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Marc A Goddard

Marc was born in San Francisco, California in 1966 and graduated from San Francisco University High School in 1984 and went on to earn a degree in Geography and Economics from the University of Colorado.

Marc started his rafting and kayaking career while in Colorado and deepened his passion over the next 10 years as he worked as a guide and led expeditions in the United States, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Africa, Chile, Turkey, and Siberia. In 1991, Marc was selected to be a member of Team California who won the World Championships of rafting in Costa Rica (‘92), Turkey (‘93) and 4th place in Africa (‘95).

In 1992, after years spent as a guide, trip leader, and manager on rivers around the world. Marc made his dream a reality by founding, with his close friend and business partner Laurence Alvarez-Roos, Bio Bio Expeditions. For 30 years Marc has worked very hard, both in the office and in the field to create a first-rate international adventure travel business. Marc also shared his love for teaching by spending 3 years teaching high school geography. Over the years Marc has seen his business grow to one of the most well-respected adventure travel companies in the industry – selected to provide safety for the 2000 International Whitewater Championships, featured in National Geographic Adventure and Outside Magazines. Marc himself was featured in Paddler Magazine as one of the world’s top 10 most active river guides.

When not working in the office or in the field, Marc can be found backcountry skiing in his home mountains, the Sierra Nevadas, kayaking year-round, mountain biking, or pouring over maps looking for his next great adventure. Marc’s excitement for exploration led Bio Bio to do the first raft descent of the Drangme Chu River in Bhutan in 2009. Marc summited Aconcagua (22.800 ft) in 2001 and Russia’s Mt. Elbrus in 2005. Fondly known as the “Wizard of Whitewater”, he lives in Truckee. CA with his son Quinn, daughter Lilian and two dogs – Shanti and Jeffrey.

Laurence Alvarez-Roos

Laurence was born in Mexico to Mexican and Dutch parents, raised in the Netherlands and immigrated to the United States in 1978. After graduating from San Francisco University High School, he attended University of California at Berkeley for four years to earn a B.A, in Political Economy of Industrial Societies. His focus was trade relations with Latin America and a minor in Spanish Literature.

Laurence started his rafting career at age 17 on the mighty South Fork of the American river in California. Since 1986 he has been an expedition leader, river guide, safety kayaker, dutch oven chef, self taught ecologist and adventure videographer in New Zealand, Nepal, Zimbabwe, Siberia, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica and the United States of America.

From 1993 till 1999. Laurence was the USA Men’s Whitewater Rafting Team captain, competing both in national and international raft race championships. The competition in 1999 included a first raft descent of the Orange River in the green Kalahari in South Africa. At the 2000 World Rafting Championships. Laurence was “safety team” captain on the Futaleufu River in Patagonia. Chile.

Laurence’s fluency in Spanish, Dutch and English make him an invaluable asset on all our South American expeditions. He is an enthusiastic and talented cook who bakes breads on the open fire, makes dutch oven desserts and other exotic river meals. He rock climbs, mountain bikes, and does all the water sports you can imagine – snorkeling, scuba diving, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, rafting, and swimming. He has run over 50 rivers on six continents with thousands of actual river miles traveled. When not in his second home of Chile, Laurence lives in the mountain playground of Truckee CA with Terry and their Patagonia rescue dog named Canela! His daughters Sabine and Saskia are 7 and 5 and attend bilingual school in Kings Beach!

Diego Ibañez

Diego Ibañez comes from one of the founding families of Peruvian whitewater adventure. Along with his cousin, Piero Vellutino, Diego grew up in Arequipa, Peru in an adventurous family that started exploring the rivers of the Andes in the early ‘80’s. He remembers that his first time in a raft was with his family at age 5 and that he has never been far from the river ever since. Being on the river has a very special meaning to Diego and he loves every moment on the river that he gets!

Before working as a guide, Diego studied Hotel Management in university, finishing in 2001. During this time he worked in the general Peru tourism industry, mainly at the front desk of 5 star hotels, perfecting his English and problem solving skills. After finishing his studies, Diego began river guiding and kayaking. As a whitewater kayaker Diego has run hundreds of different rivers around the world including first descents in both Peru and Argentina. His kayaking pursuits led him to Uganda, Zambia, Ecuador, Chile, and all over his home country of Peru. As a raft guide Diego has captained boats in Peru, Chile, and Argentina. He has also led trekking trips all through the Andes and southern Patagonia and helped organize adventure races, and rafting and kayaking competitions in Peru and Argentina. Diego is a true professional: wilderness first aid certified, Wilderness First Responder, swiftwater rescue certified and is a certified IRF instructor for Class 4-5 raft guides.

As part of the Bio Bio Team, Diego has a constant smile and an unflappable personality. He is a team player – comfortable leading Andean treks as well as Class 5 whitewater as either a river guide or safety kayaker. Diego is one of our best salsa dancers and loves sharing his love of life, fun, and adventure with our guests.

Jenner Fox

Jenner grew up in California amongst a raft guide community that likes nothing better than floating rivers and making music on their banks. His Dad, Peter Fox, is an international river guide who lead some of the first raft descents of the world; renowned Futaleufú (Chile) and Stikine (Canada) rivers. Peter is now writing a book called Learning to Row, a Love Story, and needless to say, Jenner learned to take a boat down a river and play guitar before his time tables.

Jenner started river guiding while studying cognitive science at Yale University, and since graduating has worked on rivers in California, Oregon, British Columbia, Bhutan, and Chile.

These days Jenner lives in Bend, OR and splits his time between rivers and touring the states performing original folk music. He has four studio albums, plays festivals, and makes music that one Bio Bio guest wrote, “made me like me more and want to find the heart of it when I am not.” (More info at jennerfox.com).

At Bio Bio’s Futaleufú camp Jenner can be found staring at the turquoise water, whooping down the river, teaching and playing music in morning yoga sessions, eating nectarines, and basking in the buena onda!

Notes about Jenner’s music:
There is something that happens inside a good song. A tootsie roll can take you back to your​ ​elementary school playground; a list of baby names becomes a prayer; the voice of a toothless​ ​refrigerator man reminds you to say “I love you.” Jenner Fox tells the stories of people and​ ​places with unparalleled compassion and respect. Fox and Elliott collaborated on various touring and studio projects for​ ​years​ ​before formally assembling for an experimental cargo bicycle tour in 2021. Elliott​ ​hails from​ ​the guitar mecca of Macon Georgia, and brings a wealth of blues, rock,​ ​bluegrass, country, and​ ​West African elements into his unique style of virtuoso.

And a quote from Mike Posner: “I think the world of his songs. He’s not just good for on a river, he’s DAMN good” – Grammy finalist for best song, Mike Posner.

And Brett Hochmuth: “On the river and on the road, Jenner is a folk singer, and uber-talented individual who makes people feel better when they’re around him. I’ve witnessed the unique twinkle in Jenner’s eye in 2 separate arenas. One was when his hands are on the oars of a raft, smiling in the calm, blue-green pool below a powerful Class V section of the famous Futaleufu River in Patagonia. The other is in a dimly lit lodge, sitting on sheepskins under the Southern Cross in the sky above while he pours his soul into filling the space with his powerful music. In either venue, Jenner is inspiring, encouraging, and uplifting.” – Brett Hochmuth Futaleufu 2018

Jorge Esquivel

“Pura Vida” is the first thing Jorge will probably greet you with when you meet him. This greeting, from his native Costa Rica, “pure life”, is the epitome of Jorge’s experience. He developed his incredible kayaking and rafting skills on the tropical rivers of Costa Rica and then broadened his experience by traveling the world as a guide learning to speak fluent English and Italian along the way.

Jorge takes his guiding and kayaking job very seriously and is always learning more about swiftwater rescue techniques and wilderness medicine. He is a great dancer, talented chef, and natural equestrian. He is considered one of the best kayakers and rafting guides in Costa Rica and Bio Bio Expeditions is very proud to have him on the team. Over the past four years, Jorge has spent more and more time in Africa guiding our Zambezi trips and also guiding people on Kilimanjaro. Look for Jorge on our Chile, Peru, Africa and California trips.

Alex Obregon

Originally from Costa Rica, Alex grew up surfing and playing in and on everything that he possibly could. He started kayaking in his mid twenties on the rapids of the Pacuare River, not far from his home in the small village of Cahuita on the southern tip of the Caribbean coast. Alex’s first introduction to whitewater was, in his words, “like meeting the genie of the lantern. I never thought I would go as far as I have. If I could redeem my frequent river running miles. I could probably raft free for the rest of my life!”

He likes sports and loves the river because it keeps him on the edge and demands his best. “It’s flow shows me at every moment that there are no limits to the things one can do. Water has shown me incredible places and faces; out of the ordinary people who have shown me life in so many positive ways. Now, I am proud to be part of an excellent team of athletes from all over the world who share the same passion. It is always a rewarding pleasure for me to share my experience of many years of river lessons.”

In addition his whitewater expertise in rafting and kayaking, Alex is also an excellent chef, writer, carpenter and craftsman who brings an incredible sense of style to everything he does. Alex has lived and worked all over the globe and currently calls Tahoe his home away from home.

Diego Valsecchi

The eldest of 11 children, Diego was born and raised on a ranch in Argentina and is the epitome of a “Renaissance Man”. He grew up an equestrian raising polo horses, learned the fine arts of culinary magic from his Italian grandmother, and has become not only one of the best whitewater kayakers in Argentina, but one of the best in the world.

Diego has traveled the world working in countries from Switzerland to Nepal to Uganda as well as all over Latin America. He has summitted Aconcagua, run first kayak descents of multiple creeks and rivers in areas as remote as Iran, and speaks 4 languages. After ensuring that you have a safe and fun experience on the river, don’t be surprised if you see Diego demonstrating his salsa moves, preparing an incredible meal for you or sharing a “mate” from his native Argentina.

Besides guiding, Diego is a talented wine maker and is working on a degree in environmental engineering. Diego is a warm, caring, and incredibly talented individual that you will meet on our Chile, Peru, and California trips.

Elena Louder

Elena began her commercial guiding career as a “swamper” on Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon River about a decade ago. She stepped onto a raft the day after graduating high school and never looked back; the pursuit of wild rivers has dictated her every life move. In Missoula, Montana where she earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Natural Resource Conservation, she became an avid kayaker as well, and eventually worked as the lead kayak instructor at U of M. Her passion for kayaking and guiding has taken her all over Chile, Costa Rica, Zambia, Bhutan, and of course every corner of her home state of Idaho.

Her favorite part of being on the river is two-fold. One part is presence- when you’re on the water, there is just you, your crew, the gear, and the river; the river simply does not allow for distractions. The second part is the human connections- whether it’s in the heart of Idaho’s Frank Church Wilderness on the Salmon or in the deep gorges of Patagonia on the Futaleufu, Elena finds that miles away from cell phone service, the internet, and all the complexities of the modern world, we are able to form our most treasured connections while sharing simple pleasures like listening to the sound of the river.

Along with running rivers, Elena loves to dance, cook and play the ukulele. Her ideal day involves running class V and then tearing up the dance floor all night.

Derik Pritchett

Derik began his Guiding career in the Southeastern United States, working daily trips and exploring as many Rivers as possible from Maryland to Georgia during his days off. It did not take long before he followed the call of Rivers of the Western United States, and eventually abroad to continue feeding his passion for Whitewater year round.

His home is on the Rivers, whether in Africa, South America, or somewhere new! When he is not at the back of the boat, you can find him jamming some tunes with the Bio Bio crew, rigging up his fly rod, playing with rocks, learning to brew beer, or reading science fiction.

Liz Mcgregor

Liz is a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. She’s worn many hats at Bio Bio Expeditions over the years. The creative mind behind our very first Futaleufú promo video, Liz has produced several heartfelt promotional videos for us over the years. She has worked with us in our office in Truckee, as our Logistics Coordinator in Chile and as a trip leader and river guide. Liz received her yoga instruction certification at the Nosara Institute in Costa Rica with the express intention of teaching our guests in Futaleufú. She is an expert on all things Chilean; having travelled up and down the country more times than she can count, she’s always happy to share her stories of being chased by a horse on Easter Island, falling off a bus in San Pedro de Atacama, over serving herself mate in Villa O’Higgins or spending the night in a funeral home in Chile Chico. Liz’s enduring interest in and love of Chile began as a NOLS semester in Patagonia in 1991. She has been either working, living or traveling in Chile every summer (northern winter) since 1996.

Before joining Bio Bio in 2002, Liz worked in the film industry in New York City. She was an assistant director on independent films such as Big Night and Drunks, directed NYC ’s first and only environmental film festival, initiated and co-organized the South American debut of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour in Chile and also produced several commercials and an award winning public service announcement about recycling. She continues to produce various independent video projects as BoonDocs Film & Video. A kayaker, raft guide, visual artist and writer, Liz has a deep love for anything blue, especially rivers. Originally from Connecticut and now dwelling in coastal Maine, Liz enjoys river kayaking, Xtracycling, picking berries, harvesting vegetables and spending quality time with quality people especially her husband Alex, son Sol and daughter Luna.