I was born in San Antonio, Texas, USA in 1965. As a child, there were two sources of inspiration for the dream of traveling to each of the world’s seven continents. The first was watching Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler. The second was reading National Geographic magazine in the local public library.

I grew up never having visited any other state, much less any other country. Although my humble roots did not permit any realistic prospect of such travels, I always wondered what it would be like to actually visit such places, to be the adventurer.

As I grew up and furthered my education, it seemed that the fancies of childhood were forgotten. It was not until I was 30 years old, and at a crossroads, that I decided I needed to start embracing life.

In 1995, I underwent a metamorphosis and started what became an odyssey of extended trips to explore North America, to tour Europe, to go on safari in Africa, to hike the mountains and jungles of South America, to trek through Asia, to wander about in Australia, and to go on expedition to Antarctica.

I read that to truly be alive does not happen by spontaneous combustion, you need to set yourself on fire. I agree.
 

Ricardo R. Reyna