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ALEJANDRO MENDEZ
Alejandro, affectionately called “Pulpo,” spent some years in the US but returned in early 2006. Before leaving the country, Alejandro worked as a CRE Naturalist Guide for seven years. Now in Operations, he knows exactly what kind of logistics go into making even the most complicated trip run smoothly.

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ALEXANDER HERRERA
Operations Manager

Born on Feb 03, 1967, Alex was raised in the city of Barva, Heredia, one of the oldest settlements in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. He first worked for Costa Rica Expeditions starting in 1987 as a Transfer Guide and he then went on to work in key departments such as Operations and Sales. Finally he worked as the Executive Assistant to Founder and CEO, Michael Kaye, not an easy task. In 1994, Alex left Costa Rica Expeditions to pursue other interests and has come back 16 years later.

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ANDRES CARBALLO NEWCOMB
Andres - or Andrew as his clients know him - started at Costa Rica Expeditions in 2004 with eight years of experience as a guide. He is very proud that he was given the title of Naturalist Guide, a dream - as he puts it - that finally came true.

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ANGELO BENLEY
Angelo was born on July 7, 1976. He was raised in the Town of Tortuguero by his grandparents, Don Alberto and Doña Ana Cristina. His grandfather planted crops and grew plaintain, cassava and coconuts. His grandmother worked at one of the lodges in Tortuguero as a cook.

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ARELIS MARIN
Assistant Manager Monteverde Lodge
Arelis was born and raised in the region of Monteverde on July 8, 1985. She has worked for Monteverde Lodge for five years. The first four years she worked at the Front Desk and for the last year she has been the Assistant Manager of the lodge.

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ARTURO JARQUIN
siamtico@hotmail.com
Arturo's passion and career is landscape architecture. He is a graduate of the Longwood Gardens Horticultural School's work-study program in Pennsylvania (1983-4) and also spent a year working at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis (1987-8). Arturo, who worked for Costa Rica National Parks for three years (1979-82), not only has a strong background in horticulture and conservation, but also has a strong knowledge of the country's native bird species.

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BERNAL DIAZ
Born in San Jose, Costa Rica in 1960, Bernal has been guiding in Costa Rica for over 25 years, he has been guiding for Costa Rica Expeditions since December of 2010, we are delighted to be able to offer the services of this talented Naturalist to our guests.

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CARLOS GOMEZ
Guides Manager
Carlos, or as he is better known, Charlie, started his birding career working with Gary Stiles, the author of Birds of Costa Rica. He has guided birding and other natural history groups for Costa Rica Expeditions for two decades. Before that, he was Station Manager at the Organization for Tropical Studies' La Selva Biological Station. Called "legendary" in the Washington Post, groups he has led include Henderson Birding, Audubon Naturalist Society and Noble Proctor.

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CARLOS VAZQUEZ
Carlos was born in the city of Quepos, on the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica. His love of the outdoors was transmitted to him by his parents. Some of his earliest childhood memories are of looking for crab and shrimp the forests of Mangrove forests of Quepos and then back at home, his mother's delicious soup.

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CARLOS LUIS VASQUEZ
Carlos was born in the city of Quepos, on the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica. His love of the outdoors was transmitted to him by his parents. Some of his earliest childhood memories are of looking for crab and shrimp the forests of Mangrove forests of Quepos and then back at home, his mother’s delicious soup.

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CINDY OLIVARES RODRIGUEZ
Cindy was born and raised in Monteverde, she graduated from the Santa Elena High School and is now taking general courses at the UNED (National University at a Distance)

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CLARENCE TAYLOR
Although he was born and raised in San Jose, Clarence has spent a lot of time traveling inside and out of Costa Rica. He did all his studies in Costa Rica, mostly focusing on the tourism industry, but also completed a year of medicine.

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DIEGO BLANCO

Diego, 26, was raised in Ciudad Quesada, a rural town located next to a National Park and studied Tropical Biology at the Univ. of Costa Rica. “My backyard was full of birds, bugs and even snakes,” he says. “As a kid I observed all these creatures with interest and developed a love of the outdoors and the wildlife of Costa Rica.”

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DIEGO MONTERO
Diego, 29, has been on Costa Rica Expeditions’ white water team since 2005, and has been guiding rafting trips for 9 years. He enjoys his career for the thrills and for the opportunity to meet new people from around the world. “I have also been able to travel a lot - to Italy, Norway, Nepal, Chile and Argentina - thanks to rafting,” he says. Diego speaks Spanish, English and Italian and is an excellent surfer. He is married to Betsy Chaves and his birthday is March 6, 1979.


DIEGO BLANCO
Diego was born on November 3, 1981 in the city of Ciudad Quesada; a rural town in the San Carlos region of Costa Rica. He grew up working on his father’s farms with his brothers and sisters.

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DOUGLAS ESPINOSA
Senior Travel Planner
despinosa@expeditions.co.cr
After working for Costa Rica Expeditions for three years, Douglas left the company in 2000, due in part to the long commute to his hometown, Atenas. It was understandable that he sought a job closer to home - according to National Geographic, Atenas has "the best climate in the world." Still, a new work schedule and faster transportation lured Douglas back in Nov. 2004. Today Douglas manages upscale and special interest and affinity group vacations. He also plans natural history and nature photography trips.

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EDUARDO AGUILAR
Eduardo "Novoa" joined our rafting staff in 1998. Born on May 31, 1977, and raised near Turrialba, Eduardo first became interested in the river while working for a wooden paddle factory in town. A local rafting company warehoused their equipment next door and, interested in using the paddles he constructed, Eduardo began begging river trips with the guides. He also learned his English from his river friends. Eduardo is a keen birder and enjoys playing basketball and kayaking in his free time. He has a son, Dixon, 7.


ELENA MONGE
Travel Planner
emonge@expeditions.co.cr
Born July 13, 1975, Elena is from San Marcos de Tarrazu, a mountainous region in the Costa Rica central highlands that is renowned for its award winning coffee. As a child, Elena spent most of her summers working with her family on their coffee plantation. To this day, she says that she is passionate about all things coffee and one of the things she most enjoys is spending her summer weekends with her Dad, brother, nieces and nephews picking coffee. It was in the coffee fields that Elena learned to interact from people of all walks of life, from the hard working labors to buyers.

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ELIER ZUÑIGA
Born on May 10th 1979, in the city of Puntarenas, Elier is one of four brothers and sisters.

As a little boy, it was his dream to work outdoors, he was sure that he didn’t want to work in an office. Elier was one of those boys that his mother asked to empty his pockets at the back door because she knew that insects, reptiles and seeds were sure to be stashed there. He didn’t walk around whistling, he walked around imitating bird calls.

After graduating from the Universidad Estatal de Puntarenas, Elier was an exchange student in Ellensburg, Washington. Here he had the opportunity to polish his English while working at a ski resort, he says this made a tremendous difference in his understanding of guests and greatly improved his English.

Elier has been guiding for 9 years, his special passion is tracking a specific species his guests want to see, but he loves the forest and its plants and creatures in general. His biggest thrill while roaming the forests of Monteverde was finding an ocelot with guests, an extremely rare sighting.

When he’s not interpreting the Cloud Forest with his guests, Elier enjoys playing soccer, swimming and spending time with his wife Alicia and his children Christian and Kendra.


ERICK BATISTA
Finance Manager
Erick planned to become an electrical engineer, but his career path took a different turn when he started working for a tour operator a decade ago as an accountant.

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FEDERICO ALBAN
Federico was born on April 11, 1971, in Costa Rica, but has lived all over the world, including Jerusalem, Madrid and New York. He speaks perfect English and can also understand Hebrew. He has worked at Costa Rica Expeditions for 9 years and particularly enjoys guiding Multisport and Naturalist trips, which combine his love for nature with biking and other outdoor sports.

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FEDERICO "FICO" CHACON
Born on November 15, 1976 in San Jose, Costa Rica, Federico ?Fico? Chacon has been guiding for 12 years. His training comes from the University of Costa Rica, the National Institute of Learning. He has completed various courses in natural history including Birds, Herpetology and Botany. He has also studied Social Sciences and Psychology. His greatest teacher has been his experience in the field, having guided in Costa Rica, Panamá, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. Federico particularly enjoys guiding for families with kids and teenagers. One of the many wonderful things that he has gotten from guiding is travel, Federico has been all over the world visiting the USA, England, Norway, Central America, Cuba, México and Galápagos.. Fico is known for sharing his knowledge with a great sense of humor. When he?s not guiding, he enjoys hiking, reading and playing ultimate Frisbee.


FERNANDO ESTRADA
Fernando, best known as "Don," was born on May 30, 1954, in Bluefields, Nicaragua. He is one of 12 siblings. He has worked for Costa Rica Expeditions since 1989. As a child, his grandparents, originally from Jamaica, taught him to speak Jamaican English. When he moved to Tortuguero, at age 18, he learned American English from the scientists and tourists he met there. Don worked for 14 years for the Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC) before coming to work as a guide at Tortuga Lodge.

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FRANCINE RODRIGUEZ
Receptionist, Monteverde Lodge
Born on January 31, 1990, Francine was raised in the Monteverde region. She went to High School in the town of Abangares. After High School she wisely went on to study English at the Boston College in San Jose and then she further polished her English at the INA, Costa Rica?s National Institute of Learning. Francine also has a technical degree in computer operation from INA.

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GABRIEL VARGAS
Gabriel, 27, is from San Jose and has been working as a guide in Costa Rica for several years. Gabriel grew up on a family ranch, where he learned to love the outdoors and nature. He earned a degree in agro-ecotourism from the Central American School of Cattle Raising and later studied at the National Institute of Biodiversity. “I was drawn to guiding because I like being with people,” he says. “I’m also very proud of my country and it’s great to show off Costa Rica’s natural treasures to visitors.” In his free time, Gabriel likes to spend time with his son Fabian. He also enjoys body surfing and horseback riding when he’s back on the ranch.


GERARDO AGUILAR
Gerardo, also known as "Cola," was born on October 20th, 1949. Although he has only been with Costa Rica Expeditions since 2004, Gerardo has been guiding since 1969, when he started as a sport-fishing guide in Barra de Colorado. He learned to speak English just by hearing his guests talk and then decided to complement his newly acquired skill with more formal studies in tourism, choosing courses in “Attention and Guiding” and “Ethics in Tourism.” He has won the respect and friendship of many guests at Tortuga Lodge and is known for his permanent smile, hard work and flashy silver necklaces. Gerardo is originally from Barra del Colorado and enjoys reading in his spare time. He has four adult children.


GERARDO MURILLO
Born in San Jose on October 15, 1964, Gerardo, also known as "Siau," has been guiding whitewater rafting expeditions since 1986. He grew up on his father’s farm in Turrialba where he spent most of his time outdoors riding horses and playing in the rivers and fields.

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GORDON HEIN
Chief Operating and Financial Officer
gordon@expeditions.co.cr
Michael Kaye first met Gordon when he was toiling away for long-time Costa Rica Expeditions’ client, International Expeditions in Helena, Ala. When International Expeditions became part of Grandexpeditions.com, Michael quickly snatched Gordon for a temporary assignment in Costa Rica. The “temporary” assignment that began in early 2002 continues to this day.

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GUSTAVO MENDEZ
Travel Planner
gmendez@expeditions.co.cr
Born in San Jose, Costa Rica on July 9, 1974, Gustavo grew up in the suburb of Guadalupe. He has 2 brothers and 4 sisters. Although Gustavo has only been with Costa Rica Expeditions since 2010, he is not new to Travel Planning, he has been in the business for the last 15 years. He especially enjoys designing vacations for families with children of all ages and honeymoons. Gustavo's passion for travel planning stems from the satisfaction that it gives him when a guest tells him of the wonderful memories that they have of their experience in Costa Rica. Over the years he has made friends with guests from many different countries. Gustavo has a BA in Business & Tourism from the ULACIT University and a Master's in Marketing from the San Marcos University, both private Costa Rican Universities. He speaks fluent English, Spanish and informal French. When he's not designing itineraries for guests Gustavo enjoys hiking, listening to music and especially spending time with his wife Jill and his sons Isaac 10 and Julian 6.


ISABEL GARBANZO
Director of Human Resources
igb@expeditions.co.cr
Isabel joined Costa Rica Expeditions in 1988. After nearly 20 years at Costa Rica Expeditions, she is the staff’s problem solver and everyone’s confidant. Isa is finishing a university degree in Psychology and has already begun applying her new knowledge of theory with her innate people skills, much to the company’s benefit.

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IVAN SOTO
Ground Transport Coordinator
Ivan, 27, is from Moravia, outside San Jose. He has worked in tourism for three years, the first two-and-a-half at a local outfitter, concentrating in reservations, sales and operations. "I like being at the controls, making sure our customers tours, transfers and flights are executed perfectly," he says. "Also being part of a supportive and professional team is great." Ivan enjoys playing sports and listening to music when he is off. His birthday is Aug. 27, 1980.


JEANINA ALFARO
Jeanina, 25, was born outside San Jose, the oldest of five siblings. Put in charge of watching her younger brother and sisters (and often her cousins too), she grew into a leader, a guide and caretaker - exactly the skills needed to manage and organize groups. At Costa Rica Expeditions Jeanina is in charge of coordinating the various activities of some of our visiting groups, including rafting, hiking and diving. This year Jeanina graduated from the Univ. of Costa Rica with a degree in industrial engineering. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking Costa Rican dishes for friends and giving talks on the country’s natural history. Her birthday is Feb. 1, 1983.


JONATHAN RAMIREZ
Jonathan was born on the Atlantic slope in the town of Siquirres where his parents grew coffee until 1990. They then moved to San Jose and his father started a business offering ground transportation to travelers and travel companies.

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JONATHAN ROJAS
Assistant to Director of Travel Planning
jrojas@expeditions.co.cr
Born in Alajuela on January 24, 1981, Jonathan says he carries the travel industry in his blood. He gets it from his father who works in the Hotel business.

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JONNATHAN VARGAS
Born on May 29, 1988, Jonathan Vargas was born on the Caribbean slope in the town of Guapiles. His childhood was spent in large part playing outdoors, swimming in rivers and stream and climbing fruit trees with his friends.

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JORGE MORA
First guided for IE and CRE from 1989 to 1992. He then went to the Denver, Colorado to get his Masters Degree in International Politics, returned to Costa Rica, and started guiding again several years later.

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JORGE JARA AYUB
After various school and family visits to some of Costa Rica's protected areas, Jorge became interested in the environment in high school. He decided that he would pursue environmental studies on his own while learning English at Columbus State University in Georgia. Today Jorge is well versed in many areas of nature; he has done courses on ornithology, medicinal plants, sea turtles, general natural history and others. He is currently finishing his degree in Management and Protection of Natural Resources at Cost Rica's National State University.

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JOSE MARTINEZ
Jose, also known as "Macho," was born and raised in the small rural town of La Suiza, 30 mins. from Turrialba, the heart of river rafting county in Costa Rica. He went to a high school that focus on conservation of natural resources, which marked him for life with a deep respect for nature and wildlife, and a love of the outdoors. Jose began guiding river trips in Costa Rica several years ago and more recently in California for Mariah Wilderness Expeditions.

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JUAN JOSE SANCHEZ
Juan Jose, 24, was born in the mountainous province of Turrialba, near the same rivers on which he now leads rafting trips. Before coming to Costa Rica Expeditions he worked as the safety kayak for different rafting companies. His first job was on the river with his cousins, who were guides themselves.

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JUDITH KIRKLAND
Assistant to the CEO
mskast@expeditions.co.cr
Jude, as we call her, started at CRE in 1990 and has the monumental task of distributing our email, which can easily be more than 500 pieces of correspondence in the high season. She is Michael's right hand, organizing his impossible schedule and keeping him generally in the right place at the right time - while somehow remaining serene and centered. If that were not enough to do, Jude has three children: two teenagers, Kenneth and Hillary, and her "baby," Ashley, 10.

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JULIAN FALLAS
Tortuga Lodge Manager
Julian came to CRE in Sept. 2006, after working at the Ministry of Education. Although he had no previous experience in tourism or hotel management, he quickly adapted to the job and the challenges of running a hotel in a remote area. “I was always interested in tourism and jumped at the opportunity to change careers when I saw an ad in the local newspaper for a job opening at Costa Rica Expeditions that didn’t require experience,” he recounts.

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KARLA TAYLOR
Born in Limon on January 28, 1978, Karla has been guiding for Costa Rica Expeditions for 11 years. Karla was raised in the village of Tortuguero, her mother, Miss Junie Martinez, is one of the founding members of the Tortuguero community and is well loved in the area. She owns the well known hotel and restaurant, Miss Junie.s, in the Tortuguero Village. .She.s my hero. says Karla.

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KENYA MENDEZ
Corcovado Lodge Manager
col@expeditions.co.cr
Kenya, 27, perfected her English in Burlington, Vermont, where she spent a year and a half in a student exchange program. After returning to Costa Rica she began studying biology and has nearly completed her degree at Costa Rica’s Latin University. She has been with Costa Rica Expeditions since Nov. 1998, when she started as a Transfer Guide and later moved up to Naturalist Guide. Recently Kenya took up the challenge of managing Corcovado Lodge & Tent Camp on the Osa Peninsula. Kenya has studied miniature orchids - particularly their insect pollination – as well as the ecology of the Tropical Dry Forest and worked extensively at Santa Rosa National Park with Dr. Daniel Janzen. She was a volunteer at the National Institute for Biodiversity at Maritza Station where she collected plants and insects that pollinate orchids in the Dry Tropical Forest environment. When she's not working, Kenya, born on Sept. 23, 1978, spends her time with her younger brother and sister, and is dedicated to poetry and painting. She also likes to hike and surf.


LARRY MARIN
Since 1994 Larry has guided and managed tours all over Europe, Northern Africa, Asia Minor, North and South America, the Caribbean Islands, and of course his native country, Costa Rica. He has a B.A. in Tourism from Central American Autonomous University in Costa Rica and is certified by the International Tour Management Institute in San Francisco.

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LUIS TORRES
Luis was born and raised in Tortuguero, he is a second generation guide. His father, also named Luis Torres worked for Tortuga Lodge first as a gardener, then as a local guide and finally as a Naturalist Guide leading trips all over Costa Rica.

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LUIS CHINCHILLA
Luis has a tourism degree from Alajuela Community College (2002) and is currently finishing a graduate program in Managment and Protection of Natural Resources while working as a Naturalist Guide. Originally from Heredia, Luis has always appreciated and enjoyed being close to nature. At Costa Rica Expeditions, he has moved from post to post, first as a transport provider, then in Corcovado as a Tree Platform Guide, more recently in Operations and now as a Naturalist Guide. No longer behind a desk in Ops, Luis is enjoying spending his time outdoors with his guests. He is one of six siblings and has four nephews, of whom he says, “I love as if they were my own.” His birthday is Jan. 14, 1979.


LUIS CUBERO
Senior Travel Planner
lcubero@expeditions.co.cr
After working several years as a geographer, Luis has an intimate knowledge of Costa Rica’s most remote areas from the central mountain ranges to the coastal lowlands. This knowledge gives him a unique perspective when designing trips for guests. “Geographers are travelers by nature,” he says. “We like to explore places and cultures and we are lovers of the outdoors. As a travel planner I’m in contact with people from around the world who share my interest in learning about and exploring this marvelous country.”

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LUIS GAMBOA
Luis Gamboa, Born March 10th, 1981. Luis lives in San Jose and loves it. He formerly worked as a dealer in Casinos and put himself through The Central University where he earned his Bachelors? degree in Business Administration. Luis then worked for 6 years in the travel business in Costa Rica before joining our Operations Team in early 2010. Luis has full command of Spanish and English and when not at the office coordinating the timely and accurate delivery of services, he enjoys staying home, watching TV and spending time with his family and friends. Luis is married to Mrs. Mipsy Li and has one son, Luis Alejandro born in 2002.


LUZ ELENA ALPIZAR
Guide Scheduling & Reservations Coordinator
lalpizar@expeditions.co.cr
Luz Elena has been with us since 1992. She is responsible for many things but, most importantly, for keeping track of every room reservation Costa Rica Expeditions makes. Her other role is to keep our guides in line: juggling their schedules, organizing jobs and often acting as surrogate mother. When she is not working, Luz Elena dedicates time to her son Alejandro, 11. She also enjoys swim class, running in the morning and decorating her house.


MARCO HERNANDEZ
Senior Travel Planner
mhernandez@expeditions.co.cr
Marco or "Luk," as his friends call him, studied business administration and tourism at Cartago University and has worked in the tourism business for more than ten years. He is familiar with nearly every valley and beach in the country and uses that knowledge to specialize in planning natural history and active vacations. He also manages trips that feature celebrations and other occasions.

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MARCOS ALVARADO
Originally from Limon Province on the Caribbean coast, Marcos learned to swim and fish at a young age. As a child he spent most of his time in the outdoors and developed a deep love and appreciation of the tropical rainforest and its fauna.

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MARTHA THOMAS
Receptionist
Martha, who worked at Costa Rica Expeditions for 15 years from 1982 to 1998, recently returned to take up the position of receptionist. She will be handling the dozens of calls, solicitations and deliveries we receive daily in our downtown San Jose office. In the last several years Martha has worked in a restaurant and two local hotels.

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MICHAEL KAYE
President & CEO
mskaye@expeditions.co.cr

Born December 11, 1941, a river guide for many years, Michael was the first to run Costa Rica's white water rivers. Michael and his wife, Yolanda started Costa Rica Expeditions as a white water rafting company in the fall of 1978.

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MIGUEL MARIN
Miguel was born Nov. 15, 1966, and has guided for nearly two decades, 17 of them with Costa Rica Expeditions. He discovered guiding after a false career start in business administration, which he studied for 2-1/2 years.

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NADYA SHAW
Senior Travel Planner
nshaw@expeditions.co.cr
Born Aug. 21, 1963, Nadya first started working for Costa Rica Expeditions as a bilingual secretary in 1991. In 1994 we reluctantly let her go due to a restructuring. Nadya was quickly hired by one of our competitors. Hoping to get her back, we kept an eye on her and in Aug. 2003, were able to offer her a position in the trip planning department. We haven't been sorry. Today Nadya handles some of our most upscale trips as well as family, honeymoon and other special occasions vacations. Her five children, Kevin, Jason, Ruji, Alexsha and Jared, more than take up her free time.


NATALIE EWING
Chief Marketing and Client Satisfaction Officer
natalie@expeditions.co.cr

After 13 years as chief operating officer Natalie has stepped back to become Chief Marketing and Client Satisfaction Officer.

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NORTON SINCLAIR
Norton, better known as “Putut,” was born on March 10, 1964, in Rio Maíz, Nicaragua, and is one of nine siblings. He began working for Costa Rica Expeditions in 2005, and since then has gained his coworker’s and guest’s affection because of his good humor and sweet character.

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OMAR MURILLO
Ground Transport Coordinator
omurillo@expeditions.co.cr
Omar has worked as a Naturalist Guide for Costa Rica Expeditions for many years, but recently decided to give up the vagabond lifestyle of a guide for the very detailed-oriented transport programmer job in the company's Operations Department. “I’m looking forward to learning about the bigger picture of the company,” he says. “Coordinating a trip-of-a-lifetime requires careful orchestration of not only transport and lodging, but a whole chain of services.”

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PABLO RICHARDS
Pablo was born on September 14, 1976 just outside of Paris, France. His parents are Chilean, but moved to Paris to get their doctorates at La Sorbonne.

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PRISCILLA JIMENEZ
Senior Travel Planner
pjimenez@expeditions.co.cr
Priscilla started working for us in Nov. 1997, when she first came to CRE as an intern from a local university. We were so impressed with her ability to learn quickly, her dedication to “Legendary Service and Unforgettable Memories,” as well as her ability to get things done, that we offered her a position as sales assistant. In 1998 she became a Travel Planner. Today Priscilla is a Senior Travel Planner handling the most upscale of our clientele. She has come to specialize in designing natural history and special interest and affinity group trips. She also plans honeymoons, anniversaries, and other vacations featuring celebrations.

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RAFAEL ROBLES
Rafa was born and raised in Costa Rica; his love for nature and outdoor activities began as a child, when he accompanied his father to the far corners of Costa Rica.

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RICARDO DAVIS
Ricardo, known as "Caro" in Tortuguero, was born on October 13, 1959, in Limon Province. He is one of five siblings. Before coming to Costa Rica Expeditions in 2004, Ricardo worked 14 years as a pile loader operator for Plywood Costa Rica in the town of Moin. After that, he started doing boat transfers between Moin and Tortuguero. Watching the local guides with their guests on Tortuguero’s creeks, led him to consider guiding as a profession. Ricardo improved his English and began guiding before coming to Costa Rica Expeditions. Ricardo enjoys talking to visitors and takes special pride in pleasing the guests on his tours by spotting hard-to-find wildife and getting them close enough for a good picture. In his spare time he enjoys playing soccer and playing “Caribbean” dominoes.


RICARDO JIMENEZ
rjimenez@expeditions.co.cr
Ricardo, called Robalo by his fellow guides, has led a very interesting and diverse career at Costa Rica Expeditions. In 1989, he started as a bus driver for group trips. Then he decided that he wanted to become a river guide. Not speaking a word of English, he signed up for classes at the University and was conversing before the year was up. Working his way through the ranks, Ricardo became one of our head river guides in 1993.

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RUFILIO NUñEZ
Rufilio, or "Fillo" as everyone knows him, came to Costa Rica Expeditions in late 2003 with more than a decade of guiding experience. He is particularly interested in the plant life of the rainforest. Rufilio, 46, once worked in fishing and, for many years, in hotels. He is from Puerto Jimenez, Puntarenas, and has two children, William and Yessica. His birthday is April 23, 1962.


SAMUEL ARGUEDAS
Born in the port city of Puntarenas on September 25, 1968, Samuel grew up in the Monteverde region. He is the last of 14 brothers and sisters.

Samuels is a descendant of one of the oldest Monteverde Families. His father, Don Felipe, was a farmer and grew beans and vegetables and then he sold them to a Chinese Restaurant in the Las Juntas de Abangares. At that time, the trip from Monteverde to Las Juntas took 3 days.

Samuel’s mother, Doña Adelaida, stayed at home and took care of the family, cooking, washing, milking their 3 cows, making sour cream and cheese and cleaning. She did this with the help of his sisters. Sometimes, Don Felipe took longer than expected returning to Monteverde after selling their produce and Doña Adelaida would have to hunt for food. The Paca was the favorite animal to hunt because of its soft and tasty meat.

When Samuel was growing up it was unusual for kids to go to school given the need for hands in the field. In spite of this, Samuel completed 9th grade in high school which is a testament to his and his parent’s dedication.

As a child, Samuel wanted to be a Traffic Officer but today he says he’s really grateful that his dream never came true. In 1991 he did a field course with the Monteverde Reserve and fell in love with conservation. Today, Samuel has 18 years of experience in the field dedicating his days and nights to exploring the Santa Elena and Monteverde Reserves with guests, he believes that the outdoors is the best class room of all.

When he’s not setting up the spotting scope for guests or calling a tiny bird out of the forest by imitating its call, Samuel enjoys spending time with his wife, Yorleny and his kids Jeffrey, Angelica and Anthony.


SILVIA RANKIN
Assistant Manager, Tortuga Lodge
Born on September 28th, 1975, Silvia was born and raised in the region of Tortuguro. Before coming to work for Tortuga Lodge in December of 2009, Silvia had always heard good things about Tortuga Lodge. She tells us that she set a goal of coming to work for us one day. After many years working at a different lodge her dream came true and we are extremely lucky to have her extraordinary smile greet our guests every morning. Our dream came true too!

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SOFIA CORDERO
Travel Planner
scordero@expeditions.co.cr
Born December 20, 1979, Sofía was raised in Heredia, Costa Rica. From the ages of 6 to 10 she lived in England, which accounts for her very good command of the English language. Both her love for nature and her country, comes from memories of her childhood when her parents took her to the many of the National Parks of Costa Rica.These trips were a major factor in her decision to study Biology at the University of Costa Rica.

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URBANO QUESADA
Urbano, 61, has guided for Corcovado Lodge since it opened and has many years of experience with horses and rural living on the Osa Peninsula. His sharp eyes find crocodiles, macaw feathers and more as he leads horseback trips along the beautiful coastline of the southern Pacific coast to the Río Oro Lagoon.

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VALENTIN CORRAL
General Manager, CRE Lodges
vcorral@expeditions.co.cr
Chef Valentin is from Valencia, Spain, and came to Costa Rica Expeditions in 2005 with nearly 20 years cooking experience in his native country and France. His talent in the kitchen, however, doesn't stop at the dining room door. In the last couple of years he has revolutionized the menus at all three of our lodges, managed inventory and staff, streamlined the supply chain, and made other general improvements – outside the kitchen - at each of our lodges.

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VICTOR VILLEGAS
Born and raised in San Jose, Costa Rica, Victor is a single father of 3 with 22 years of guiding experience.

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VICTOR JULIO MORA
We are delighted to have Victor Julio back as Manager of Monteverde Lodge after a 3 year absence. We have a long history of service with Victor Julio; he started working at the lodge almost 20 years ago.

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WALTER CENTENO
“I really enjoy meeting people from different places with different customs and being on the river with the other guides,” says Walter, 21, about his job as a Costa Rica Expeditions guide. He started out kayaking on weekends and after school and then looked for a job on the river after graduating from high school. Walter, known as Pate, was born on Nov. 15, 1985. He has emergency first aid training is now studying at the Colegio Tecnica Profesional La Suiza in Turrialba. When he’s not guiding or studying, he volunteers with the Red Cross. He enjoys listening to music or watching TV, and honing his kayak freestyle skills.


WILLIAM GRANADOS
Born in San Ramon de Alajuela, surrounded by nature, William’s first jobs were in local coffee farms and mills with his brothers. He also worked as a forest guide and trail designer. Later he moved to San Jose and, in 1992, began working with Costa Rica Expeditions as an emergency substitute managing the Transportation and Procurement Department.

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YESENIA MORA
Director of Travel Planning
ymora@expeditions.co.cr
From San Jose, Yesenia has been working in tourism her entire career. She came to Costa Rica Expeditions from a local operator, where she was the Tour & Travel Sales Manager. As Director of Travel Planning, Yesenia focuses principally on sales and client relations. She has a Business Degree from Costa Rica’s Latina University, where she concentrated on Sales and Marketing (2005).

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YOLANDA KAYE
President Board of Directors
Yolanda Kaye, born in 1951, in rural El Salvador, is the woman wise enough to be Michael's wife and survive. Really she has done more than survive; she is thriving. Doña Yoly as we all affectionately call her, is truly the great woman who is not only behind a great man but also behind a great organization. Her wise words, observations and willingness to listen to gardeners, cooks, account executives and executive team staff alike has provided many of us with a sound "put your feet on the ground and count your blessings" perspective. She is a world-class cook.

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MY FAVORITE TRIPS

Keep a list of favorite trips by clicking the link, "Add to My Favorites" found on all itineraries.

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As you search for your ideal trip in the custom itineraries section of our web site, you may wish to create a list of favorite trips. To do so, click on the link above each itinerary, “Add to My Favorites.” Each itinerary you chose will be added to a personalized list of trips. You can add as many trips as you want to your list and refer back to them by clicking on the link, "See My Favorites," which will appear in the right column once you have selected a favorite.

Your list of favorites will follow you as you surf the site, allowing you to refer back to selected itineraries at any time. On your next visit to our web site, the list will reappear by clicking the link, “See My Favorites.”

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Quest for Pura Vida
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