Having worked as a Serendipity Adventures Guide for almost 20 years, Mariano has more than a few stories to tell! He shares why he believes it is the more unexpected moments on a Serendipity trip that create the special memories…
How long have you been working as a Serendipity Adventures Guide?
I have been working as a Serendipity Guide for almost 20 years. Serendipity was one of the first companies in Costa Rica to start putting together trips for very adventurous people. Adventure travel was a small community in Costa Rica and, at the time, I was just starting to get into these types of trips when there was an opportunity with Serendipity. I began by working on the river at first and then expanded into other areas of expertise.
I got to witness the ‘boom’ of adventure travel here but I found that Serendipity was different. The guides offer so many extra additions to these adventure trips that you don’t typically experience. It is not a regular two-hour trip on the river; your guide also cooks, entertains, plays music, and shows you around the local area. People love that.
What were you doing before you worked with Serendipity Adventures?
I was working as a Whitewater Rafting guide. I was actually the fifth rafting guide in Costa Rica. I started around ’86 and, after traveling to California to get qualified, I was working for the very first rafting company here.
Costa Rica has so much to offer, but I also ran many rivers across the Americas, from Alaska to Argentina, so I built up a lot of knowledge about adventure travel. I also learned to become not just an instructor for a particular activity, but a part of the whole experience. People do not feel like they are traveling, they’re enjoying a country with a friend. For this reason, we’ve had families come back here 3, 4, 5 times and they are still in touch.
What is the best thing about working as a Serendipity Adventures Guide?
A lot of it is in the name, Serendipity. With Serendipity Adventures, clients might end up experiencing something that had never expected. It is the moments in-between that create the really special memories.
For example, I play Calypso music. One time, I was traveling in Puerto Viejo with a group and went out for dinner one night. A friend of mine happened to be playing so he invited me up to play too, so suddenly their guide became their musical entertainment!
Another time, I had a group of drummers that came to Costa Rica and they learned about Calypso music and wanted to meet Walter Ferguson, the King of Calypso. So, we got to go to his house, talk with him, and get a few pictures. This one experience was worth more than the whole tour.
I once had a client that was an engineer and there was a problem with our car on the journey back from rafting on Rio Pacuare. I popped the hood to check what was going on and I couldn’t see anything so I called the office for assistance. While I was on the phone, the client went and fixed the car. He explained to me afterward what he did and I was amazed.
The same guy, he works with furniture and had just bought a house. He was crazy about the wood here in Costa Rica. On the same day, the car broke down, I took him to a friend of mine who makes furniture so he could see the quality of the wood and how the furniture is constructed. When we arrived, he was actually sitting down with another friend and singing while playing the guitar. The client was interested in the guitar and picked it up and started playing it, I didn’t know he could play. I asked him if he liked it and he said yes, and I said ‘well, if you would like one, I know the guy who makes them!’. The same afternoon, we went to the guitar maker and he bought one. It was completely unexpected, these moments are what really make the trips special and you make friends for life.
What is your favorite activity to do with clients?
I love a bit of everything. You want to do some horse riding, for example, horse riding is not just an activity. It is a way to explore and share information about the place you are in. Along the way, you are stopping for sloths, toucans, and all the incredible wildlife we have in Costa Rica. One thing people always tell me is that the nature here is remarkable and they can’t believe how the guides manage to spot the wildlife.
Something that I also like to share with clients is information about the indigenous cultures of the Bribri and Cabécar people, in particular about their use of plants for medicinal purposes. This type of information is not widely documented and is not usually shared with people on a regular tour. The clients may not remember the scientific names of plants but they remember what they are used for and it helps them view their surrounding environment in a different way.
Do you remember your very first trip as a Serendipity Adventures Guide?
My very first trip with Serendipity was not as a guide. They actually needed someone to cook for 10 people up in a campsite in San Carlos. I like to cook and I already had a lot of experience preparing meals for multiday trips, so I said yes! I hadn’t seen the place or the kitchen or had much time to prepare, but I was very used to adapting menus and thinking on my feet. The good thing about Serendipity is that we are flexible. We can say to clients ‘ok, so we can go to a restaurant or we can cook for you right here on the beach’. We love to surprise people.
This was my first trip before I started working regularly as a Serendipity Adventures Guide.
Would you say the Caribbean Coast is one of your favorite areas?
I think that it is one of my favorite areas. I am from Turrialba so it is the closest and I was always going there when I was growing up. But, there are still so many other special places in this small country. I have been working and traveling around since ’86 and I am still wowed by the places in Costa Rica. This is why people keep coming back. So many travelers come to visit over and over again, and sometimes even stay here.
What are your favorite types of clients to guide?
I work really well with families. For example, there is a family from Chicago that has visited Costa Rica three times with us. They bring all the cousins, so there we fifteen kids of different ages. We had three cars, and we were communicating between them, doing all sorts of activities. It was really fun.
When is your next trip?
At the moment, I am mostly guiding Serendipity’s private tours in the San Carlos area such as the Hanging Bridges, Arenal Volcano Hike, Safari Float trips, and La Fortuna Waterfall. I am also guiding the hike to the Rio Celeste Waterfall and transferring clients to the Northern Guanacaste coast.
