“Live each day as if it were your last…one day you’re sure to be right.” This was the quote Ray used in his 7th grade yearbook, a motto that means more to him decades later, where each day seems to pass by faster than the one before. A quote that seemed almost a joke in his early teens now reminds him daily that we have only a limited, precious time on this planet, and to make the very most of each day.
Ray Bartlett began his freelance career at the age of 18, when he jumped a freight train for 500 miles and sold an article and photos about the experience to a local newspaper. That was the first stepping stone to a lengthy and adventure-filled career working as a travel writer and photographer, publishing regularly in some of the industry’s most elite publications: Lonely Planet, Insight Guide, Frommer’s Budget Travel, and many newspapers, magazines, and online venues.
Ray has worked on over 100 print titles, as well as published two “destination fiction” novels, Sunsets of Tulum (2015), set in Yucatán, and Celadon (2020), set in southern Japan. He is currently working on a third, as well as a memoir about his travel-writing decades. Other works can be found at his Amazon author’s page.
Ray is still wandering the globe with pen and camera in hand. He has visited all of the 50 United States and traveled to or lived in over 25 different countries, including Guatemala, Argentina, Canada, Tanzania, Indonesia, Cuba, Mexico, USA, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines.
In 1999 he received an MA in Fiction from Boston University, where he taught for several years before devoting himself to writing full-time.
He is always happy to discuss new projects, review or consult, and find ways for travelers to maximize their time somewhere, or help an establishment attract more clientele. Contact Ray via the footer links below or by email at ray @ ray goes to . com. (Just remove the spaces, this prevents spam.)
Except where otherwise noted, all photos are © Ray Bartlett, All Rights Reserved.