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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His river career started by coincidence, when 17 years ago, he decided to go for a morning run and a pickup truck drove by with a raft on the roof. They stopped and asked him if he would go to the river with them, as they needed another paddler that day. He agreed to go, and he’s been on the river ever since. Siau has participated and organized a number of rafting expeditions and competitions starting in 1991, when he was a member of the Costa Rican team for the world championship, Project Raft. Since then, he has been team captain for the Camel White Water Challenge team and the Foto Linda Rafting National Championship.
When not on the river, which isn’t very often, Siau spends his time working on his photography, horseback riding, camping in the mountains and reading. He is an accomplished cook.
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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.
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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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“After school I would head to the Reventazon River to help my cousins,” he recalls. “We would pull the boats out of the water and store the equipment. But before putting everything away, my cousin would teach me how to use the kayak. I learned to roll and also began to run rapids.” Not long after, Juan Jose entered a kayak school and took up the sport seriously. He was selected for the national team and competed in slalom at the Panamerican Games in Chile in 2001. Juan Jose's birthday is June 5, 1983.
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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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Seven years later, in January 1999, he decided to come ashore to work in the San Jose offices as Operations Manager. Recently, however, he decided to return to the river and has started guiding rafting trips once again. Ricardo, whose birthday is July 2, 1963, is married to Isabel Garbanzo, the company’s Director of Human Resources. They have been married for 17 years and have two children, Renan, 15, and Marcela, 13.
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“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.
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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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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.” 
