Laurence was born in Mexico to Mexican and Dutch parents, raised in the Netherlands and immigrated to the United States in 1978. After graduating from San Francisco University High School, he attended University of California at Berkeley for four years to earn a B.A, in Political Economy of Industrial Societies. His focus was trade relations with Latin America and a minor in Spanish Literature.

Laurence started his rafting career at age 17 on the mighty South Fork of the American river in California. Since 1986 he has been an expedition leader, river guide, safety kayaker, dutch oven chef, self taught ecologist and adventure videographer in New Zealand, Nepal, Zimbabwe, Siberia, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica and the United States of America.

From 1993 till 1999. Laurence was the USA Men’s Whitewater Rafting Team captain, competing both in national and international raft race championships. The competition in 1999 included a first raft descent of the Orange River in the green Kalahari in South Africa. At the 2000 World Rafting Championships. Laurence was “safety team” captain on the Futaleufu River in Patagonia. Chile.

Laurence’s fluency in Spanish, Dutch and English make him an invaluable asset on all our South American expeditions. He is an enthusiastic and talented cook who bakes breads on the open fire, makes dutch oven desserts and other exotic river meals. He rock climbs, mountain bikes, and does all the water sports you can imagine – snorkeling, scuba diving, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, rafting, and swimming. He has run over 50 rivers on six continents with thousands of actual river miles traveled. When not in his second home of Chile, Laurence lives in the mountain playground of Truckee CA with Terry and their Patagonia rescue dog named Canela! His daughters Sabine and Saskia are 7 and 5 and attend bilingual school in Kings Beach!