1989 - The Origins of Rios Tropicales Lodge with the Obando Family
Rios Tropicales at first camped on the land where the Lodge now stands, paying a per trip use fee to the local family that owned the land. By a series of fortunate events, the founder of Rios Tropicales, Rafael Gallo, was able to purchase thirty-five hectares of land from the Obando family in 1989. At that time, the Obandos were subsistence farmers on the land. The Obando children (all 14 of them) walked 6 miles to school, round-trip, and typically stopped attending after 6th grade in order to help full-time with the farming and chores. Rios Tropicales turned right around and immediately hired the Obando parents to help restore the pastures their farming had denuded through tree planting, to care for the land, and to collect the seeds of various trees in the forest for first tree nursery for the reforestation project. Rafael doggedly pursued his vision to protect and reforest the land, protect the Pacuare River from destructive damming, and enhance the lives of local communities, overcoming knowledge, socio-economic, and capital barriers.

At that time, there were no roads in to the Pacuare River, so to put-in for raft and kayaking trips, we had to use ox carts. Oxen can easily carry heavy loads over very rough terrain. Each year we added a few more “amenities”, like bathrooms and a cooking area. Local Cabecar Indians built our first huts using their palm thatch roofing techniques and wood from fallen trees throughout our property.

Collaboration Helps Convert Would-be Poachers into Conservationists
Before Rios purchased the original thirty-five hectares from the Obando family in 1989, the effects of unregulated poaching in the area, in addition to deforestation, had taken a major toll on the environment. At a crossroads, we decided that our best course of action would be to embrace the local community residents and provide them with educational opportunities rather than to take legal action against them. We were able to enlist the partnership of the indigenous Cabecar Indians to help us put a stop to the poaching and illegal fishing in the area. Their efforts were monumental in saving numerous species from abandoning the area, as well as in providing a now safe place for the return of other species that had disappeared. We hired several of the native Cabecar as Rios hiking and naturalist guides. They proved to be invaluable in educating other locals, as well as our clients, on the needs and issues affecting the area. Two of our original Indian guides, Octavio and Urbano Garcia, first led hikes into their homeland wilderness areas for our guests and then later became river guides for us. They now successfully operate their own campground on the banks of the Pacuare River downstream from our property, and reap the financial benefits as independent business owners. Their customers include many outfitter companies, in addition to ours.

1991 - Lodge Development Begins with Local Indians and the Obandos
Three years later in 1991, we began building our Rios Tropicales Lodge. We hired local Cabecar Indians to do the green construction, modeling the structure of our huts after their traditional rainforest dwellings. They built the kitchen and the first six rooms that year. (For more on the sustainable building process of our Lodge, see Lodge Sustainability.) In addition to the ongoing reforestation work for the Obando family, we were able to hire the Obando family to care for our new Lodge facilities being developed.

Community Opportunities That Transformed Lives
With the Lodge development, wildlife protection practices, and reforestation program, both the Cabecar and the Obando family, including the children, became aware of the value of guiding through their well-known territory. Octavio and Urbano, two Cabecar Indian brothers, led hikes through our property and into Indigenous territory, while Johnny and Jimmy Obando planted trees and learned how to guide rafts down the river. Their older brother Roy, became the manager of all our river guides. The close-knit Obando family, now 18 strong, continues to work together managing our sustainable Rios Tropicales Lodge property, and Lodge-related “Eco-Tours”. The development of our Lodge was the beginning of life-changing opportunities for these families, leading to a world of international travel, bilingual skills, conservation ethics, and significantly greater economic well-being.