Maria Del Carmen Ramirez

Maricarmen Ramirez was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador. Her intense love of nature led her to the Amazon rainforest where she started her naturalist guide career on board the legendary Flotel Orellana, the first of the great Ecuadorian river cruise ships. Maricarmen’s fluent English is a legacy of a school year abroad in Ohio, USA. A dedicated traveler, she has gone to Europe, and whenever she goes, she learns a new language. In addition to English and her native Spanish, she is fluent in German, French and Italian. 

 

When asked why she became a guide, Mari, as she likes to be called, answers: “I love meeting people from all over the world and getting to know their cultures and stories. I always knew I wanted to be a naturalist guide.” Mari has been a certified Galapagos naturalist guide since 1994. She is also a certified national guide.  In addition to meeting new people, her favorite parts of her job include enjoying the natural beauty of the islands, taking photos of the wildlife and seeing the looks of wonder on the faces of her guests. Her favorite activity is snorkeling: “You never know what you’re going to see. You might just see the usual fish, but if you’re lucky you’ll see penguins, sea lions, or maybe even a manta ray or a sea turtle!”

She currently lives in Quito with her husband and daughters. In her time off, she enjoys travelling, bike riding, hiking and just simply meeting her friends and going to the movies.