Experts

  • Olivier Esquivel Q

    Olivier Esquivel Quesada was born in the City of Limon in 1979. He lived his childhood around rural areas of the caribbean side of Costa Rica and the other half of his life in the area of Guanacaste (his current home). He moved there in order to achieve a degree in Ecological Tourism at the University of Costa Rica along with the certification as tour guide by the National Learning Institute (I.N.A.) also started a career in the UNED in the field of Management and Protection of Natural Resources. Several times, Olivier has participated in courses related natural history, ornithology, botany among others. It has been great 19 years of experience as a tour guide and trip leader: leading itinerated trips, small private tours, senior and young travelers, large groups from cruises and incentives programs, site inspections for travel agents, birding trips with avid and beginner participants. Many positive commentaries have been given to him for his touch working with families, surely being father of two boys has helped quite a bit. Oli, (the way his friends call him) has a particular passion for the observation of birds and possesses an outstanding skill for spotting wildlife. On top, delivering information to travelers is a vital matter to his job. Conservation, culture, geography and natural history are mandatory talks during his excursions. “I am always willing to go the extra mile to exceed traveler’s expectations and to encourage responsible tourism. I try to start everyday of our trip with energy, enthusiasm and positivism because my philosophy is: I will treat you the way I’d like you to treat me if I were a visitor in your country.”

  • Laurens.A.Hidalgo

    “In the end we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand...” – Baba Dioum¬ –

    Laurens A. Hidalgo is an enthusiast/passionate birder who moved from central Costa Rica to the Northwestern part of the country at the age of twenty to continue his studies. In 2000 he gets a degree in Eco-Tourism and eventually in 2018 a technical degree in Photography. His almost 20 years experience working with different local companies as a tour guide has led him to go around the country looking for more knowledge and experiences. Some of his great nature photos have been included in articles and books to help understanding reptile’s predatory behavior. He is one of the Global Big Day´s organizers for Guanacaste and part of the world´s winning team for October 2019.

    When Laurens is not in the fields, he spends time with his family.

  • Andrés Ramírez

    Born in Cartago in 1982, Andrés grew up in a small agricultural community called Cervantes. During his years in primary school agriculture was one of the main subjects and he was working occasionally in his grandfather’s little farm. When he was attending secondary school he was influenced by family trips to different national parks and natural areas, so he began to develop his passion for nature, wildlife and especially his love for birds. At first he wanted to become a marine biologist, but then he realized his dream was to work outdoors in the tourism industry. He got enrolled to study Ecological Tourism at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and he ended the program in 2004 getting a Bachelor’s degree. He started working as guide immediately and being a while part of a tour operator he complemented his studies doing the “General Guide” program at the National Learning Institute (INA). This is how Andrés got certified as an official tour guide by the Costa Rican Board of Tourism (ICT) in 2009. His experience as a guide over the last 15 years has led him from one interesting experience to many different ones. The scope of Andrés’s guiding has been broad with groups of all ages, and he has led large groups as well as special-interest private tours. Birders, photographers, mountain bikers, senior citizens, students and adventure travelers have been part of his career. Andrés guides tours all over Costa Rica and occasionally in Nicaragua and Panama as well. He thrives introducing travelers to Costa Rica and enjoys meeting new people every time. As a passionate birdwatcher and wildlife spotter he thought just seeing the magical moments of Costa Rica’s nature was not enough and he decided to get his first camera in 2008 to become a nature photographer, adding a new ability/hobby to his career and personal life.