|
|
ABOUT US
You have had a dream for a long time: visiting this colourful country, with its beautiful nature and fabulous history. You already read quite a lot about it. But you want to learn more. Talk, dine and wine with Peruvians in their own places. Walk trough the markets, visit small villages, a social project or a soccer game, witness a 'pago a la tierra', and ask people about their lives, their ideas and their culture…
… You don't want to go on a standard group tour. You want to discover things yourself. Think about your own route, leave the beaten track. The only problem: how? You don't speak the language; you've never visited Latin America before. And what about the safety? Reliable - informative - honest - competent - different...
Norma Guevara and Rik Duijm are a Peruvian-Dutch couple. Out of experience they know that visitors rarely enjoy a good service for a reasonable price. Every agency offers the same; most see their clients as just an opportunity to earn something. People looking for an insight-view of the country, the history or the culture have a good chance to get disappointed.
'We want our guests to have a dream holiday. We understand the questions you might have, and give you clear answers. We'll explain everything you want to know about Peru, we know our way in this country and are thinking in solutions instead of in problems. And above all, we want to offer you a personal experience!'
Rik Duijm
After finishing his study Journalism at the age of 22, Rik travelled for the first time trough Latin America. He spent a month in Cusco, studying Spanish. After that, he travelled on his own by bus trough South-Peru, Bolivia and to the far south of Argentina.In the 3 years after this journey he worked as an editor for several magazines in the Netherlands, amongst others for REIZEN Magazine and Op Pad, the largest travel- and the largest outdoor-sports magazine of the country. He travelled another time to Latin America – this time to Peru and Chile – and decided to quit his second study Latin American Studies. He decided to work in another culture instead. After working three months for a travel agency in Cusco, he was asked for the job as volunteer work coordinator in Peru's largest Spanish school for foreigners, from the same owners as the travel agency. For 9 months he collaborated with nearly 30 social projects in and near Cusco; an experience that gave him quiet another perspective of the country than other gringos have. For several reasons he quited this job though. He worked some time as a tour conductor in Peru and Bolivia and created Mundo Antiguo Tours in January 2008.
'Many Latin Americans have a very different concept of words as service and communication as western tourists have. That's a shame. Travelling trough South-America again and again I got surprised – and sometimes frustrated. Working in Peru, I finally understood dealing with this culture that is just different than ours. I've had to be the intermediary between colleagues and clients quite often. My goal is to share my love for this country with you, without you suffering from bad service and worse understanding. Any questions? Please write me now!
Norma Guevara
Norma got to know Rik in the Spanish school for foreigners, where she worked since the start of it, 10 years before. She started working as a professor and as the school grew she became the academic coordinator, handling a staff of 24 teachers and around 140 foreign students per week during high season. In that last 7 years she still gave Spanish classes a couple of hours every day.Her family both from Santa Teresa – one of the villages close to Machu Picchu – and Maras (in the Sacred Valley), she herself grew up in Cusco in the turbulent eighties; with the first government of actual president Alán García that Peru almost left bankrupt, the rise of the terrorists of the Lightning Path and with Alberto Fujimori who now faces multiple charges but who as well managed to end the raging civil war. Since the mid nineties Peru has recovered itself remarkably and with that Cusco became one of Latin America's most famous tourist places. How many tourist she told about Peruvian society, how many she teached Spanish? Who knows. But there is some experience here! |