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About Galapagosisland.net and
Columbus Travel Ltd. |
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Columbus
Travel started it's operation 1997 and has grown to become
one of the major on-line travel agencies in Ecuador. We mostly
sell trips to the Galapagos islands and the Amazon jungle,
but we can offer any travel service you need.
We are affiliated with CETUR (Ecuadorian tourist board) and
CAPTUR (the tourist board of the province of Pichincha) and
highly recommended by The
South American Explorers club and Exito
travel in The States.
We are located close to the Mariscal area in Quito at Foch
E9-20 y Av. 6 de Diciembre. Here is a short presentation of
some of the staff; |
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Luisa Cordova
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Luisa has
a degree in tourism and administration from
UTE university in Quito. She is the general
director of Haugan cruises as well as Columbus
Travel.
Luisa speaks English and Spanish. |
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Jim |
Jim is British and works with the team in Quito to make sure all those things behind the scenes operate smoothly so that your experience in Galapagos is a memorable one. Jim has extensive international business experience through his prior employments with General Motors and Ernst & Young. |
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Elena Guachamin
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Elena works
with sales. She has a degree in business from
the San Fransisco university in Quito and
has been working 3 years with Metropolitan
touring in Ecuador. She also knows all of
Ecuador and has traveled several times to
the Galapagos. |
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Ivonne Zumárraga |
Ivonne holds a degree in
tourism administration from the University
of Tourist Specialties (UCT) in Quito. She
is 23 years old; and has been working in tourism
almost 3 years. Her professional training
has given her the opportunity to visit
the most outstanding places in Ecuador including
Galapagos. She has been assigned for Galapagos
and Ecuador sales at Columbus Travel. |
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Rodrigo Hidrovo
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Rodrigo is responsible for
booking and finances. Rodrigo is a graduate
in business and administration Universidad
Salesiano in Quito. |
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Lucia Calderon
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Our accountant! Ask her about
any payment issue. |
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Ximena Martinez
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Ximena works in the Accounting
Department of Columbus Travel, she is in charge
of the payment of reservations and billings.
She has been in other similar positions in
other companies in the past. She just finished
her studies at the University. |
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Soledad Salazar
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Soledad graduated at
the University Tecnologica Equinoccial (UTE)
in Tourist Administration. She works in the
operation department and does everything related
to land and cruise operation in Columbus Travel. |
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Diego Andrade |
Diego holds a degree in
Marketing and Economics from Missouri Valley
College in Marshall, Missouri. He is 25 five
years old and has worked in the tourism industry
for over a year. He joined Columbus Travel
in February 2008 as a travel designer. He
will create a program fitting your interests
and desires based on his vast knowledge of
Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. He speaks
English and Spanish, and understands German. |
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Andres Garcia |
Andres is the newest member of our staff. He holds a degree in Computer Engineering, which he obtained in Toronto, Canada. He is in charge of maintaining the equipment and the websites. He speaks English and Spanish. |
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Maria Belen Pacheco |
Maria Belen the youngest person in the company (21 years old). She's studying her last semester of Tourist Administration at Universidad de Especialidades Turísticas.
She works for the operation department and her main responsibility along with the sales staff is to search and offer the best travel option that suits the needs of all our passengers.
Her professional career has given her the opportunity to know every corner of Ecuador including the Galapagos Islands, reason for which she can answer all of your questions regarding your trip.
She speaks English and is currently studying French. |
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Ximena Almeida Trujillo |
Ximena studied accounting and audit at Universidad Tecnologica Equinoccial (UTE).
She's been working in the company for 3 months in the accounting department. She's in charge of the income of all the companies. |
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Jessica Cisneros |
Jessica graduated from the Catholic University of Ecuador with a degree in Organizational Communication and speaks Spanish and English. She has been in tourism for over two years during which she has performed different roles. At Haugan Cruises, she is part of the Operation Department and takes care that everything runs smoothly during your visit to the Ecuador and the Galapagos Island. |
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Martha Lucia Orbe |
Martha started in the company on December 2007 in the Financial Department. She holds a degree in Commerce and Administration.
This is her first time working at a Travel Agency which she finds it very interesting. |
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Angelita |
The person who mantains
everything clean |
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Kjetil Haugan
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Kjetil Haugan
is the owner of Columbus Travel. He is a Norwegian
citizen who has lived in Ecuador since 1994.
Kjetil has a Graduate degree in Organization
Development from England and a undergraduate
degree in Management from Norway. Kjetil worked
as the director of the Olympic Villages during
the Lillehammer (Norway) 1994 and the Atlanta
(USA) 1996 Olympic Games. He speaks Spanish,
English and the Scandinavian languages. |
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Fernanda
Borja |
Major studies
in Advertisment and Marketing, in Quito-Ecuador,
and a Post Graduate in Hospitality and Tourism
in Switzerland. She speaks Spanish, English,
French and German. She worked for Metropolitan
touring for 2 years and a half as Sales Executive.
She knows Ecuador and Galapagos very well
and would be a good advisor for your trip. |
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Javier Proaño
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Xavier will meet you at the
airport when you arrive in Quito. Xavier is
a dentist. |
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Shirley Alvarez |
She helps with everything
related to receptive tourism, she gives all
the necessary information to our clients
in English or Spanish. She studied tourist
administration and had attended many different
courses related to her job. She also does
some guiding on Saturdays. |
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Christian Rafael |
He is 25 years old, he
is studying Accounting and Audit at the
University. He works in the Accounting department
of Columbus Travel, and in charge
of paying and collecting our suppliers. |
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Verónica Vélez |
She is our manager assistant
and coordinator, she is responsible of answering
the phones. |
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 Washington
del Pino |
Washington graduated from
high school in the US and majored in business
management and internatinal relations at San
Francisco University in Quito. He has lived
in the Galapagos Islands for short periods
and traveled around Ecuador four regions.
He has been involved in the tourism industry
for 8 years doing marketing and sales for
cruise lines and yacht companies.
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Jorge Fernandez |
Jorge holds a degree in International Business, and also is an Ecuador National Tour Guide and Galapagos Naturalist Guide (Biologist). He is 24 years old and has worked in the tourism industry for eight years in different fields like guiding (Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands), traveling with groups around South America as Tour Leader and Tour Director, managing operations and sales department as traveling designer. He worked for Metropolitan touring for 4 years as Sales Executive. He joined Columbus Travel in April 2008 as a travel designer. He is going to be pleasant of helping you designing your trip in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. He speaks Spanish, English, French, German and Italian. |
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Augusta Granda |
She graduated in Universidad Central del Ecuador. She’s been working for 4 years at Columbus Travel; she works in the Operation and Sales Department. She makes cruise and hotel reservations and she also assists Washington del Pino and Elena Guachamin. |
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Christian J |
Christian used to be a Guide. He also has over 13 years experience in arranging and selling tours. He has a wealth of knowledge on the Galapagos as well as the tours on the Mainland. Whatever your interests, he is sure to be able to tailor a complete vacation experience to meet your needs. Christian speaks fluently English, Spanish and French. |
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Edison Pilco |
Edison studied economy at Universidad central del Ecuador.
He has been working for 8 months in Columbus Travel in the Operation department. |
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Paulina Herrera |
Paulina graduated at Universidad Central del Ecuador in Ecoturism. She works in the operation department and she is in charge of the land operation and respective arrangements. |
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Gustavo Pazmiño |
Gustavo is 26 years old. He graduated in audit and accounting at Universidad Central del Ecuador. He has experience on these areas on finantial institutes. |
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Mauricio Palacios |
He studied tourism at the Universidad Central del Ecuador, he is in charge of everything regarding flight reservations and the Ingala cards. |
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Luis Yepes |
Luis is our "mensajero"
, the person that buys tickets and make sure
that we receive all the documents for the
passangers. Luis is married and lives outside
of Quito. |
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Columbus Travel is part of a group of businesses in Ecuador
and we own and operate;
Haugan
Cruises
Bolivar
Education
Cuenca
Language school
Fundacion
Bolivar Education
We are member of:
Links
of Interest
- www.travel-ecuador.net
An online Ecuador travel guide! Premiere content from a
renowned travel publisher. Plan your Ecuador travel itinerary
with the help of this thorough, detailed website.
- www.travel-galapagos.net
An online Galapagos travel guide! Premiere content from
a renowned travel publisher. Plan your Galapagos travel
itinerary with the help of this thorough, detailed website.
- www.rpcruises.com
Your online resource for Cruises!
- www.go-ecuador.com
Go-Ecuador.com International Travel
- www.go-americas.com
Go-Americas.com International Travel
- www.landofthesun.org
The Land of the Sun Foundation (LOTS) is a public charitable
foundation for projects in Ecuador.
- www.littlehorsecreek.com
Merrily Farms - get away from it all, unwind and relax at
Little Horse Creek.
- www.garyscott.com
How to make, enjoy & keep wealth. Helpful people, stimulating
ideas and useful resources to help you live a healthier,
more affluent and fulfilling life.
- www.slowr.com
The Slower Network connects people and communities interested
in global environmental and social sustainability and regeneration.
- www.spottingtrends.com
Your personal gateway to learning how financial trends around
the world can put money in your pocket.
- www.knightshospitaller.org
Be part of our three Knightly Orders.
- www.i-service-center.com
International service center for environmental, humanitarian
and fair trade products. Information on Ecuador real estate.
- www.luxury-cruise-directory.com
The biggest and the best directory about Luxury Cruise on
the Internet. Anything you can think about Luxury Cruise,
you can find here.
- www.travels-web.com
Cheap Hotels, Discount Hotels, Discount Hotel Reservations,
Cheap Airline Tickets and Online Travel Services Worldwide
- www.bw-reservations.com
Best Western Hotels, Best Western Motels & Best Western
Inn.
- www.hotelonlinebooking.com
Online Booking for Luxury Hotels & Cheap Hotels.
- www.austin-reservations.com
Hotels in Austin TX, Austin Accomodations, Austin Motels,
Austin Bed and Breakfast.
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