People
PAULINA BURBANO DE LARA
Paulina Burbano de Lara is a true symbol of transition in
Metropolitan Touring. She was brought in when Grupo Futuro
bought the company in 2001, and has been witness to (and an
active part of) the joys of seeing it grow, continuing the
legacy and keeping alive the innovative spirit that made it the
world’s most important showcase of Ecuador’s treasures 60 years ago.
MARCELA ROMERO
You would imagine Ecuador’s leading tourism agency, so
connected to the global market, so closely linked with agencies
and providers around the world, would be powered by state-of-the-art
technology. And if not at a global scale, at least in comparison
to its Ecuadorian peers. Marcela Romero, however, remembers having
to borrow the telex machine from “the neighbors”, such
as Casa Paz, the exchange office, or Hotel Colon, feeling just a
sight tinge of envy. When the telex was out of order, she’d
have to pick up her ribbons, stick them in a bag and run to the
nearest neighbor to work in sleek telex machines, that just seemed
so much more user-friendly than the one she was forced to use.
“At the time, it belonged in a museum… actually; I think
someone told me it is in a museum!”
CRISTINA VALDIVIESO
Ana Cristina Valdivieso, 22, was not the office type.
She worked for Ecuadorian Tours as a guide, and loved it. She travelled,
got to see Ecuador, got to see those special things she still remembers,
like the Otavalo fruit market, or how she puts it, “where Otavalo’s
really at”. She would be off every weekend, during the week, meeting people
from different countries and cultures, filling her eyes with the colours and flavours
of her country. She didn’t envy regular jobs one bit. When a good friend asked
Cristina to replace her at Metropolitan Touring for a month, she pouted. It wasn’t
a guiding position. It was a boring office job.
VERONICA SEVILLA
“We’re still nomads…” Verónica Sevilla has thought
of this phrase time and time again, and throughout her experience
at Metropolitan Touring, she continues to stand by it. It’s
Verónica’s second day off the job. She won’t be coming
back, and although there aren’t tears in her eyes, she mentions
that she’s moved to be sitting here with me, at the office.
MARIA DELIA CARDENAS
It certainly seems like María Delia Cárdenas knows everything there is to know about Metropolitan Touring. She hasn’t even made herself comfortable, when suddenly she turns to me and asks, “do you know what INTRAV was?” I haven’t even had the time to present myself, but she’d obviously been briefed that I’m here to learn about Metropolitan Touring, and María Delia has set out to start from the beginning.
XAVIER BURBANO DE LARA
“Amazonia is just the greatest thing. A most spectacular
place... ” And Xavier’s travelled, Xavier’s seen
things. “But I don’t miss her... I carry her with me
wherever I go.” Xavier, otherwise known as Tito, today lives
in what, in many ways, is the exact opposite of the green, lush,
rainy, fresh-water, voracious Amazon Basin: the Galapagos Islands.
He leads the remarkable group of people who comprise the award-winning
Finch Bay Eco Hotel.
KLAUS FIELSCH
Klaus Fielsch divides his life’s passions in two: art and
biology. And looking back on it all, he seems amazed: “With
that background, there was just no way I could have survived in
this world”. Of course, he did. In what he calls, “the
best office on Earth.” He was referring to the Galápagos
Islands, and probably to Amazonia as well, where he began his
work as a guide in Metropolitan Touring’s iconic Flotel Orellana.