doors; also closing them behind you, never to return. But the place you have left forever is always there for you to see whenever you shut your eyes."

See you!