Outdoor Stories: Spotlight On A Nature And Adventure Guide

08.08.2023 - 20:59 / forbes.com

If you stand still long enough, Costa Rica’s flora and fauna has a way of making you feel like it’s closing in, threatening to drag you into the dense vegetation’s fold. It’s difficult to not linger when you see a busy chain of leafcutter ants crossing the trail or when you marvel at an ecosystem bursting with trees and vascular plants like angel’s trumpets, lipsticktrees, or—my favorite—wild sensitive plants, with leaves that curl and close when touched.

Early one morning I woke to the deep yowls of howler monkeys, right outside my door. I scanned the cloud forest, hopeful to spot the troop. Even though I knew that the thunderous, guttural cries were coming from bantam tree-dwelling folivores, my eyes widened, and I felt like I should be on high alert. As it turns out, this hair-raising warning wasn’t unwarranted. As I went back to my bedside to grab my glasses to get a sharper look, I sensed that they were heavier than normal. A tan scorpion was wrapped around the wooden frame of my lenses. Nature was unquestionably closing in.

Fortunately, one of the guides I had on my adventure was Jackie Garcia, who is not only a fantastic leader, but also, a lover of the outdoors and wild places. She didn’t seem too concerned when I told her about the scorpion at breakfast and much like how you’re supposed to look at the flight attendants to gauge danger when in the air, I felt myself relax at the ease in her smiling face.

At home in Costa Rica, Jackie adores her country and all of the opportunities she has to explore outside. “I have tried rappelling in waterfalls, white water rafting, hiking, bungee jumping, snorkeling, biking, and now I am completely passionate about surfing,” she says.

In fact, it was through guiding that Jackie was exposed to how magnificent Costa Rica is for adventurers. “Guiding not only opened my mind, but also, my heart toward the people who have visited and given me the opportunity to get to know my country in a special way,” she says.

Surfing has developed into a full-blown passion for Jackie. “I finally have the chance to practice a sport that I have dreamed about since I was a little kid,” she says. “Surfing has taught me how to be a humble and patient person with perseverance and it challenges me like no other sport I have practiced before. I have to try to understand and read the ocean, which is really powerful and magic at the same time. For me, setting the alarm for a sunrise surf session is one of the best things that can happen in the day. Getting to be at the water that early, feeling how warm the water is, and also looking around and being able to watch and enjoy the paradise that surrounds me has no price!”

Jackie has many guiding stories, but one that sticks has to do with