Meet the Explore leaders - Herman Medford

Herman Medford

Herman leads trips for Explore in Costa Rica and when we asked hin what inspired him to become a tour leader his answer was pretty inspiring to us!

"As a kid I had lots of questions about life and wasn’t getting the answers to my satisfaction, so I prayed for help and that’s how I became a tour leader thirty five years ago after working on a cruise ship for five years as a room steward around the Caribbean, and even though I have a large percent of my question answered leading tours and learning from the different experiences, they are now new ones and I’m still in the process of learning and enjoying my job and life in general."

We also asked Herman our regular questions...

If you were given a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Machu Picchu.

What's the best thing about life on the road as a trip leader?

The opportunity to share my country, having new experiences and to learn.

Have you got any packing tips for a travelling life?

Positive attitude, open mind and the will to experience new things.

What do you never leave home without?

Cellular phone, It hs become my assistant and makes the job easier!

On tour what has made you stop in your tracks and go "Wow!"?

Learning about the connectivity of things.

What's your top tip for travelling responsibly?

Making on effort to have the less negative impact on nature as a whole.

If you had to eat just one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Peach palm. It is considered one of the most nutritious fruit in the world.

If you had the chance to start a new country with your own rules, what would be your first rule?

Respect for the local culture.

What was your proudest moment as a trip leader?

Always to see happy faces at the end of a tour.

What was your funniest moment as a trip leader?

Lots of funny moments, one I can remember is having a client ordering a chicken sandwich without anything, the waiter not understanding what he meant serve it the way they usually do, with all the ingredients; tomato, lettuce, mayonnaise and mustard. The client was upset and send it back saying that he wanted it without anything so the waiter came back with just two pieces of bread!