About JP
I am from Porto Alegre, the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), in Brazil. People from RS are known as Gauchos. We share some of our traditions with Uruguay and Argentina, with whom we may have more in common then with the tropical Brazil you may picture. From young age I have been curious about the wider world and about how things worked. We had a good atlas at home and was always on it. I used to drive my mother nuts putting things apart to understand how they worked (often not being able to put them back together). I have been lucky with a loving family who has provided me with good education and encouraged me to get where I wanted to be. As most families, we have been through some very good times and some not so good ones. The challenges made me a determined person who would not give up and would challenge almost everything.
When I completed 18 years the determination developed into true grit. That was when I joined the Brazilian Army to become a Cavalry Officer of the Reserve. The curiosity and determination took me a couple years later to Australia where I have studied English and traveled for one year. Back in Brazil I have completed my law studies in the Catholic University (PUC) and passed the Brazilian Bar Exam. Soon afterwards I traveled to Spain to complete a Master in Business Administration.
From there I moved to work as an expat in Abu Dhabi, then moved again to Dubai, then to Nigeria (where I met my wife) then to Rotterdam, and finally back to Dubai again in 2014, mostly working for the same company. As you can imagine, the last 10 years have been extremely colorful and interesting. I feel very fortunate. I have learned so much, have met my wife and had the chance to travel to over 60 countries. I have met good people, made great friends, and got to now some of the most varied and interesting cultures of the world.
By then our work was the center of our lives and we felt that we needed to reconnect, dedicating more time to ourselves whilst keeping on exploring. The idea of taking a sabbatical year came naturally, as we were exhausted and needed to slow down. Overland the Pan American Highway came from my South American dream of overlanding the Americas, to get to know the people, and the communities. So here we are. I hope you enjoy the site and a bit of our adventure, see you on the road and keep in touch.