I was visiting Nicaragua and last minute decided to book a tour. I was looking for rainforest in Nicaragua and Bartola base camp peaked my interest. It would be quite the trek from Iguanas where I was staying, and with only a week left of my vacation, I decided to give it a shot. Gerald's name in Tours by locals came up among others, but Gerald was the only one to respond quickly. Being a last minute trip, time was of the essence. Not only did he reply quickly, he was able to draft an itinerary in no time flat. By late afternoon, he sent me a draft itinerary and I said let's go tomorrow and he replied "let;s do it!." With just a couple tweaks to the draft itinerary, it was a go. Being female travelling alone, I was immediately put at ease when I met Gerald. He was prompt, kind, easy to talk to and very knowledgeable. I spoke minimal Spanish so the it was important his English was good, and it was thankfully excellent. He is very much a naturalist and cares about the environment and sustainability. He even brought me a pair of binoculars to use and his book on birds and taught me so much and showed me more birds than I've ever seen. It was a 6 hour car ride, 3 hour public boat ride, and then another 2 hour private boat to get there. Despite the long arduous journey, it didn't seem as long as Gerald showed me stuff and educated me about Nicaragua along the way. He stayed with me the whole time as guide and interpreter. He even introduced me to a lovely local family living at base camp and got to spend some time cooking with them and seeing how they lived. Bartola base camp is a beautiful place, off the beaten track, rustic but comfortable accommodations (covered tents!) It was an opportunity to be immersed in the rainforest. They were open to some constructive feedback from Gerald and I and I can see Gerald really cares about this place, preserving the beauty and nature of the environment, and the people who live there. I would definitely recommend Gerald and hope to use him again in future visits!