The Cognitive Rampage Podcast #124: Dan Cleland
(Founder, Trip Leader) Dan Cleland Author of Pulse Of The Jungle and Founder of Pulse Tours – Ayahuasca Adventure Center https://www.pulsetours.com/meet-da-team/

Over 10 years ago, a young man from Walkerton, Ontario, Canada had a recurring dream to explore the world. The day to day cage of 9-5 was not big enough to contain this young adventurer. He began to research the great land of sandy beaches, cheap beer and groovy vibes … Brazil.

After learning some Portuguese, buying some maps of Brazil and maxing out his credit at the bank, Daniel Cleland ventured off on an independently organized six week journey through Brazil. The minute he arrived to his hostel in Copacabana, he dropped his bags and B-lined straight to the beach … the first time this land-locked boy had seen the ocean in years. As his eyes feasted on the glorious expanse of Copacabana beach, Daniel knew that dreams were just reality waiting to happen. His life had taken a turn, and the rest of his six week adventure would define the next decade of his life.

Upon returning the 9-5 grind in Canada after his six week sojourn in the land of samba and caipirinhas, the only thought in Daniel’s mind was “how do I get back there?” Within a month, he’d located a job in international tourism and began to work his way back down to the promised land. Working for a major international travel company, Daniel spent the next years leading adventures all across Central and South America, where he learned how to communicate like a pro in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, and how to show people the gems of this awe-inspiring continent.

Never being one to play by anyone else’ rules, Daniel began to do his own thing and create itineraries to South America for family and friends. Now, Pulse Adventure Tours has become a live and thriving entity, with a growing culture of awesome people’s support!

Traveling the world has also inspired Daniel to enroll in a Master of Arts degree in Intercultural and International Communication, from which he is graduating in 2014. Familiarity with this field of study helps Pulse Adventure Tours build strong intercultural bridges between our travelers and the locals we encounter along the way. Many of our travelers experience a whole new world which they return to independently in the future.