Frederick Catherwood was a man who loved to travel. Born into an affluent English family in 1799, he studied architecture at Oxford; however, his leading passion was exploring the world, creating remarkable, and later renowned, drawings of ancient sites from Egypt to Central America. At the impressionable age of 40, he accompanied travel writer, John Lloyd Stephens, to Mesoamerica. With meticulous care and attention to detail he was able to capture and evoke the mystery and the profound accomplishment represented by the “lost cities” he and his travel companion rediscovered.
It is here in the land of the Maya that the paths of Frederick and Mary Dell, the creator of Far Horizons, “cross”. Mary Dell, also in her 40s, but 144 years later, discovers the lure of the ancient cities of this area and resolves that she will devote herself to bringing the spirited and steadfast traveler to see the areas that made such an impression on both her and Frederick Catherwood. Leaving academia behind and shouldering her backpack, she sets out by van and motorcycle on numerous exploratory missions across Mexico and Central America, visiting sites that Frederick Catherwood and John Lloyd Stephens brought to the attention of the world in the early 1800s.
Before long, the call of other destinations beckoned Mary Dell, and Far Horizons was planning archaeological trips to Turkey, Easter Island, and beyond. Over 25 years later, Far Horizons’ journeys proudly preserve the flavor of Frederick Catherwood’s original archaeological explorations with their attention to detail and their focus on the importance of understanding other cultures.
