In the late 1990's Gerardo moved to the Central Pacific Coast south of Manuel Antonio National Park. His mission was to help take care of a property owned by his family. This land was originally dedicated to growing rice, corn and other crops. They also raised cattle for beef and dairy. Eventually the farm was turned into a wildlife refuge that is still dedicated to conservation today. It is known as the Portalon Widlife Refuge. Watching the transformation from a working farm to a wildlife refuge allowed Gerardo to begin learning about and interacting with nature in a way that would captivate him.

It was Gerardo's brother that encouraged him to use his knowledge of the outdoors and his people skills and become a guide. Gerardo is especially good leading family groups and loves showing families the wonders of his stomping grounds near Manuel Antonio National Park. He thinks of himself as a generalist, he's curious and interested in all aspects of rainforest ecology. His knowledge of adventure sports makes him especially popular with teenagers.

When he's not guiding one of Costa Rica's national parks or leading an ocean kayaking expedition, Gerardo can be found checking fences at the wildlife refuge, working to get the most out of a few small plots of crops and making sure that his chickens are healthy. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his wife, Wendy.

Onik's father, Jay Morrison, came through Costa Rica during his travels as a young man. He decided to try his luck starting a wood furniture business which allowed him to pursue his passion as a master carpenter. He was lucky and became very successful building furniture out of many of Costa Rica's fine woods. Her mother is a Civil Engineer and has worked side by side withJay from the beginning.

Onik's father is a biologist and he took her with him on many of his trips to explore Costa Rica and the world, "after hundreds of expeditions with my Dad, there was no remedy for me." she says.

As a little girl, Onik wanted to be something different every day. No matter what she happened to be aspiring to, she remembers spending a lot of time climbing trees and exploring the outdoors. When the time came to choose a career she decided on biology with an emphasis in environmental interpretation.

What Onik loves about guiding is the combination of roles that a guide has to commit to. "As a guide you are and educator and ambassador and a friend," she says. "When I guide, I strive to enrich those three aspects of the guest experience, this is truly fulfilling for me both personally and professionally."

When not guiding, Onik enjoys exploring new corners of Costa Rica, travelling to other countries, bird watching and making jewelry.

Nemoria Karlae

As a child, Eduardo went on a field trip with his second grade class to the National Museum in San Jose. He remembers a young man giving a talk to a large group of travelers in English. On that day, his dream of learning English and becoming a guide began. He wanted to be able to fulfill a dream of his fathers, that one of his children would speak English, and show people from around the world how wonderful Costa Rica is.

After learning English, Eduardo and a friend decided to try their luck and they took the public bus to Monteverde hoping to find work once they got there. They didn’t have the money to return to Guápiles or pay for lodging and meals once they arrived, but due to their talent and the kindness of many strangers, Eduardo and his friend thrived. By the end of their first day, both of them had been hired as guides at the Monteverde Frog Pond.

Eduardo later went on to work in Tortuguero as a local Naturalist Guide and leading trips on the Atlantic Arial Tram where he has spent 6 years exploring the area with guests. He also has experience leading teenagers and teaching students about the environment. Although he says that he loves all of the forests creatures, Eduardo has a soft spot for birds, his passion.

When he’s not guiding, Eduardo likes to play soccer, read and listen to music, but what he most enjoys is spending time with his wife Stephanie and their son Didack.

As a child Adriana always dreamed of being a biologist. As a little girl she especially like snakes and remembers visit a serpentarium with her dad where they let her hang a snake over her shoulders, she doesn’t remember what species it was.

Adriana graduated from the Universidad Latina in 2008 with a BA degree in Biology, Sustainable Development and Ecology from the Universidad Latina. She works as a Naturalist Guide, as a Professors Assistant with the Organization for Tropical Studies and as a Field Assistant as well.

Her first love is the outdoors and she is happiest when she is wet and dirty in the field. “Each day is a surprise” she says, “That’s what I love about guiding”.

When she’s not guiding, Adriana loves to read and go dancing or to the beach with her friends.

She first started working for Costa Rica Expeditions as a Transfer Guide in 2000. She was going to the University and wanted to help her parents with the bills. After working for a season as a Transfer Guide, she then went on to work in the Operations Department where she was in charge of coordinating services for guests.

Given her love of the outdoors and of our guests, Kenya always gravitated towards the field and she was a natural choice to become a Naturalist Guides Assistant. This gave her the opportunity to accompany many of the most renowned guides in Costa Rica and learn the trade craft at their side. Years later, with a lot of field experience under her belt, Kenya began working as a Naturalist Guide at the Corcovado Lodge Tent Camp.

After taking a break from guiding to spend time with her daughter, Isabel, Kenya is now ready to go back to the field. She is looking forward to sharing her experience and enthusiasm with guests.

In her free time Kenya enjoys learning new recipes and taking care of her orchids but most of all spending time with her daughter Isabel, 4.