"I had the pleasure of working with Oscar Rodriguez during the fall of 2015 and summer of 2016, while Oscar was helping me plan and execute a trip to Paraguay with a group of college students from Rocky Mountain College, in Billings Montana, USA.  The goal of the class trip was to visit sites in Paraguay where we could learn more about Paraguayan ecosystems, resource management, and development practices, as well as Paraguayan culture and history.    Oscar was a consummate professional throughout the entire process.  He is an expert in logistics (and ecology and wildlife biology) and speaks English, Spanish, Guarani, Portuguese (and, I bet, a number of other languages) with ease.  He immediately understood both the academic and touristic objectives of the trip and provided me with pragmatic insights about the logistics and pros and cons of each element of the trip I was working on (including trip elements that I had set up on my own, independent of Oscar/ DTP).  Oscar responded quickly to emails, text and WhatsApp messages, and phone calls, which made planning with him pleasant and stress free.

Because I had set up most of the trip before getting in touch with Oscar, I originally worked with Oscar only to arrange my group’s lodging in Asunción and transport between the hotel and airport.  Oscar found a nice hotel that fit my budget, quality, and location criteria and arranged for us to travel between the hotel and airport via a nice Mercedes Sprinter.

As happens with travel plans, however, circumstances arose that forced me to change plans, both prior to departure and once my group and I were in Asunción.  In both cases, when the travel plans I had made on my own — independent of Oscar and DTP — had to be cancelled due to changes in airline scheduling and, later, weather, Oscar was understanding and extremely quick to build out a “menu” of options for short and multi-day trips that would address the course learning objectives via trips to places like Parque Nacional Ybycuí & Reserva Mbatoví, with very cool roadsides stops along the way.

In addition to lodging, food, and other details, Oscar set us up with transportation via a comfortable Mercedes Sprinter driven by a kind, funny chauffeur.  He also arranged for an engaging guide who spoke English, Spanish, and Guarani and who provided interesting and informative insights throughout time together. I should also mention that Oscar himself is an expert guide. Early in our trip to Paraguay, Oscar took us to a local estancia and accompanied us on a nature walk. His skill as an interpreter enhanced the groups’ understanding of local flora and fauna as well as land management practices on and around estancias.

What especially impressed me about working with Oscar was that after our original plans fell through, Oscar was able to set up a terrific alternate plan on the fly.  His ability to work quickly to improvise a new itinerary at a fair price enabled the students and I to meet our learning objective for the trip in a comfortable and enjoyable fashion.

I wouldn’t hesitate to work with Oscar again — in fact, he and I are currently in talks about the details of a Spring 2020 trip, when I will again be traveling to Paraguay with approximately 10 students.  While I’m aware that it is possible that some of the plans we make may have to change due to various unforeseen circumstances, I am confident that by working closely with Oscar and his team, I’ll be able to ensure a safe, enjoyable, informative, and memorable experience for my students and myself".

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