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.
"Birding is my number one love – after my family of course. Guiding lets me share my ideas about conservation with other people. Sometimes I think I am a frustrated professor, but my job as a guide is much better than sitting behind a desk, and it’s a great way to meet people and share my knowledge with them."
An excellent naturalist and avid birder with a B.S. in biology from the University of Costa Rica, Charlie's tireless enthusiasm on the job has made him our most requested naturalist guide. He is often asked by our clients to guide their trips in other countries. Charlie was born on Dec. 29, 1955. When he's not guiding, Charlie works in his garden, making it a haven for birds, and relaxes with his family. He and his wife, Vicky, have three adult children: Laura, Sergio, and Silvia. Read testimonials. 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.
Valentin's efforts led us to promote him to General Manager of our lodges in early 2007. For someone who has been dedicated to haute cuisine and the study of enology (wine making), hotel management has proven to be a challenge, but one worth undertaking, according to him. “New challenges are exciting,” he says. “Essentially I'm a
creative person who enjoys experimenting and trying new directions. Life isn’t static and since arriving in this beautiful country I
haven't stopped growing, learning and being creative in and out of the kitchen.”
Before pursuing a career as chef, Valentin worked in the ready-to-wear fashion industry for Cristian Lacroix Paris. He speaks English, Spanish, French, Italian and a bit of Japanese, and loves the opera
and art films. Valentin, born on March 30, 1964, is single. Read testimonials. 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.
"After more than two years at Tortuga Lodge I still enjoy seeing the look of surprise and happiness our guests have when they arrive at the dock,” he says. “It’s satisfying knowing that many of our clients’ expectations have been exceeded after staying with us and experiencing Tortuguero’s rainforests.” Julian, one of 11 siblings, was born on May 22, 1970, in San Jose. He has three boys, Julian, 11, Emiliano, 7, and Angel, 2.
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. Her birthday is on Sep. 10th
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).
Yesenia is the second of five siblings and is married to Pablo Richard. They have a five-year-old daughter, Pamela. In her spare time, she loves to take weekend trips with her family and also plays for the Belen town volleyball team. Her birthday is Nov. 28, 1977.
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. He came to Costa Rica Expeditions in 2000 and his talent for numbers was recognized quickly. He is now the Finance Department’s second in command. “Although I didn’t plan to go into accounting, I found that I liked working with numbers and creating reports that track how business decisions affect the company's bottom line.” Besides keeping the books at Costa Rica Expeditions, Erick is currently working on two bachelor degrees in accounting and systems engineering. His birthday is July 4, 1975.
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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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.” 
