Mindful Ecuadorian Travel Adventures

 

This is the story of how Mindful
Ecuadorian Travel Adventures began. 

To be honest the vision of this business started a long time ago. The seeds were planted back in 1990 during my trip at the end of college. My parents gifted me a trip as I was the first to graduate from college in our family. While I was there, I felt a deep connection to Ecuador and wanted to make a way to always be connected, but of course life happened. 

I got married to Dan and we created our family of seven children. The financial strain of raising such a large family kept me away for so many years. Yet, the seed that was planted over 30 years ago took root and never stopped growing. So, when I returned in 2023, it was easy for me to see what needed to be done to cultivate the connection. When I landed in August of 2023 it felt as if Ecuador had been waiting for me. Like the prodigal son returning to his father, I had made my return.

The trip in August provided a firm foundation from which to grow. The beauty and the majesty of Ecuador spurred me on to return to the US and create a business that would connect me to this beautiful place forever. Reconnecting to my cousin Ivette cemented it all. She would prove to be an excellent partner in our new endeavor.


Ivette graduated from Catholic University in Ecuador with a Degree in Tourism and Accounting. She is the perfect person to navigate all things Ecuador. She has the best personality and is a people person. One of the best people to give our business the best shot on the ground in Ecuador!

The next time I returned with my husband, Dan in October. We had a great time exploring more of Ecuador together. Just the two of us. It was wonderful. 

waterfall, nature, la selva, Baños, Ecuador, water, nature, EcoTour

The trip also served as an exploratory trip to see what it would be like to plan and go on a tour, since on September 27th, 2023, our business, 

Mindful Ecuadorian Travel Adventures, LLC was born!

AND....

You will never guess what day that is! 

It is WORLD TOURISM DAY!  

What a blessing!!
World Tourism Day, tours, Tourism

I was so excited...with a birth date like that, we could only have success! 

I was very fortunate not only to be with my family, but especially my cousin Ivette, whose knowledge and expertise I could not do without. Together, we spent hours planning the trip that would serve as a model for future tours in our business. 

One of the things that I did just for fun was to create the calendar below as a way to keep on track and also to let my Family members in Ecuador know where we were going to be so that they may join us if their schedules allowed.


Travel Calendar, calendar, schedule, Ecuador, Ecuador Trip

Some of them did and it was great to see them!



It was pretty detailed... and so much fun. 

I think one of my favorite memories was when we were all at the Mitad Del Mundo where Dan and I were enjoying the beautiful Ecuadorian Music together, walking hand in hand.


Having had such a good time, why should I keep these amazing experiences to myself? 
Why not share the beauty, the artistry, the flora and the fauna with everyone, with the world?

So here we are, about 9 months later, set to serve our tourists who are ready to experience the majesty and mystery that Ecuador brings. 

There are SO many things I love about Ecuador. For one thing, the landscape is non stop beauty. Everywhere you look! The mountains, the flowers, the birds, the volcanoes, the sky... so much to see.




Then there is the FOOD!  
We will go into that in another blog entry, but the food is SO GOOD!


So, on September 27th, we filed all of the papers, registered the name and made sure I had a good connection with the Small Business Development Program of New Jersey. 
Who did I get assigned to as my counselor? A great lady named Marcela. 
What is my Uncle's name? Marcelo. 
It was fate. It was meant to be. All the signs are there! Full steam ahead! All aboard!!

Alicia and Ivette
Mindful Ecuadorian Travel Adventures, LLC



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