Naturalist Guides

Kenya Mendez
Naturalist Guide

Kenya was born on September 23, 1978 in the port city of Puntarenas on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Her family moved to San Jose when she was a little girl and she grew up in the city with her two brothers and sister.

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 pay for school. 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.

Kenya had always loved the outdoors and while she enjoyed being in Operations, she missed having the daily interaction with guests. When the opportunity to become a Naturalist Guide’s Assistant was offered, she didn’t hesitate to take it.

As an assistant, she had the opportunity to guide with many of the most renowned naturalists 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.

Kenya spends part of the year as a horticulturist with a greenhouse and plant nursery company in the United States. She is involved in plant propagation and growing a diverse number of plants including annuals, perennials, roses, hydrangeas, herbs and many types of vegetables. Kenya is very knowledgeable about the use of herbs in cooking and medicine, and she enjoys sharing her knowledge about the 100 varieties of tomatoes the company grows.

When she’s not in the nursery or out in the field, Kenya loves to spend time with her husband Bruce and her daughter Isabel, she especially enjoys creating new recipes to surprise them.