(en Español)
By Carol Vlassoff

Don Gilberto Gomez Barquero, dressed in a wide brimmed hat, cowboy boots and blue jeans, a knife and cell phone tucked into his leather belt, is a familiar personality around Quepos.  He can also be seen riding along the beach on Damas Island at sunset or in the hills around Londres guiding a group of sunburned tourists.  He usually appears animated as he points out highlights of the area.  But as we settle into his office at Iguana Tours he strikes me as a shy man, perhaps more comfortable with groups than in one to one conversations.

It’s easy to see that Gilberto is a multi-tasker. He doesn’t waste a minute.  He speaks on his cell phone while leafing through the newspaper, all the time keeping up a steady conversation and motioning to me to be patient.

Don Gilberto, born in Purescal, completed his Bachelor of Education degree from La Escuela Normal de Costa Rica in 1973.  He says the school gave him a profound education “in the sense that all the professors there were very strict – from teaching us how to dress – to how to look after a child. We had to wear grey pants and a grey tie. If your tie wasn’t properly knotted you would be reminded about it. The second time you would be sent home.”

After teaching for four years he was promoted to supervisor of schools and, in this capacity, he came to Quepos in 1977. At that time, he recounts, there were only two school supervisors for the whole of Aguirre county.  He had one secondary and 30 primary schools under him, and about 60 teachers.

Gilberto moved to Quepos with his wife, Elizabeth Pinera Cordoba, and his son Henry.  His wife worked as a teacher, first in the Korea School, then in Manuel Antonio and her last position was Director of Maria Luisa de Castro in Boca Vieja.  At that time, Gomez says, “When I arrived here Quepos was really nice, safe and quiet. But because there were no tourists there was very little employment.  People had to go to San José for work and, as a result, families were often split up.”   It was very hard for people to undertake part time university studies, he points out, especially for women, who constituted the bulk of the teaching profession.  Few local teachers were able to graduate from university.  Transportation by road to San José was difficult and time consuming.  Sometimes it took the whole night to get there, Gilberto says, because of the state of the roads.

“I was always preoccupied with the stagnation of the teaching profession, not because of lack of desire to study on the part of the teacher, but because of the difficulty of traveling to San José,” he says.   He and others in the community worked hard to pressure the government to provide opportunities for studying locally, to better prepare teachers for their profession.  He says that their efforts paid off during the first term of President Oscar Arias, who put considerable emphasis on education. During his administration the Quepos branch of the National University of Costa Rica was opened, allowing many teachers to graduate with degrees who could not otherwise have done so.  Gilberto also acknowledges the help of Dionisio Miranda, President Arias’ assistant, who gave constant guidance in setting up the university.

It was a great challenge to set up the Quepos site, he says, but it succeeded. The first group of Bachelors graduates in 1989 included Gilberto’s wife, Elizabeth.  Gilberto proudly notes that Dionicio Miranda attended this event. “That was one of the best moments in my life, seeing such a big group – approximately 15 graduates – here.”     After that, he says, education began to take off.  More and more institutions of higher education were founded in San Isidro, Quepos and Parrita.

Gomez says he has only traveled outside Costa Rica once – to Guadalajara, Mexico in 1973 – on a six month training grant to study various aspects of education, including administration and special learning problems.  He says he has no desire to visit other places.  “I feel very good here,” he explains. “Every day I am happy in my work because I am in the field that I like.”

Gilberto retired from his educational career in 1988 and, on Henry’s suggestion, he began Turistica Naranjo, dedicated to horseback tours and raising horses.   He says that he had always loved horses because he had grown up with them on his father’s farm.  When he raises a horse himself, he explains, they are like his children, and he does everything he can to keep them healthy and strong.  They started with five horses and five saddles, he recalls, and a small farm in Londres.   But times were hard and economic and material resources were scarce.

In 1992 Gilberto and Henry agreed to join two colleagues, Jorge and Gilberth Cruz, to purchase Iguana Tours.  Don Gilberto says that he had never had much faith in partnerships or societies.   In this case, the company was having economic problems, its building was in bad condition and it had only two vehicles.  “This was the big challenge because perhaps we weren’t  prepared for it, nor for the conditions that the company was in.”

Nevertheless, Gilberto says that the four partners were very committed, and together with their respective families, they established the basic operating principles of working together.  He explains that they worked as one body to build a strong enterprise.  “Iguana is an example of how people can join forces to work together. We are four partners and none of us could have accomplished what we have on our own.”

He explains that each business partner has his own area of specialization. Henry looks after the legal aspects, Gilberth is the administrator and logistical organizer, Jorge is in charge water sports and Gilberto takes care of the horseback tours.  “I think the key to our success is that we are four partners, all very engaged in what we do,” he says. “Take the rafting team, for example. They know the river like their own hands because they were practically born there.”

Don Gilberto tells me that the company now has 15 buses, and organizes transport for tourists throughout Costa Rica, as well as in Panama and Nicaragua.  It has 50 employees, including guides and administrative staff.  The company also has four fincas for breeding and raising horses for horseback tours, as well as facilities for organizing tours in the mangrove areas and three restaurants. At present the company is in the process of starting to develop a real estate project on their property as well.

I ask why is he still guiding tours  himself, now that the business is successful and others could do this strenuous work. He acknowledges that he could delegate the tours and other activities to others, and indeed does so if there are many groups, but he prefers to take the tours himself.  “It’s where I make my living,” he replies.

Gilberto talks about the changes he has seen in Quepos in the past  three decades.  The biggest positive change is economic.  “The amount of work we have here is a blessing from God,” he says.  “Today there is work here for everybody who wants it.”   He adds that 90% of women in Quepos have work, directly or indirectly in the tourist sector.  “To my way of thinking, tourism has been a blessing to our communities.”  Contrary to the situation 30 years ago, he says, now people from San José are coming  to work in Quepos.

Gilberto expresses confidence about the developments taking place in the Manuel Antonio-Quepos area.  It is one of the few parts of the country, he says, that is growing and has a future. He feels that the marina will have a positive impact in terms of job provision and attracting qualified people to the area.  In this respect he argues that the local universities should be more strategic in providing courses that will be useful for the development of the region. Languages, he notes, are particularly important.  ”If I was 40 years old I would study two languages, French and Mandarin,” he says. “Our tour guides manage fairly well in English but they are lost when it comes to other languages.”

Despite his optimism concerning the progress of the Quepos-Manuel Antonio area, he is concerned about drug abuse and the attendant issues of crime and violence.  He also mentions the problem of traffic congestion and the lack of discipline of drivers in the area. He says that these issues should be of high priority for the local government, and stresses that the local population should be vigilant in electing government officials who are well trained, competent, honest and committed to local development.

After an hour has passed Don Gilberto begins to fidget.  He is clearly anxious to get on with the next item on his agenda, whatever it may be.  Perhaps he is anxious to return the calls of the people who have telephoned during our interview, perhaps to attend to the three or four clients waiting outside his office, or perhaps just to enjoy an ice cream with his grandson.

Filed under: Carol Vlassoff, Personalities in Our Midst on February 20th, 2010
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