“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.
