In 2015, on our Bike Ecuador and Colombia cycling tour, we were lucky enough to have Andres de la Torre as our guide for the fortnight we spent in Ecuador.

Andres, a native of the Ecuadorean capital of Quito, was pretty close to the perfect blend of skills – combining a huge knowledge of flora and fauna, local customs and lifestyles, with cycling ability and safety sense….all served up with plenty of good humour.

Getting nine people on bikes safely through a huge variety of challenging landscapes, from high mountain country to, remote back country tracks, sugar cane fields and highways presented some challenges – which Andres tackled with ease.

Andres provided just the right amount and mix of local information never snowing us with too many details, as some other guides did on our trip.

He also demonstrated an appealingly dry sense of humour: ‘Be careful because stop signs in Ecuador are only a suggestion that you might want to consider stopping.’

Andres was also prone to make the tongue-in-cheek comment that ‘there may be some hidden uphills,’ which we found to be right on the mark!

We learnt much from Andres during our trip as he provided candid insights into Ecuadorean politics, the economy, and more.

By the end of our trip, we realised that Andres was a hugely experienced guide, with years of taking folk on bird watching, hiking, Galapagos, and other tours. He has in fact, been described as ‘one of the most experienced and knowledgeable guides in the country.’

As a third-time visitor to South America, I would highly recommend him, and Original Ecuador tour company. They know their stuff!

To find out more about the cycling journey Grant and his fellow travellers took across Ecuador (and continuing on through Colombia) check out the full itinerary here, along with this year's trip dates for anyone interested in joining.