Our Crew
As an adventure travel company, we could not exist without our team of experienced guides. Their attitudes, expertise and love for their work ensures that you'll be well cared for, and that your safety and comfort are top priority.
 |
Cesareo "Charo" Castro Charo grew up fishing and whale watching in Magdalena Bay. He has been kayak guiding since 1997 and enjoys sharing his vast knowledge of whales, birds and flora of Baja. He guides our sea kayaking expeditions in the Sea of Cortez and is also our camp manager/naturalist in our Mag Bay Whale Watching Camp. Charo is a graduate of the RARE program which is an eco-tourism and guide training program for Mexicans. He also works for Grupo Tortuguero with sea turtle conservation. SKA guide since 2005. |
|
|
|
 |
Alex Magana Ruiz Alex, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, now lives in Loreto where he has been a whale watching and sea kayak guide and logistics coordinator for SKA. He personifies guest service and adds panache to our tours. He also runs his own business selling day tours in Loreto and is a wonderful artist and photographer. His website will be up soon. SKA guide since 2002. |
|
|
|
 |
Paola Aguilar A vital part of our operation in our Loreto office is the sunny capable presence of Paola. She truly holds the Loreto operation together behind the scenes, gracefully handling most of the details such as national park permits, trip food shopping and a million other critical details. She is a also a teacher at the university in Loreto and plans to go on to graduate school in literature. |
|
|
|
 |
Vladimir de la Toba Valladolid Vlady is our most promising up-and-coming young Mexican guide, who already has his 3 Star British Canoe Union kayak rating. He grew up fishing, boating and body surfing on Baja's Pacific coast, and knows the ocean and the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) intimately. In summers, he works for Grupo Tortuguero, educating fishermen about not killing sea turtles and other important species in their fishing bycatch. He is eager to practice his English and show visitors the natural wildlife he loves. |
|
|
|
 |
Lorena Pedrin Lorena is our senior Mexican woman trip leader, capable and calm, she loves introducing visitors to the Baja California that she is passionate about. She did a summer for us in BC Canada as well in 2008, so ask her about any of our tours. She truly has a "can do" attitude. |
|
|
|
 |
Ramon Murillo Ramon can trace his roots to generations of fishermen in the Loreto area, and his knowledge of the Sea of Cortez and its weather is boundless. We are truly honored to have him provide motorboat support on some of our Sea of Cortez tours in Baja (called pangas in Baja California). He is a master panga captain, with many amazing stories of the high seas to relate. |
|
|
|
 |
Lexie Owen A world traveller, and film festival and folk music festival manager in her spare time, Lexie hails from Vancouver Island and is a top notch trip leader in BC Canada. Lexie is a born teacher, and her passion is sharing natural history with others. We are honored to have her on our team, and we so enjoy her boundless, good-natured energy. |
|
|
|
 |
Cara Andre Cara is full of fun, yet don't let her silly side fool you - she is a skilled paddler, (who paddled around Vancouver Island in two stints June 2008 and June 2009), as well as a tirelessly hard working certified BC Canada sea kayak guide, a certified personal trainer and Muay Thai martial arts/rock climbing/skiing devotee. We are delighted to have her on our team. |
|
|
|
 |
Dan Pichette Dan is a certified lead guide and a member of the Association of Canadian Sea Kayak Guides. This is Dan’s seventh season guiding on the waters of Canada’s west coast, with experiences in the remote south end of Gwaii Haanas National Park, Queen Charlotte and Johnstone Straits, Baja Mexico, and catered many expedition style, leadership and guides training courses. Dan is sure to please with his endlessly positive attitude and some of the finest culinary skills on the west coast. In winter Dan can be found in the mountains of interior British Columbia. |
|
|
|
 |
Mike Brown Mike is a new addition to our team and is excited to be working on the BC coast. He is a graduate of the COLT program at Strathcona Park Lodge and is a BC certified guide, he also has a diploma in Ecotourism studies. Originally from Saskatchewan, and having lived in England for several years, Mike is a now a resident of Vancouver Island. He has explored many parts of the island, from alpine to coastline. He is skilled with many facets of backcountry travel and is looking forward to developing into an experienced trip leader. |
|
|
|
 |
Laura Shaw Born in Ontario, Canada, Laura spent many summers paddling in Algonquin Park and Temagami. In 2000, she embarked on a 5.5 month canoe expedition across Canada to raise awareness of the landscape and people of Canada's Boreal forest. Laura has also worked at Strathcona Park lodge and many other outdoor education centers and schools in B.C. and Ontario. Passionate about experiential and environmental education, Laura now holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Education and Communications through Royal RoadsUniversity and is the lead academic instructor of the Adventure Tourism Business Operations program at the College of the Rockies in Golden, B.C. When she's not hiking in the mountains or paddling, Laura is likely to be found tending to her vegetable garden or strumming her guitar. |
|
|
|
 |
Manuel Gonzalez is a marine biologist, guiding for us while planing to get a Master's degree. He is a holder of two of the Mexican records in free diving, with future plans to work as a free diver instructor and combine it with kayak guiding. He is very interested in ecologic developments and sustainable projects for the future of the Baja California peninsula. A true extrovert, he loves learning about others and teaching guests about Mexican culture and natural history. |
|
|
|
 |
Pablo Lobera is a marine biologist, who has worked on projects researching and protecting sea turtles, and loves to lead birding tours. Ask him how to tell a male from female crab - he is a wealth of knowledge. |
|
|
|
 |
Edgar Escobar is a marine biologist, NOLS graduate (USA-based National Outdoor Leadership School) and sea kayak guide who has many kayak tours under his belt. We love his enthusiasm, passion for teaching and deep love of music from around the world. |
Tour Types
"The group that participated in the whale watching were all overwhelmed with the experience and it clearly put an exclamation point on an otherwise fantastic trip and forever memorable experience"
