A little about Latin America & Myself

Hi there fellow Travelers


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 http://www.cat-travel.com.


I've just started a new blog hehttp://bart-cat-travel.blogspot.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!


Bart