Canadian travel advisor Terry Declare had never set foot in South America before she boarded a flight to Ecuador with Exoticca — and came home one of the operator's top-10 sellers in Canada.
At a Glance
Ecuador's Amazon-to-Galápagos itinerary combines rainforest wildlife, including bioluminescent frogs, with iconic island fauna like blue-footed boobies and sea lions, plus a stop at the Equator monument near Quito. The journey requires considerable walking and suits active travelers; mobility-limited visitors should consider alternatives.
There are travel advisors who recommend destinations from behind a desk, and there are those who go. Terry Declare went. Before her trip to Ecuador with tour operator Exoticca, Declare had never visited South America. She returned not only converted, but transformed — professionally and personally — by an itinerary that wound from the humid darkness of the Amazon rainforest to the sun-bleached shores of the Galápagos Islands, with a stop at the literal middle of the Earth along the way.
The trip, a fam experience that took Declare through Quito, the Amazon, the Equator monument, the Galápagos, and finally Guayaquil, was her introduction to a continent she had long admired from a distance. It was also, as it turned out, the beginning of a professional relationship that would make her one of Exoticca's most trusted partners in Canada.
A World Glowing in the Dark
The Amazon portion of the itinerary set the tone early. Declare recalls the wonder of encountering wildlife she had only ever seen in photographs — in particular, the tiny frogs that glowed at night deep in the rainforest. It was the kind of moment that no brochure can manufacture, a quiet, luminous surprise that arrived without announcement and stayed long after the jungle had faded into memory. The Amazon segment also made one thing immediately clear: this trip required willing legs. There is considerable walking involved, both in the rainforest and across the volcanic terrain of the Galápagos, something Declare now communicates directly to her clients when helping them decide whether this itinerary is the right fit.
For those with mobility limitations, Declare is candid. This is not the trip for them, and she says so. It is a quality that distinguishes a great advisor from a merely good one: knowing when to redirect, not just when to sell. For the active explorer, the nature enthusiast, the traveler who wants to move through a landscape rather than simply observe it, she describes Ecuador as close to ideal.
The Galápagos: A Sight to Behold
If the Amazon provided wonder, the Galápagos delivered awe on an entirely different scale. Blue-footed boobies with their improbable turquoise feet, sea lions sprawled with magnificent indifference across the rocks, sea turtles moving through shallow water with slow, ancient grace. Declare describes the experience with an honesty that carries more weight than polished marketing ever could: "The people were so welcoming and helpful. The different species that were on the island. It was a sight to behold. It was a perfect way to unwind from the hustle and bustle in our day-to-day lives."
What surprised Declare most was not the wildlife, extraordinary as it was, but the people. Ecuador's residents, guides, and locals she encountered throughout the trip met her with a warmth and pride that she had not anticipated. "Being there and seeing the passion that these people have for their country was amazing," she says. "They were excited to have us there and show us around and show us how they live and experience their culture." It is the kind of cultural generosity that turns a holiday into something closer to a homecoming, even for a first-time visitor.
Standing at the Centre of the World
Between the rainforest and the islands, the itinerary carried Declare to the Equator monument outside Quito, where she stood with one foot in each hemisphere. It sounds like a tourist checkbox. In practice, it was something far more resonant. "To go to the middle of the Earth and stand on each side of the Equator was an experience that still stays with me today," she reflects. There is something about the physical reality of that geography, the knowledge that the planet's axis runs directly beneath your feet, that refuses to be reduced to a photograph. Declare brings this up often when speaking with clients, not as a selling point, but as a feeling she wants others to have for themselves.
What Exoticca Gets Right
Throughout the journey, one thing struck Declare with particular force: how little she had to worry about. Flights, hotel accommodation, daily breakfast, airport transfers, guided tours — all of it was packaged, sequenced, and delivered without friction. For a travel professional accustomed to the complexity of building detailed itineraries from scratch, experiencing that level of coordination as a guest was its own kind of revelation. Her advice to travellers considering a similar adventure is characteristically direct: "Leave the planning to Exoticca."
She elaborates with the fluency of someone who has lived the experience rather than simply read the product notes. From the moment a traveller lands in their destination, a transfer is waiting. At the hotel, breakfast is ready each morning. A guide arrives to lead each excursion. Optional add-ons are available for those who want more, and free time is built in for seasoned explorers who prefer to roam independently. The value, Declare notes, extends to the price point, which she describes as genuinely competitive given how much is included.
This comprehensive structure makes Exoticca particularly well suited to a client type Declare has come to know well: busy professionals who want to see the world but cannot spend weeks assembling a complex itinerary themselves. "It's one seamless process," she says, "that winds all the way through the itinerary until you depart and head home on your flight." Having now lived that process from check-in to departure gate, she sells it not from a catalogue but from conviction.
The Advisor Who Has Actually Been There
Since returning from Ecuador, Declare has become one of Exoticca's top-10 sellers in Canada — a distinction she traces directly to firsthand experience. There is a confidence that enters her conversations with clients now, a grounded certainty that can only come from having stood in the places she recommends. "Having experienced this Amazon and Galápagos adventure on my own, I can now assure the clients that these trips really do work," she says. "Everything comes together from the time you land in your destination."
That assurance is not a marketing line. It is the accumulated weight of glowing frogs, blue-footed boobies, Ecuadorian hospitality, and two feet planted on the Equator at the same time. It is what separates an advisor who knows a destination from one who has felt it.
What Comes Next
True to form, Declare is already looking ahead. She has her sights set on a 15-day Ireland and Scotland itinerary, taking in Dublin, Killarney, Killarney National Park, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Islay, Skye, and Inverness. She is in the process of organising a group departure for 2027, with dates to be confirmed shortly. For an advisor who arrived in Ecuador as a first-time South America traveller and left as a top-10 Exoticca partner, the next adventure is never far behind. The best explorers, after all, never really stop exploring.
