Learning and growing | A Day of training with our guides

What sets a true professional apart? There are many qualities experts should accomplish before they are recognised and rewarded for them, but one is the stepping stone for all the rest: learning and training.

With that in mind, we aim to improve the experience for both our guides and our guests. The best way to do that is by training, commuting, and finding new ways of creating sustainable tourism. So, we put our hands to work and planned a full-day training journey.

If you follow us on social media , you might have seen how it went, but we are here to please you if you feel like checking how the experience was more in-depth. This was all planned for a special training session with as many of our guides as we could gather to chat with them and see where there is room to improve.

Said this, time to explain why we think it was a good idea to coach our guides for one day.

Learn, train and evaluate

Our guides are professionals who have proven their capability to guide and lead groups. However, there is always something to improve, and by sharing all their knowledge together, we can all gain something new from that experience.

When people discover new things and are willing to share that knowledge with the rest of the people, they bring better and improved experiences and tools to the table. Times change, and things also change. It is just natural for people to adapt to said changes and be open to learning.

Experience is key

Henry, our CEO, was a guide for many years—as you might have seen somewhere on our page—meaning that he has a lot of experience to draw from. On the way to the Arajuno River, Henry shared some of his guiding experience with our guides and told us some of his anecdotes from his time as a guide.

He stressed one thing in particular: you have to understand your guests. For AJ, our guests' experience is the trip's main focus. We want to help everyone make memories for a lifetime, and to help our guests build special memories, we must get close to them. This philosophy drove all the instruction on the day.

Learning out in the field

These spaces are very important for guide training, especially since some things must be tested on the field. It is alright if you know some cultural or natural fun facts, but when you are doing extreme sports, you have to ensure the guides' abilities. Done out of routine, it was a good way of seeing the best abilities

One of the things that is more important for our company is seeing how our guides handle situations and how they guide activities, especially active ones. Because of that, the main event was a kayaking expedition to evaluate the response time and see if they were aware of every little detail concerning safety.

We also evaluated how our guides performed at other abilities like group leading and picnic preparation. But mainly, the importance of this activity is for technical abilities that must be practised and evaluated in the field, to ensure our guests safety.

What our guides thought

The AJ family has grown a lot in recent years, and though not all our guides could attend the coaching session, those who did get the best out of the training experience were glad for this opportunity. So, before we say goodbye for now, we want to share with you some of the opinions our guides shared with us.

The best way to grow is together, and it has always been a team and a family; the best experience is to live and connect with nature. In all training sessions, this is what they show and teach us. Thank you, AJ, for such good times and learning.

David Gainza

I recently attended my first training at Adventure Journeys and felt very welcomed from the beginning. I was impressed by the dedication of the managers and director, who ensure that all Guides receive comprehensive training before serving our clients – the passengers who visit us. My new colleagues welcomed me with their energy and positive vibes. They all have extensive experience kayaking in the rivers of the Amazon rainforest and were very helpful during the training process. I am thrilled to have joined this guide training day and proud to be part of the Adventure Journeys family.

Jaqueline Simbaña 

Great learning time! Our AJ family is growing every day, so this training was the perfect time to get even more experience. We shared important knowledge and learned from each other.

Diego Muñoz

It was a great experience. I enjoyed sharing with the AJ Team a lot, and as always, we learned new things.

Rafael Arévalo

It is always a great experience to share time with friends who have the same passion for nature and our country.

Marcelo Escobar 

It is amazing to have an experience along the river, coming from the Andes range, with great friends and professional guides! From all around! I am grateful to share my knowledge and be part of AJ! Go out and enjoy life!

Pablo Moreta

Training day with AJ was a fantastic time, sharing and learning experiences from my colleagues, making links of family working for the same objective, our passion: TURISM

Milton Chiqui

In AJ FAMILY, we never stop learning. The training was a very rewarding experience; it has been wonderful to share knowledge, nature, anecdotes, and so many things. We definitely enjoyed it a lot!

Alfonso Freire 

Time to grow together as a team as a family, great experiences and better if it is out in the wilderness.

Celso Cárdenas 

I joined fellow AJ for a fantastic training session in a tropical rainforest. We learned kayaking and how to prepare a picnic, all while surrounded by stunning nature. The hands-on experience and expert instruction made it an unforgettable and valuable experience.

Franklin Viñansaca