Our trip with Ximena was wonderful today. We felt like we received a very nice overview of this region of Ecuador. Unfortunately, the weather was not such that we could see Cotopaxi but we had a lovely hike around the lake. Quilotoa was amazing. Bigger than I was expecting. The trip was a lot of riding in a car. We were happy to get to see so much of Ecuador outside of Quito and used the time to learn as much as we could about Ecuador. Ximena was a wonderful guide, answering all of our questions, and we felt as we had made a friend in Ecuador after our day together.

We had a terrific day with Pedro! He has amazing reviews already and I was excited as soon as I knew we would be sharing the day with him. From our first stop and throughout the whole day we saw so many birds and for each one, I took a picture of the bird and then Pedro had the information identifying the bird up on his phone, which took I captured in the next picture. I have a terrific log of all the birds we saw. He even found toucans for us as we were walking around and driving. The stop at Mariposario Nathaly to see the butterflies was more than I expected. The owner gave us an up close, hands on tour of the butterflies from eggs, to larva, to pupa, and finally to a large area full of adult butterflies flying around. It was better than any other butterfly exhibit I had seen in zoos or gardens. We loved the hike to the water fall through the rainforest. So much diverse vegetation and the water fall was pretty. We did not swim, but someone was as we left. Lunch was a typical Ecuadorian lunch and very good. For dessert we had a tour of the Yumbos Chocolate factory and learned about the whole process of turning cocoa beans to chocolate bars. The tasting was top rate as was the chocolate! I even got a chocolate facial. The scenery on the drive to and from Mindo is amazing with the change from dry mountain climate to a cloud forest climate. We spent this time learning more and more about Ecuador and Pedro. Ecuador is such a beautiful country and Pedro is a wonderful guide and now a friend. We highly recommend this tour and Pedro!

I really enjoyed this tour. Pedro was a great tour guide. He showed me all the important sights in old town and I felt totally safe. He is very knowledgeable. The views from the Basilica tower and El Panecilllo are amazing. I loved the Intiñan museum and the experiments on the Equatorial line. I had a great time. Thank you very much for this experience. :-)