Your guides...?

This is a window into our lives: Who we are and what are our interests. Our commitment is to safety and education in harmony and balance with the sensible and perfect natural environment. Expediciones Palenque is a modest but interesting company, managed by its 2 owners in collaboration with a select group of guides that are the best in their specific fields. Each one of us has formal university education, which complements your day with valuable information. Also, we have dedicated our bodies, minds, and soul to a range of outdoor activities that are key to our lifestyle.

Armando Carlo Asencio Rosado

Before anything else, Armando Carlo is an animal, which is conscious of his species. As far as he can remember, he has been passionate about knowing all there is about nature. He has a BA in Anthropology and in pedagogy in Social Sciences and History. His passion for the underground world and rock walls lead him to educate himself and train in speleology and in rock climbing. He is a certified rescuer with the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC) and has participated in training's on and off the island. He has rock climbed in Venezuela, Mexico and the best places in the United States. Rock climbing is an activity that, according to him, he will never stop practicing, because it has taken him to levels of satisfaction rarely experienced. As a backpacker and mountaineer his first achievement was the summit of Mt. Humboldt in Venezuela, 16,000 feet above sea level. In 2001 he ascended the Tocllaraju peak (20,000 feet) in the Cordillera Blanca in the Peruvian Andes. The majestic Andes brought him back in 2003 to approach the highest peak in Peru, Huascaran (more than 22,000 feet above sea level) being 300 feet away of the summit. His experience backpacking in underground rivers and remote areas has taught him the vital importance of knowing how to solve problems. He has received training in river rescue and search and rescue by the National Association of Search and Rescue (NASAR) and basic backpacking courses with the National Outdoors Leadership School (NOLS), CPR and First Aid by the American Red Cross. Other routes and places he has travel to that have left their mark on him and have changed him are Dominican Republic, Cuba, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Brazil and Peru.

"The goal is to push the limits, maintaining safety as the first, second and third priority within each of our activities."

"Mother Nature is the light that guides me. She has shown me the truths that I am just beginning to understand."

Julitza M Nieves Labiosa

Juli, as known by her friends, is a young overachiever that graduated with a B.S> in Environmental Sciences and Biology. Her interest for nature lead her to the world of science. She has participated in research in the USA with NASA and the Department of Agriculture and the Fish & Wildlife Service. Her passion is the ocean, especially the coasts she could never live away from them. Since she was a child, born in Rincón, she has practiced the sport of surfing, which sets her lifestyle. At the same time she doesn't waste an opportunity to go underground or climb a wall. She's a natural climber that was baptized climbing in the US "Shangri-La", Yosemite. As one of her first experiences she climbed a 15-pitch wall of over 1,500' for two whole days. 100% natural and remote areas, where her spirit can be in complete harmony with her surroundings, captivate her, this led her to live for several months in Alaska. Interested in the world of caves, and knowing the importance of security in this type of activities, she got certified in cave rescue Level I by the National Cave Rescue Comission (NCRC). Outside the island she has cross-country the US twice, climbing here and there, hiking in the Native American lands, and reaching Baja California Mexico, the soul surfer's paradise. This trip was an infinite voyage between canyons of rock and coasts that will always remain in her memory. In 2002 she made a trip to Peru where she started climbing mountains doing Urus of 15,000 feet. In Puerto Rico she keeps rediscovering herself in every mountain, cave, waterfall, coast or river that she read about. Juli is, without a doubt, an excellent source that will delight us by helping us understand the wonders that we will visit.

Carlos Manuel Laó Dávila

A tireless teammate of long expeditions, "Carlitos" is the most complete and versatile guide that you can find in Puerto Rican soil. He is a graduate of the UPR with a BA in Social Sciences and is currently completing his MA in Translation. The world of academia is just a piece of this rescuer, caver, climber, and hiker, just to mention some of his passions. He has level IV of the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC), which certifies him as a rescue instructor. He has taught in and off Puerto Rico, including Cuba and the US. He has completed other similar courses such as river rescue, basic backpacking, first aid and CPR, with the National Association for Search and Rescue, NOLS, and the American Red Cross, respectively, among others. He was a head guide for the eco-tourism company Explora in which he trained other guides. Carlos has been active consecutively in the caving and climbing world for the last 8 years of his life. He has climbed and hiked in the best parks in the US, such as Yosemite and Joshua Tree, California, The Gunks, New York, Seneca Rocks, Virginia, and through out the Appalachian Trail. Having Carlos as a guide will give you a day full of excitement in complete safety.

Jorge Enrique Pasarell

Many know him, but few have had the pleasure of going on a trip with Jorge. He has crossed as many borders as he has imagined. He is a true Puerto Rican that has managed to leave behind his geographical limits to walk the infinite trail of his destiny, a wise and humble globetrotter. Jorge is an engineer and is a self-taught computer programmer. He has dedicated a part of his time to learn all he can about sailing, which demonstrates his ever present wish to travel. His 22-foot sailboat, Topito, is his home and according to him the ship that will take him to other oceans. The sea isn't everything to Jorge; he is another cave dweller, he has up to Level III of the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC). His never ending search for adventure has taken him to a number of untraditional sports such as hiking, scuba, sailing, mountaineering, rappelling, rock climbing, and snowboarding among others. Traveling in Campi, his inseparable green VW van, he has crossed the US a few times. In his last trip that began in Florida he reached Baja California Mexico and kept going through Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. He has also traveled through Canada and Alaska. On January 2001 he landed on the Puerto Rican coast after parting from Florida and sailing for 2 weeks. In spring of 2000 he reached the summit of Mt. Humboldt in Venezuela and traveled through the Orinoco River experiencing life in the Amazon. A patriot of the world, Jorge has left his footsteps in Europe, Greece, China, America and the Caribbean. His latest adventures can be seen in his web pages, Viaje2000 and Viaje de Suertes. These were a few lines that are just a small chapter in the great book of Jorge's life. He is a great leader and individual that can make any experience great.

Carlos Acevedo López

Carlos Acevedo López is an innate explorer of caves. Being born in Camuy, one of the town with the largest amount of caves and sinkholes in the island, he has been submerging into the underground world since he was 14 years old. Now, at 25 years of age, he is one of the most experienced speleologists in the island. He has done special collaborations in different cave studies made by several universities in the island. In 2006, he will be part of an effort to study and get to know more in depth the Enchanted underground river system and the caves that form part of it. He is a certified cave rescuer with Level I of the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC) and is a member of the North Speleological Society. Carlos has a vast experience working in vertical activities with ropes and cables. He has worked with artists of and outside Puerto Rico and he has been protagonist of several vertical activities of national importance. Being a natural athlete and lover of outdoor sports, he has gone around the island through the coast 7 times and at the beginning of 2006 expects to complete a walk around the island in 3 consecutive days. He has approximately 5 years of experience rock climbing in the island. Among his goals is going o Australia to explore and discover this island-continent. In the island he dreams with practicing base jumping and scuba diving and to continue the complete mapping of the Camuy underground river system. Being in charge of the security in almost all of our trips, he is definitely an excellent resource to answer any question about cave systems in the island.