Wanderlust Travel Magazine (UK)
The Knowledge
Growing up in the Costa Rican countryside inspired Exodus Travels guide Johnny Villalobos. But as our 2019 awardwinner for conservation, he explains why he always knew the outdoors would be his office…
Tales from the road with Johnny Villalobos
I love to work outdoors.
I grew up in the countryside, in Guápiles, so being outdoors all the time is important to me. I wasn’t sure I’d be a guide until I started training and found that I liked to be in contact with the environment and that it would be my future office! After 25 years, it’s still my office!
Birds are like human beings.
I can identify about 700 birds by sight and call. Their calls are interesting, because they’re quite complex. It’s like knowing 700 languages, but it’s not like I know all of them – it’s about identifying behaviour, too. Knowing the distance, elevation or location also helps me to identify them.
It’s important to start small.
Children are learning more and more how to do things, but who is taking them out and giving them structured information? That’s why I volunteer to educate students on sea turtle projects. It’s not just about learning what’s what; it’s about what turtles do or why they like it here.
Wildlife is about linking little details.
If you go to Africa, your goal is to find the Big Five, but in the tropics you have the ‘thousand littles’: everything from leafcutter ants and poison dart frogs, to birds following army ants. Why they follow is just a matter of linking the little details.
Corcovado is intense.
This national park is one of the most intensely biodiverse places in the world, with lots of wildlife, but not so many people. There are places you can just walk by and find ten to 100 scarlet macaws flying above.
Nature has no boundaries.
When I was training, most of the naturalists were biologists working in the field. In a way, they adopted me, making sure that the little kid learned best. They said, “Whatever you learn is not enough. Just keep learning.” It’s one of the most important things you’ll find in nature; it’s an open library.
Things can go bump in the night.
One time we were in the middle of nowhere in the rainforest and this man said, “I couldn’t sleep last night – the power generator was on all night!” I told him there were no generators, and he insisted: “Are you saying I’m lying?” But the same day, after dinner, I asked to see his room. When I got there, I saw stone ponds right behind the room. And there was a very loud sound. Using my torch I went around and found a huge bunch of toads. He didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. He said, “Johnny, please don’t tell anyone.” But the whole group was right behind me, laughing!
Change is just round the corner.
Convincing people to do something can be the biggest challenge, especially when you have different backgrounds. But it’s not impossible. Recently, the government shared a new plan for 2050 – the big decarbonisation of the economy. It is a challenge, but 99% of our power is generated by renewable sources, and becoming among the world’s first carbon-neutral countries is one of the best incentives we’ve had.
I can identify about 700 birds by sight and call – it’s like knowing 700 languages