Monica's internship at Adore Ecuador Travel

Hi there! My name is Monica and I’ve been an intern at Adore Ecuador Travel from February 2019 till the end of August 2019. I had a wonderful time working together with Margot and Anouk and learned so much. At first, 7 months of internship sounded very long but the time truly flew by and I can’t believe that it’s over already! So let me tell you a bit about my time at Adore Ecuador Travel, living in Quito and my travels through Ecuador.

Working at Adore Ecuador Travel

What I liked the most about working at Adore Ecuador Travel is the diversity of the job. You will be involved in all the departments of the organization. So was I responsible for the sales, marketing and everything in between. From making reservations with the providers, arranging the permits for visits to the National Parks to translating tour descriptions. You will never have a boring day at your internship as there is always something to do. My absolute favorite part was the sales. I love the contact with the customers and helping them organize their dream trip to Ecuador or just helping them out with an excursion to the jungle or Cotopaxi.

As Margot and Anouk give you a lot of freedom in the way you plan your day, the tasks and projects you are responsible for and the way in which you communicate with the customers, you will learn to work very independently. This was something that I struggled a bit with at the beginning at the internship because planning and time management are not my strong suit. So this was a really good experience for me and I really feel that I really have developed myself.

The atmosphere at the office is very relaxed and from the beginning I felt really comfortable with Margot and Anouk. They are always there for you when you have questions and are always in for a joke or a conversation. As the office is located right across from the park we often go there all together to have lunch. So if you are looking for an internship where you have a lot of freedom, opportunities to develop yourself and where you work together with super fun colleagues then the internship at Adore Ecuador Travel is definitely the one you are looking for!

Living in Quito

During my internship I lived at St. Gallen Haus, a hostel for long term stay and I had the best time there. I met so many wonderful people who I am so lucky to call my friends now. Quito is an enormous city but living close to Parque Metropolitano means that I hardly notice this, as this is a quiet area of the city. It also has spectacular views over Quito. Another plus is that this place is located close to the office, only a 20 minute walk away. It is also conveniently located from little shops, restaurants, a big mall, a supermarket and a movie theater.

When I wasn’t travelling around Ecuador during the weekends, I loved to relax on the rooftop and enjoy the sun. If you like parties Plaza Foch is certainly the place to be and I enjoyed going here for a couple of cocktails and to dance the night away. You will find plenty of nice bars and clubs around here.

Then the people, they are very friendly here in Ecuador. My Spanish was not that great when I got here –to be honest it is still not very good – but once people notice that you try to at least speak Spanish they are very glad to help you out. I´ve had some really nice conversations with taxi drivers. The fruit here is also great, there are so many different types of fruit I´ve never heard of before and they like to make fresh juices out of them!

Traveling in Ecuador

Traveling around in Ecuador is extremely easy. From Quito you can take a bus to any place you want to visit and the bus tickets are also very cheap. But the absolute best thing is that there are a lot of national holidays (feriados) in Ecuador. Throughout my internship I had a long weekend off almost every month at least once. When a national holiday takes place during the week you will get the Monday before or Friday after off instead. This is great for travels to the beach or others places that are a little further away from Quito.

My absolute favorite places I´ve visited are the jungle in Cuyabeno, the Cotopaxi National Park where I went horse riding and the stunning Quilotoa Crater Lake. Ecuador is such a unique country and every region has great places to visit. I really enjoyed travelling around in Ecuador and getting to know this beautiful country a bit more each time.

Written by: Monica