 Rafael Espinoza
General Manager
(Spanish, English, Moderate Japanese)
A little about myself here. I was born January 30, 1983. In the humble and traditional neighbourhood of San Juan in Quito, Ecuador. First son of a Guayaquilean father and a Korean mother (long story), I have a younger sister that lives in Argentina and a younger brother that lives in El Salvador.
As I struggled through different careers from Computer Engineering, to Management and then finally Marketing, I graduated in 2007 from USFQ with a B.A. in the last one. From that to tourism…well it’s all a matter of appreciation!
I was fortunate enough to travel a bit, and finally in 2004 I went for a year abroad at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan. Travelled as a backpacker through Southeast Asia, and suddenly in the midst of all the wonders of that ancestral continent I found myself lost with the fact that at that point I knew more cities around the world that in my own country.
As soon as I came back I started to work as Marketing Manager in a bedding factory, you know, sitting in a desk 8 hours a day…while there was a beautiful country waiting to be explored outside my window. So eventually, some friends and I, started to save some money and go travelling to the uncommon destinations that we as Ecuadorians rarely explore. (Usually on holidays, we “quiteños” go to the beaches on Esmeraldas everytime.)
What we found was staggering, beautiful waterfalls, awesome beaches, amazing people…And to think that all of that was no further than 4-8 hours away!!! Eventually, we started meeting some foreigners along the road, and while talking to them we realized that there was all this misinformation about Ecuador, and that there are so many things left unexplored because no one talks about them and the travel guides made little or no comment! That was it for us, as Ecuadorians we have a duty to help foreigners and locals to discover our beautiful country in the best way possible, the friendly way!
As for now, I work full time here. And on the side I’m a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, and I would love to show you not only to the beaches, the mountains, the jungle or the rainforest…but also to the beautiful underwater world that our seas hold.
See you soon in Ecuador!
Rafa. | |
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