Camila Ordonez
Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Camila discovered her love for nature early on. Encouraged by her parents, she developed a deep love of nature, that put aside material things. She has traveled widely and considers herself a globetrotter, quality she inherited from her father and great grandfather. They taught her the value of travel. “They taught me that traveling around the world is the best way to spend your money and gain knowledge,” she states.
After living in Bogotá for most of her life, she moved to Buenos Aires where she lived for five years and got an MBA on Strategic Marketing. After working for big advertising agencies, Camila felt she had had enough of urban sprawl and the rampant consumer lifestyle. She opted to take a summer break, which took her to the small village of Cabo Polonio in Uruguay. This turned out to be a life-changing experience when she became aware of the amount of garbage on the beaches and in local waters. She saw the huge impact human consumerism is having on nature.
This experience seriously changed her life path. She left her life in Buenos Aires behind to move to Cabo Polonio, which has no roads leading to it and is accessible by walking through the dunes or by 4×4 vehicles. The region has no electricity or running water for the few houses of this town, and wind power and a few generators are used to power some of the posadas and grocery store. A lighthouse gets power from the national grid. She started living her dream of being one with nature in a beach-side house. Camila now owns a restaurant and mosaic workshop in Cabo Polonio and combines her love for nature with bio-construction, eco-art (recycling) and her work as a guide with Big Five travelers. She dreams of changing the world “one person at a time” by sharing the importance of being conscious consumers and teaching others about the impact plastic products have on nature.
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Nico Mendez
Nico was bitten by the wanderlust bug from a very early age, venturing out on countless adventures that ultimately took him from his home in Uruguay to countries across Europe and Asia. With an equal thirst for foreign cultures and a talent for languages, he soon picked up English, German, French, Italian and Portuguese. Upon returning from these global travels, Nico settled in Rocha on Uruguay’s eastern coast, where he now focuses on exploring off-the-beaten-path locations that fully immerse his traveling guests in nature. With his broad scope of knowledge, he introduces Big Five Tours & Expeditions’ travelers to intricacies of his culture and the native landscapes as well as secret spots and hidden viewpoints only a local would know.
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