Dear Xavier,

Again....You were outstanding !!
We can not thank You enough for Your excellent guidance in Peru !
Jose Antonio has also impressed erveybody as an excellent guide , with indepth knowledge of the birds of Peru...Congratulate him please!
We plan (probably) the second and third week of september 2013 , a trip in the Pantanal , with You (and Jose Antonio?), since we were impressed by the photos of Jaguar, maned wulf , Hyacinth macaws etc...
Thanks in advance, for letting us know in the coming days : adetailed program in the Pantanal (from Brussels on saturdays .....two weeks travelling to the Pantanal...to Brussels on saturdays)
an indicative price ( if we would book directly through NeblinaForest).

Kind regards and warm feelings...
Johan Verbanck and Godelieve Vermeir

Hello Mercedes and Xavier,

Well we have been back in England for a week and thought I would drop you a note to say thank you for an absolutely fantastic holiday. Both Sean and I agree that it was the best holiday we have ever had.

The organisation was perfect and the quality of the guides and hotels was fantastic.

We have taken lots of photographs and have some great memories of the places we visited and people we met. I have attached a few memorable ones - I couldnt resist sending you the one of Santiago and us at Hacienda Guaytara on the Paramor, we stopped here for a drink but couldnt resit the wonderful 'Locro' soup and the hospitality was incredible. We really enjoyed Santiago's company.

Thanks for recommending Oscar as a guide at Sacha - he was absolutely fantastic and would please any keen birder such as Sean.

Heres to the next trip!!
Thanks again
Sean and Joanna

Hi Xavier ,

Thanks for your message. The tour went well, and the pax really enjoyed it. Gustavo worked very hard, and everyone enjoyed his company. The bus was excellent, and David was a good driver. Our time in Sacha Lodge was a great success because of Marcello Andy. The pax were keen birders, and so Marcello's ability to identify all birds by call, and also to call them in, was much appreciated. The pax really missed his knowledge when we left Sacha.

As mentioned to Gustavo, I would stay 3 nights at Sacha and 3 nights at MWC to take advantage of the highlights of both lodges.

Thanks for organising the tour.
Best wishes,
Holly

Dear Xavier,

I hope you are having a good time in England. The trip that you arranged for us in Brazil, the Cerrado and Pantanal, was wonderful. As Alice has already told you, not only did we see the Harpy Eagle, but we saw it under truly unique circumstances. It was thrilling to watch it fly out after it had been recuperating in this make-shift cage. We also had terrific close-up view of the Hyacinth Macaws at Pouso Alegre, and of course lots of other splendid birds, including the recently discovered Tapajos Hermit at Cristalino. By the way, we saw more than a dozen birds not on the list, including the Hoatzin and White-eared Puffbird. We did not see the Blue-eyed Ground-Dove, which Giuliano said was last seen in 1985--time to take it off the list! So saying, the list that you sent was of crucial importance; we used it for the entire trip.

Giuliano was terrific. Many thanks for finding us such an expert, helpful, and agreeable guide. I would be more than happy to have him as a guide again. Our driver, Madruga, was also very personable and accommodating. His vehicle--which he valiantly tried to keep clean amidst all the dust--was first-rate if rather cramped for our (total) group of 5. The accommodations were generally OK if basic. The one exception was the Hotel Mato Grosso, where I found the rooms to be below average. My original room smelled strongly of stale cigarette smoke and the water was yellow-brown, enough so that my normally white hair became yellow, the color of straw (after a week it was back to normal). Giuliano was very helpful in getting my room changed, to one that didn't smell and actually had a window. In defense of the Hotel Mato Grosso, however, there were some great birds in the environs.

Thanks for making it possible for us to visit this very special region of Brazil.
Sally

Mercedes,

In July, Alejandro Soleno guided me for nine days in pursuit of as many as possible of the 95 Ecuadorian bird species I have not yet seen. We found 515 bird species on the trip, of which 21 were new ones for me, as well as a pair of Mountain Tapirs walking across the trail only 7 meters from us.
The birding was exciting as it always is in Ecuador, but Alejandro's positive and inquisitive attitude toward general biology together with his phenomenal ability to identify birds by their slightest movements and call notes made this one of the most enjoyable trips I have had there in the last 40 years.
Even though my trip was a logistically complex one from the central coast to Loja and Sumaco, the accommodations, vehicles, and drivers were flawless in their performance. Thank you for your reliability and for providing such qualified and personable guide, drivers and staff. Your company can be proud of its accomplishments in making birding in South America so comfortable and affordable but exciting and fulfilling at the same time.
I look forward to my next trip with you soon. I hope to include more of these new Ecuadorian sites in my next book.

David L Pearson

School of Life Sciences
Arizona State University
Tempe AZ 85287-4501

Hi Xavier

Firstly, I must apologise for not writing to you sooner. Peter told me that you would like feedback on the trip and I understand that he intends to contact the other members of the group for their views.

You may remember that I took over as group leader when Peter had to pull out, and I speak as group leader and on behalf of myself and my wife.

The trip was excellent and most of the group told me that it was one of the best trips they had been on. The tour of the Galapagos was simply great and the itinerary proved to be exactly what we wanted. The San Jose was perfect for us and the guide, crew and food etc. were all first class. Southern Ecuador was full of great birds and everyone involved worked very hard to help us enjoy ourselves.

Willie Perez was quite simply the best. I would be more than happy to recommend him and your company to anyone.

Thanks for all your hard work in organising the trip for us.

Very best wishes

Ro & Maggie Noble-Nesbitt

Hi Mercedes,

The trip went very well. Fito was the best bird guide I have had and Edwin was also very good- not only a very good driver but a very good birder as well. They make a great team. I would go with either one of them anytime again. In fact we all talked about a trip to Bolivia next!

I now have over 800 on my Ecuador list and Michael is at 700 so we did very well...about 300 for the trip.

Thanks for the great organization and for giving us Fito and Edwin. Never let those two go!

David Middleton

Ann Forster

We used to travel with Victor Emanuel a lot and then some with Field Guides. We got so tired of large groups and as we got to be better birders we realized how much good birding time was wasted trying to get 14 people organized. When we went on the VENT trip co-led by Paul Greenfield, Paul told us that Neblina Forest was going to offer birding trips. We wrote you and became some of your first clients. We enjoyed those trips and came to really appreciate that smaller groups could go into places that big groups could not or would not go. Some of the best birds do not live near a five star hotel and restaurant.

One of the advantages in going with Neblina is that you are so good at adjusting to problems. There will always be problems...vans have motor problems, roads will be blocked, parks will be closed...those things are beyond control. Xavier had to deal with Dan's fall on one trip and with the big landslide when we were at Sacha Tamia. We've been with Lelis when all kinds of things went wrong and knew that he would fix it somehow. A few times the office confused things and once Byron got himself arrested for trying to bribe a policeman and didn't pick us up at the hotel.... minor issues compared to the quality of the birding and traveling experience.

The best part is that we consider you, Xavier, Lelis, Solange, and Fabian as some of our dearest friends ever. We love bringing friends down to experience Ecuador and Neblina hospitality.

Love to all, Ann

Good morning Xavier

Sorry for the slow response. It is hard to get back to business. Yes we had a very good time. The Galapagos Islands are certainly a unique place and we are glad that we were able to spend some time there. The boat and the services were excellent. The Queen is a fantastic boat and the crew was tops.

Your help and that of you staff was much appreciated, especially you efforts to rework our schedule when the LAN flight was canceled. Renato’s assistance was excellent. His attention and help made us feel very comfortable and taken care of. Please pass on our thanks to him.

Thanks also to the gentleman who worked so hard at the airport to get our tickets rebooked.

Again thank you for all of your help along the way. We certainly will recommend Neblina Forest to others.

Best wishes.

John and Becky Parker

Dear Xavier,

Just wanting to let you know that we arrived save and sound in Germany on Wednesday.
I also want to thank you for the excellent guide. Willy was exceptional, we saw more than 320 species of birds, 280 of them by the time we reached San Isidro. The best lodge was Sachatamia, we thought, also the birding in the Mindo area was better than around Guango, San Isidro, the weather, by the way, as well. It rained every day at San Isidro and the trails were very muddy. Papallacta, on the other hand, was very nice, the hot springs were relaxing and the food very good. We even saw a rare tanager in the nature reserve, a Masked - Mountain Tanager

Well, all in all a rewarding and interesting trip and we are planning to come again, maybe in 2 years time and then do the south. Thanks again for all your help and assistance,

Monica

Bird-watching in Ecuador

Y. Takahashi/ Sapporo/Japan

In the bird-watching monthly magazine “Birder Japan” of September & October in 2009 I had read the feature articles “Ecuador is the paradise for bird-watching”. I knew that birds in Ecuador are registered more than 1,600 species, and there are 60 lodges and more, so I had desire when I take the opportunity, I would go to Ecuador at all costs.



And the chance became fast unexpectedly, this September we could arrived at Quito with 12 bird watching members. This tour was composed 7 nights 8 days stayed five lodges where were located near Quito. We came across birds more than 200 species, so that we were satisfied very much with this result. I could watched almost birds that I expected, for example, only hummingbirds counted more than 38 species, and the others Condor, Andean cock of the rock, Giant Antpitta, Channel-billed Toucan, Masked Trogon, two species of Quetzal etc. Andean Hillstar and Tawny Antpitta with those we met on a point of 4,000 m above sea level gave me strong impression.

This tour was arranged by the staffs of Neblina Forest, I have to say grand thanks to the guide Mr. Xavier who has excellent eyes for find out birds. I am sure without his sufficient consideration we could not came across such number of birds.

About the meals in Ecuador, it was generally to our taste except a fish food (trout) with too much sweet sauce. What is more various types of soup, breads and coffee were my favorite.

As regards equipment of lodges were so simple, yes I accept the frugality, but for example of incommodious, though the temperature of morning and night was so cold, there were no preparation of heating, that’s why I had to enter my bed so early night.

In any case, the bird watching in Ecuador is so fascinating that one has to have at least once the experience. Let’s go to Ecuador!!

Petra (with Manfred) (Peru)

Dear Xavier,

back to work and very busy, so the days pass... but just thought I have to write to you and give you a brief feedback on our tour. I'm sure you heard a lot from Lelis already. The tour was extraordinary succesful and we can only highly recommend Lelis. He really knows all the calls and he showed us an amount of new birds that we never would have expected to see. Both of us got ca. 240 lifer and we have already been very succesful in Ecuador, as you know. I sometimes thought, Lelis can not only hear but sense the birds... His knowledge and field brilliance is outstanding. We travelled a lot all over the globe but Lelis is one of the best, that's for sure.

The tour itself was very fascinating and showed us a fantastic part of Peru. It was good to have 12 days in the Manu area, what a highly diverse forest, we could have stayed even longer. To see the rare Goeldi's Monkeys was one of the highlights there. Of course, Machu Picchu was our cultural highlight of the trip. Seeing photos and beeing there on your own is a complete other story! Our extension at the end again surpassed our expectations and we got to see not only our Diademed Sandpiper Plover but so many new birds and endemics. Really enjoyed that part thoroughly.

Everything worked out fine in the end, so this is not a complain but I just want to mention it for further trips.

Again, we had an unforgetable experience in South America with Neblina and we hope, there are more to come...

Warm regards
Petra (with Manfred)

Keith and Cheryl Chamberlain April 2010

Charles,

What went well? What exceeded your expectations?

Xavier was great. Very knowledgeable and personable. He was excellent at finding birds, getting us to new locales, and patient in repeating species names over and over as we tried to remember them. (So many new names coming in such a rush!) He also worked very hard to see that everyone in the group had a chance to see the birds he'd found for us. We felt, as I'm sure each person did, that he was sometimes giving us extra special consideration. This is the mark of an excellent leader. He also did a good job of explaining about the different habitats.

Xavier was also very patient with those of us who were less "advanced birders." - Cheryl

All the lodging was excellent and the food was wonderful. Liked the evening group meetings to compile the bird list for the day.

Xavier did a super job of outlining the following day's activities.

We really enjoyed getting to know Alfonso, the driver and he actually found us some good birds, too. And, of course, the birds: Forty species of hummingbirds, 46 species of tanagers, Andean Cock-of-the-rock, Lyre-tailed Nightjar ... the list goes on. We tallied 250 species on our personal list and 197 of them were new life birds. What a place!

Any other feedback greatly appreciated.

The trip was very intense. Eight twelve-hour days produces a tremendous bird list but it comes at a cost. My head was spinning as I tried to get a handle on species names and field marks. It seemed like Xavier had to tell me over and over the names of species we'd already seen. I would have benefited from time to study the field guide at the end of each day to review species seen and preview upcoming possibilities. Most evenings I was so tired that after about five minutes with the field guide I fell asleep.

We loved the places we stayed and might well go back on our own to any of them. It was a bit frustrating not to have time to really enjoy the lodges and their grounds. At Satchatamia, for example, we could have very profitably spent time just sitting by the hummingbird feeders and an hour or two birding the grounds. Unless we wanted to give up one of the excursions there was not a chance to do this.

That having been said, we enjoyed the trip and feel that we learned a lot about Ecuadorian birds. Great experience!

Keith & Cheryl Chamberlain

Sept 2009
Client: Tom Burke ( USA )

Hi, Lelis and Xavier,

A quick note to say that I agree that it was a great trip, and, Lelis, I’m sorry that we got to Miami before you got home to Quito – our flights went fairly smoothly. And in Miami I did step outside the airport where Mr. Guy was smoking and saw my first Eurasian Collared-Doves.

Thanks for your photos, Lelis – Gail will be reviewing hers for a while (there are so many), but we’ll send some down when ready.

Regarding the trip arrangements, I was actually glad to spend a night at the Manu Cloud Forest Lodge to see what it was like – quite an interesting place. I thought everything else worked out very well; moving about didn’t bother me at all. Perhaps, to avoid the problems that we encountered at Bosque Unchog, could that be run as a day trip from Huanaco? It is a great site, but most potential visitors would probably find the arrangements a little uncomfortable as is. It would require a very early start but could probably work that way. The Tarma place worked out fine as well.

I am already looking forward to another trip with Lelis, wherever it might be to, and I thank you both for making this adventure as enjoyable as it was for Gail and myself.

Best regards,
Tom

David Fisher 2009-02-09

Dear Mercedes and Xavier,

I'm now back home and getting on top of things again, even though my flat is surrounded by deep snow! I wanted to thank you both most sincerely for all your help on my recent visit to Ecuador. You were very generous in allowing me to travel on the tour at the leader's rate, and I also really appreciated you arranging the extra days for me in the Mindo area.
That extension went very well. Fabian's father, Jorge, picked me up from Quito and took me to Alambi, then Fabian took over. The weather wasn't kind though, and as Xavier already knows we failed to make it through to Sachatambia that first night, being forced to return to Alambi instead. But we still got to Angel's by 6.00 the next morning and had a fabulous visit with him. He showed me four species of antpitta, three of which were lifers. I also saw Olivaceous Piha and Powerful Woodpecker that morning which were also new. I was very impressed with Angel's operation. Then we went on to Sachatambia, but missed Xavier who had already left to return to Quito. Sorry not to have more time to chat to you Xavier! I thought Sachatambia was a very nice lodge and they looked after us well. A lovely room, great food, and very helpful staff. Fabian did a good job, though the weather worked against him somewhat. He tried really hard to find me Tanager Finch and Beautiful Jay, but rain, cloud and lots of diverted traffic made it almost impossible. But I enjoyed his company and my Spanish improved somewhat by spending three days in his sole company practicing. As I think you know, my main reason for coming back to Ecuador was to see Jocotoco and Giant Antpittas and to experience the new technique of seeing them being fed. I also hoped to get some good photos.

I was very successful in this and attach three very pleasing shots. All in all it was a super trip that I thoroughly enjoyed. And thanks for joining us for dinner that last night Mercedes - it was great to spend an evening with you. I'd forgotten how much fun you are! Great company. Best wishes, David

Johan Verbanck
& Godelieve Vermeir 2009-03-25

Dear Xavier,

1/ You were outstanding, in guiding us in Ecuador - march 2009!!! We can not thank You too much !!
2/ I have already mailed our excellent Ecuador experiences with You as expert guide, to our Tour operator in The Netherlands ... I hope sincerely it can be realised , to travel with You as an outstanding guide, in Peru !! Congratulations , Xavier!! You were fantastic!! Warm and very gratefull feelings ! Johan Verbanck and Godelieve Vermeir ; Belgium on behalf of all the tour participants from "Ecuador march 2009"

Tom, Jo Heindel and Kelli Levinson
August 2009 Ecuador

Dear Xavier and Mercedes,

While this letter of gratitude is late, it is because of another trip a couple of weeks after our return from Ecuador, and we needed to write you both more than a quick “Thank You.” The planning and expertise you brought to our trip made it absolutely perfect. Matching us with Edwin Herrera was pure genius. He fit into the group like an old friend; his sense of humor and appreciation of our needs, both birding and personal, was uncanny. His driving skills are unequaled and we were most appreciative of his concern for our well-being and security. We thought your bragging that “He is the best!” was justified Ecuadorian bravado but he really is the best! He so enhanced our trip that we’ll forever be in his debt and yours. We gave him our spot beam (luz grande we all called it) and it was not until we finished unpacking here at home that we found the car charger that goes with it. We would appreciate an address where we could mail it to him. His help as a bird guide also deserves mention. He has amazing eyes and found birds that many would have missed. As he continues to study and learn more about birds he will become even more helpful to birders. We felt we had the best of both a driver and a bird guide. Because he has driven the other “big gun” tour leaders, he knows where to go and that is invaluable knowledge. If you have any other clients that do not want to hire bird guides, please give them Edwin because he drives and birds, often at the same time! We had warm thoughts when we received a post from Matt stating that you had notified him that we had arrived safely and that we were happily on our way. It meant so much to us to know that he didn’t have to wonder how things were going.

Your choice of vehicle added much to our comfort with each person having a window so we were able to see all that Ecuador has to offer plus plenty of room for our extensive luggage. This was a substantial upgrade from what most companies offer their clients and we greatly enjoyed the first-class ride. We were amazed at the changes we saw in the 11 years since we were last there. The road system is now one of the best in Latin America as well as throughout most of the world! A country’s economic health is built on its road system and we are greatly pleased that Ecuador has such a bright future.

While Kelli did much of the research and designed the itinerary, the few changes you recommended were definite improvements. Your choice of lodging in unfamiliar areas perfectly satisfied our needs. You took your experiences with us on our last trip and thoughtfully applied them to this trip, which is why it was so successful.

The final act of kindness was the way you worked with our son Matt to provide a surprise birthday party for Tom at Guango Lodge. We had worked on our bird notes in the comfort room while dinner was being prepared. We had just been seated when the lights went out. We were laughing in the dark and said that we hoped that our dinner was going to be warm. Just then the cake with lit candles was carried into the dining room with the entire staff singing Happy Birthday! We were all surprised and Tom was very touched. We’d all given him good wishes earlier in the day but having Matt send his greetings long-distance was very moving. We were thinking very good thoughts of you both for making this possible.

Ted Floyd April 2010 (Ecuador)

Hi, all.

Just a few quick stats. I went over our checklist more carefully, and we came up with 321 species for the 8 days, including 44 hummingbirds, 44 tanagers, 21 flycatchers, and 51 (!) other suboscines.

Thanks to Xavier and everybody for a wonderful trip.

More soon,
All best,
Ted

Trevor Jones ( UK )
August 2009 Ecuador

Dear Xavier

We wanted to write to say what a fantastic time we had on our trip to Ecuador during July/August 2009. Your organisation of the tour was first class and we were particularly pleased with your flexibility in rearranging the first few nights following the delay of our flights.

We enjoyed all of the lodges you suggested but perhaps our favourites were Wild Sumaco (what a setting!) and Pacoche. Of course the food at San Isidro was just amazing!

As for the wildlife? Well we saw over 600 species of birds inc. nearly 60 species of hummingbird and 76 species of tanager (my favourites) – absolutely awesome! But it wasn’t just birds; butterflies, whales, snakes, monkeys and even a jaguarundi added to the enjoyment.

Any trip depends heavily on the guide and we were delighted to have Alejandro as ours. He knew the birds expertly and where to find them, was so enthusiastic about your country and its natural environment and adapted to our needs as the tour progressed. Perhaps even more importantly he was a good person to get to know and we now like to think of him as a friend. As for our driver, Augusto, he looked after our travel needs perfectly and what a sense of humour – so often he had us in stitches.

The highlights – so many but a few would be:

• Antpittas at Paz de las Aves (and Angel’s great enthusiasm and hospitality)
• Hummingbirds at Guango Lodge
• Mashpi Forest and the Indigo Flowerpiercer and Moss-backed Tanager
• Andean Potoo shortly followed by Powerful Woodpecker and Crested Quetzal (in the same tree) on the Guacamayos Ridge
• Tracking Tinamous and Antthrushes in the Amazonian rainforest
• Breaching humpback whales near to Isla de la Plata
• The overall friendliness of the people and the quality of the food

See what we mean ...

It was a trip to remember and we would have no hesitation in recommending Neblina Forest to anyone who wanted to visit Ecuador. In fact we are hoping to arrange a trip in the near future, with you, to visit Brazil.

Thank you.
Trevor and Ann Jones (UK)

Robert Ridgely 2008-04-30

Dear Xavier:

Yes I did receive your earlier emails on the subject. I hope you have been able to resolve this situation to everyone's satisfaction; please let me know that this has happened. I should let you know that I was very impressed with, and very grateful for, your assistance on our last trip. All done out of sight and out of mind, but I know that you had to work hard to scramble to get us the three vehicles; I wasn't wild about doing all that driving, and it was a little awkward not having the group together so I (and Lelis) could speak with them collectively, but it turned out they were needed. I know you also had to work hard to keep pressing American Airlines to get Jean's suitcase - frustrating all the way around. In any case, thanks, a good service all the way around. I only wish that you had been able to be with us to see Yankuam and that wonderful tanager!

Sharon & Michael McRae 2008-04-24

Gustavo and Xavier:

Many thanks to you and Juan Carlos (unfortunately I don't have his email address) for making our trip to Ecuador a fantastic experience. Gustavo, we enjoyed your company and appreciated your knowledge of the local species ~ you even exceeded your target ;o)))) Although we haven't finished our final tally, we saw approximately 200 birds over the entire trip. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute and look forward to exploring more of Ecuador and Columbia with you over the next few years. Special thanks to Juan Carlos for showing us around Quito on Friday and delivering us safely to the airport. It was an excellent way to wrap up our vacation. We will definitely recommend you, Sacha Tamia, and Sani Lodge to our friends.Thanks again, and please let us know of any special tours you have planned. We would certainly like to participate whenever time and $$$ permit.

Best Regards, Sharon & Michael McRae
Phone: 813-891-6280
Sharon.McRae@NALWORLDWIDE.COM

Ecuador - SOUTHERN ECUADOR - March 2008 - Hamilton Group 2008-03-25

Dear Xavier:

Just a quick note to let you know we arrived home safely- tired but very satisfied with our trip to your beautiful Country. >> I think I did even better in terms of new birds than I thought-with some 120 lifers for me. Thank you for all your hard work and contributing so much during an excellent 10 days in some wonderful habitats, and at great lodges. Your consideration of our needs was very much appreciated by us all-and you laughed at our stories and jokes(including the bad ones!). >> So my sincere thanks and I hope we shall see each other again soon. >> Best wishes, >> Stuart. >> Stuart Housden Director, RSPB Scotland RSPB Scotland Headquarters

Galapagos Is. - NATURETREK'S GALAPAGOS ISLANDS - February 2008 2008-03-06

Dear Andy:

We were most fortunate in the allocation of guides.. The knowledge of Xavier Munoz from Naturetrek and Juan Tapia of The National Park must be unparallel. ** They were brilliant!!! Juan's knowledge and enthusiasm for the geology, flora and fauna, was balanced and complemented by Xavier's equally wide knowledge of the birds and mammals . Together they made a formidable team, who's experience and enthusiasm fired us all to new heights and interests. ** It takes a lot to get 16 people walking over lava flows in torrential rain - and we were all up for it - every time !!!! ** I cannot praise them to highly - they were great. ** Please pass on to them [...] how impressed we were by them, and the whole experience. I look forward to talking to you again when we take out next Naturetrek holiday ** Regards and Best Wishes Margaret (Naturetrek Customer)

Ecuador - NORTHERN ECUADOR: AMAZON, ANDES AND CHOCO - Mason group / January 5th to the 27th 2008 2008-02-25

Dear Xavier:

trip to Ecuador or Costa Rica had been on the horizon for several years and in the end we decided to take the plunge after numerous discussions with tour operators at the Bird Fair over the last two years. The die was cast and Ecuador came out on top. We ended up speaking and planning at length with two companies;[...] [one of them was Neblina Forest, which we at the end picked]. Initially both were very helpful with planning itineraries and deciding where to visit, costing, guides, etc but after a while, as we were about to decide who to trust our arrangements to, [the manager of the one we did not choose] took the huff as we had the gall to still be talking to someone else and abruptly told us he wasn’t prepared to reserve a particular guide for us and advised we would be better making other arrangements. I was so taken aback by his attitude I couldn’t think of a suitable decent reply to his terse email. In some respects this saved us a difficult decision as Byron Palacios, Neblina Forest’s representative in the UK at the time, had impressed us with his attitude and help to date. Neblina therefore ended up handling all our ground arrangements in Ecuador, including internal flights. >> Biologically, South America is the richest continent on Earth. The Amazon Basin holds the largest and most diverse tract of tropical rainforest on the planet and the Andes harbours an astonishing variety of ecosystems ranging from the tundra-like páramo and epiphyte-laden cloud forest to rain-shadow valleys and deciduous deserts. The diversity of birdlife found in Ecuador is the greatest, in relation to size, in South America and with friendly people, relatively short travel distances and good accommodation, birdwatching here is incredible. >> Cheers, >> David Mason
See full report at

http://www.realbirder.com/EcuadorReportd.html

Ecuador - CHRISTMAS IN THE GALAPAGOS - December 2007 - Hammond x 2 from NEBLINA Group 2008-01-07

Dear Mercedes:

I wanted to say a huge thank you for a wonderful Ecuadorian and Galapagos trip. We loved every minute of it. We saw so much and learned so much. Every day was an adventure. We are still reeling from the excitement of it all. We were lucky with the weather and the delightful company on Galapagos. And were very happy indeed to have the benefit of Gustavo's and Roberto's knowledge and guidance - both were excellent guides. Edwin is a great driver. > Thank you especially for yours and Kelly's patience and help during the run-up to the trip. Especially in answering our many questions.

We would recommend Neblina Forest without hesitation to our friends. Many of them are already drooling over our photos and asking for more information. > Can you please forward these messages to Gustavo and Roberto and/or let us have their addresses. > Gustavo - Thank you for being a wonderful guide. You were the best of Christmas presents. Thank you so much too for the CD of photos. If you let me have your snail mail address I'll send you a DVD with my additional and zizzed-up photos on it as soon as I've sorted out the logistics. > Roberto - Thank you for a really great birding adventure on the East and West slopes. We really enjoyed our time with you and Edwin. [...]Happy New Year, and we hope out paths cross again - perhaps in the Orient! Very kind regards, Sally

Ecuador - CHRISTMAS IN THE GALAPAGOS - December 2007 - Hammond x 2 from NEBLINA Group 2008-01-07

Dear Mercedes :

I wanted to say a huge thank you for a wonderful Ecuadorian and Galapagos trip. We loved every minute of it. We saw so much and learned so much. Every day was an adventure. We are still reeling from the excitement of it all. We were lucky with the weather and the delightful company on Galapagos. And were very happy indeed to have the benefit of Gustavo's and Roberto's knowledge and guidance - both were excellent guides. Edwin is a great driver. > Thank you especially for yours and Kelly's patience and help during the run-up to the trip. Especially in answering our many questions.

We would recommend Neblina Forest without hesitation to our friends. Many of them are already drooling over our photos and asking for more information. > Can you please forward these messages to Gustavo and Roberto and/or let us have their addresses. > Gustavo - Thank you for being a wonderful guide. You were the best of Christmas presents. Thank you so much too for the CD of photos. If you let me have your snail mail address I'll send you a DVD with my additional and zizzed-up photos on it as soon as I've sorted out the logistics. > Roberto - Thank you for a really great birding adventure on the East and West slopes. We really enjoyed our time with you and Edwin. [...]Happy New Year, and we hope out paths cross again - perhaps in the Orient! Very kind regards, Sally

Ecuador - ANDES AMAZON EXOTIC - Noviembre 2007 - Mark Garland 2008-01-02

Xavier:

Good to hear from you -- best wishes to you, your family, and Neblina Forest in the coming year. [...]I would love to do another trip with you. I am packing today to leave for Costa Rica tomorrow, however, so discussions about another trip will have to wait until I return. Thanks for being such a great friend, Xavier, and for everything you have done to make my recent trips to Ecuador so excellent. Mark Garland Nature Tours

Ecuador - ANTPITTA'S TRIP - December 2007 Ann T. Forster Group 2007-12-14

We finally dragged in from Miami last night. We were sorry that we didn't have a chance to visit with you two on Sunday.[..] Both our trips were super. Dan snapped over a 1000 pictures which he is now editing. Some of the hummingbirds at Tapichalaca are spectacular. He also took pictures of fishing boats, fishing villages, fish nets, fishermen, and fish. We were sorry not to have a chance to thank you, Xavier for your leadership.

You were so good with Dan and I know Dan's fall made your work even harder. We are all planning another trip and if you decide to have something down at the Orange-throated Tanager place, Marilyn Milek and I might do that together. Keep us informed on that. The day we went to the southeast side of Podocarpus was a real treat. We are so thankful that you are identifying and saving some of these precious places. Love to our Neblina family, Ann

Ecuador/Peru - BI-NATIONAL BIRDING TRIP - July 2007 2007-10-09

Dear XAVIER, LELIS and WILLY :

Greetings from Germany. > We enjoyed those four weeks in June and July in Southern America very much - two weeks with Lelis in Southern Ecuador and two weeks with Xavier and Willy in Northern Peru. > Our tour was really great - fantastic birds, excellent leaders, good accommodation, superb itinerary - and always good mood and lot of fun. > We can warmly recommend NEBLINA FOREST to anyone planning a birding tour to Southern America. > We certainly will come to another tour with NEBLINA FOREST in the near future. --- Best wishes Manfred, Anne, Michael and Jutta from Germany

COLOMBIA 2007 SELECTED LOCATIONS TRIP 2007-08-07

Hi everyone:

Colombia is now an accessible and safe birding journey for people to enjoy the beauty, warmth and incredible endemics with itineraries offered by Neblina forest birding company of Ecuador. Gustavo Canas-Valle is a fine birder and planner who will make your trip rewarding and really show the wonders of the country and it's people as well as great birding locales and habitats. He is a fountain of information not only about the birds but the culture and history of places you visit in the country.

I just returned from an 11 day whirlwind trip visiting selected locations from Cauca and Magdalena valleys as well as a flight to Santa Marta region in the north for incredible birding on the coastal areas, mangroves and the Santa Marta mountains for incredible scenery and many endemics. Highlights there were the Santa Marta brush finch, Santa Marta mountain-tanager, Santa Marta parakeet, Santa Marta antpitta, White-tailed quetzal, Blossomcrown, among several Caribean coast specialties and Colombian endemics. If you want to have a wonderful birding tour which will fill you with memories and a need to return to colorful Colombia many times you cannot go wrong with Neblina Forest Colombia tours. Regards Bob August 7th, 2007

Ecuador - ANDES AMAZON EXOTIC - March 2007 - Veenstra Group from Holland 2007-05-12

Ecuador is a great country for bird watching. It has an amazing biodiversity. Neblina Forest organizes bird watching tours to places varying from the highland (altitude close to 4000 m.) to the Amazonian forest. In 16 days we've spotted more than 500 bird species, which is a third of the total number of species in Ecuador. We've even seen an owl which is still unidentified [to be described for science, at San Isidro Lodge].

The bird guides are incredible. They hear and see a lot and they can show the location of the birds by using laser light. They play back registered songs of the birds to attract the birds. It's very nice when they manage to show a specific bird through their telescope. The guides know where to go to look for some rare bird species. Our tour has been very well organized by Neblina Forest. We can recommend their tours to any bird fan. H.W. Veenstra & A.H. Veenstra

Ecuador - SOUTHERN ECUADOR - February 2007 - Robert S. Ridgely Group 2007-03-13

Dear Xavier:

We had a wonderful trip with Bob [Robert Ridgely] in Ecuador, thanks to your big efforts. I will definitely be back with a group and we should talk about that in a couple of weeks. Today I leave again for a 12 day trip to Belize. [...] Please send me an email with some thoughts on me returning with a group (6-8 people) next winter, one year from now, for a visit to northern Ecuador and the Amazon. I would want you or Lelis to be our guide, if possible. Many thanks. Rob Robert A. Quinn Merlin Enterprises

Ecuador - UMBRELLA BIRD TOUR - November 2006 - Howard & Mary Armson 2007-01-07

Dear Xavier:

Very many thanks for the wonderful Umbrella bird pictures they are truly amazing and we are so pleased that we were there when you took them - it was a privilege to be in that pristine cloud forest so close to that remarkable bird - which was entirely due to your expert guiding - a really unforgetable moment !1 We look forward to receiving your brochure and really appreciate your quick response to our message - we hope you have a very successful New Year thanks for your good wishes . Best wishes, Howard & Mary Armson