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EXPEDITION VOYAGE: Hosted by Juan Jose Apéstegui, Naturalist
JJ, as he is better known, began his career in the hotel industry after receiving his bachelor’s degree in business administration from UACA (Universidad Autónoma De Centroamerica) in San José, Costa Rica. However, it wasn’t long before his love of nature took over and he began training at the University of Costa Rica and later the National Apprenticeship Institute, San José, where he earned a natural history guide license.
JJ speaks five languages (Spanish, English, French, Italian, and Portuguese). With 20 years of experience under his belt, he is now well versed in rainforest ecology, camouflaging of tropical insects, reptile and amphibian activity, birding, coral reef ecosystems, as well as climate, natural history and animal study of the Arctic/Antarctic regions.
EXPEDITION VOYAGE: Hosted by Ignacio Rojas, General Naturalist
Bringing awareness about some of the planet’s last untamed and remote regions is a lifelong passion of this Brazilian. Soon after earning his bachelor’s in biology from the University of Saõ Paulo, Brazil, he began sharing with other enthusiasts his knowledge and travel experiences to the far reaches of the world.
Mr. Rojas is quite skilled in the ecology field through his work with INPA (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia), the Brazilian National Institute for Research in the Amazon. The renowned tropical expert has served as naturalist, Zodiac driver and Expedition Leader on multiple excursions for the past 16 years. His voyages have taken him to the Amazon, Antarctica, South Georgia, the Falklands, and the remote sub-Antarctic islands of Australia and New Zealand.
EXPEDITION VOYAGE: Hosted by Dr. Toby Musgrave, Naturalist
A leading British authority on garden history and design, Dr. Musgrave lectures far and wide to students of garden history and design at Oxford University, the Royal Horticultural Society, aboard expedition cruises and throughout the United States.
With a degree in horticulture and a doctorate in garden history, Dr. Musgrave has worked as a freelance television and radio presenter, consultant, author, journalist, photographer, designer, and lecturer for the past 13 years. He has served as a horticultural consultant for the award-winning BBC landmark series, How to be a Gardener. He also wrote the horticultural web content for that series, which was later nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) educational award. Other credentials include: working as an on-screen presenter for numerous British television shows; creating and contributing to a six-part radio series, The British Garden; and hosting a DVD series, Your First Garden Made Easy.
Dr. Musgrave regularly contributes to a number of popular Danish and British periodicals, including a weekly syndicated gardening column. He has also penned six gardening books in English, and his first Danish book was just published last year. His worldwide horticultural design projects range from a spiritual retreat in upstate New York, to pioneering town garden in London, to a seaside garden in Denmark, and to a roof garden in Bombay.
EXPEDITION VOYAGE: Hosted by Jarda Versloot, Assistant Expedition Leader
A zealous spirit has driven Ms. Versloot to the remote corners of the world. At age 18, this Amsterdam native, who now resides in South Africa, used her small Holland home as a jumping off point for an ever-growing adventure packed career.
She began with a degree in International Tourism Consultancy. However, it was her love of the ocean and hunger for learning about the wide, wide world around her that brought her to working aboard expedition ships. To date, she has explored all seven continents, including Antarctica, the South Pacific, Papua New Guinea, the Northern Marianas, Japan, Australia, the Indian Ocean, the British Isles and Australia. She is also a certified PADI rescue diver; qualified in first aid; and can drive a Zodiac.
EXPEDITION VOYAGE: Hosted by Robin West, Dive Master/Expedition Leader
Being in nature and on the water are two of Mr. West’s dreams. He has spent the last five years realizing this dream. After obtaining his human movement science degree, he realized his passion for the outdoors and the world’s oceans could not be suppressed. Today, the South African native and German national lives in Holland, but spends the majority of his time aboard expedition ships.
He began making a living doing what he loved by opening two PADI dive centres, both of which work in conjunction with outdoor adventure companies along South Africa’s Garden Route. This enterprise was a fabulous venture, but it proved to not be enough to fill the hunger for adventure that coursed through Mr. West’s veins. As he gained experience, he began working on expedition ships as a Zodiac driver, snorkel & dive master, staff assistant and expedition leader. He now works full-time aboard cruise ships, voyaging to the far reaches of the earth. So far, he has trekked across Antarctica, the South Pacific, Indonesia, Australia, the Indian Ocean, the British Isles and Japan.
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