Just wanted to let everyone know that the guide service in Quito, Safari Ecuador, seems to be going through major organizational problems at the moment. We had reserved a specific guide (that we personally knew) months ahead of time for a series of alpine climbs in Jan 07, only to get down there and they tell us (essentially after lying to us with multiple confirmations) that our reserved/confirmed guide is not available. They were then unable to tell us for a given mountain who our guides would actually be as they were scrambling to find whatever guide they could who was lying around. This left us hoping someone would show up each time. As it turned out we had the same two guides for Cayambe and Cotopaxi, and then two totally different guides for Chimbo. I would rate their guiding abilities as Fair at best.

Ulitimately Safari Ecuador did provide all transportation, accommodations and guides (albeit not the ones we reserved) as promised. However the whole uncertainty situation introduced an unneeded hassle into our trip. Also the climbing was not nearly as enjoyable or successful as it could have been as I didn't have any faith/trust in our guides thus I was extra conservative in my decisions on the mountain.

Oh yea, the best part? They mysteriously jacked up the final amount we owed by 5% once we were down there and obviously wouldn't be backing out.

Beware of Safari Ecuador.