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GUIDES The closed umbrella sticking high in the air was a dead give-away; she was my guide. On the other side of the street, walking briskly another guide with a red flag held high, led a herd of oriental tourists toward a mysterious destination. I thought for moment to switch guides, but I probably had already been where they were going. I had told her on the onset that I was not interested in religious symbols such as churches, nor was I really into literature or philosophy. I explained that I was simply a travel writer on assignment to do a story on Prague. She couldn’t have cared less. After visiting just about every church and doing my best to ignore her, she stopped abruptly in front of one of the old grandiose stone houses and pointed to a plaque. “Here,” she said, “lived Igor Polovsky from 1769 to 1770.” I was stunned. Who was Igor Polovsky? She turned to me and said, “What kind of a writer are you, not knowing the famous Polovsky?” I looked for the guide with the red flag, but she was gone. I tried that religious thing on my guide in Switzerland. Lutz looked at me and said, “I know what you like and dislike, I checked your writings before you came. I will not take you to any of our great cathedrals.” It was a hot day in Lausanne and we were in desperate need of a cold beer or two. He crossed the street and started to climb up one of those steep streets – toward a large church. I am not going, I said to myself. Until now he had been a very good guide, but with that church, the heat and the point that he always went only uphill, some doubt crept in. I was about 5 minutes behind him by the time I saw him again by the entrance to the cathedral. While I desperately attempted to regain my breath, he suddenly took off, downhill and right past the church. Across the street now, down a few steps and we stopped at a little cafe. Finally our beer! But it would not be. Instead the proprietor came out with the greatest hot chocolate I ever had tasted. Thick (the spoon would stand up) and heaped twice as high as the mug with whipped cream. This made me, if only temporary, forget my beer. Lutz was a guide who cared and listened to me. Another time, on another trip to Switzerland, our guide Ed led us through some of the most amazing countryside bordering the Aletsch Glacier behind Riederalp. It was the hike of a lifetime, mostly uphill. In Switzerland this seems to be rather the normal thing, and it was also relatively strenuous. In spite of Ed being about my age, he continuously offered to carry my backpack or some of our camera equipment. He knew every rock, every tree that was over a hundred years old and knew exactly where we could get a good picture of a Chamois. He knew the glacier better than his home village. I was too intoxicated by the grandiose nature to reply when he suggested casually that we should visit a museum on the way back. Why would anybody go to a museum when one is, literally, on the top of the world? I asked myself. He never pursued it further, although during the afternoon he managed to mention that museum casually on a few occasions. The late afternoon sun was setting by the time we descended back down to Riederalp and when he mentioned that blasted museum again, I was far too tired to object. The museum was a 500 year old alpine hut, made from immense weathered logs and, although I couldn’t see any cows around, it appeared as if they had left moments before we had arrived. “This is our museum,” Ed said as he opened the door. He rummaged through some old furniture and miraculously found some Swiss wine, some home-made cheese that was made on location, some almost fresh rye bread and a bottle of real Swiss Kirsch (Schnapps). It was then and there, during our quiet evening supper outside the 500 year old hut as the first stars appeared, as I ate the best cheese with real bread, enjoyed some decent Swiss wine and finished up with a few glasses of Kirsch, that I promised that from now on I would listen to my guides more closely. The night was now total and as the wind whispered through the few trees, we could hear the rushing waters of the mysterious glacier in the valley behind us. It was by the hut, the one I did my best to stay away from, that I planned to capture the moment in a story. A story, accompanied by Judy’s superb images, which would win me unexpectedly a Swiss travel writing award for the year. SELECTING THE RIGHT GUIDE Guides can take on many forms. From the ones with the umbrellas that probably will get you back to where you started from, to the ones that will make you trip into an adventure, you get what you pay for. The ones with the umbrellas come cheap, perhaps as little as $20 for half a day and real guides can cost upwards of $250 dollars a day. Many guides will take you alone or in a small group of like-minded adventurers for the one fee. When walking on a glacier where your guide packs the needed ropes, ice cleats and picks and even some Swiss chocolate, $250 is a real bargain. When you have a guide in Wales, one that has listened carefully when you told him about your interests, stops suddenly by a Celtic grave site and then takes you to a local pub to tell you all about it over a local brew, it is money well spent. Tourist guides (the ones with the umbrellas) in Mexico can’t show you a spider monkey in the jungle, and the guide in Valparaiso, Chile, that runs you from shop to shop while you are in port, doesn’t know how to get to those sulfur springs in the Andes; personal guides do. Guiding is a profession. In most countries it will take about 3 years to be certified, and then still with some limitations. Each guide will have a badge or other identification to show that they are qualified. A hiking guide cannot take you up the Matterhorn, you need a mountain guide. A city guide from Cardiff is not permitted to take you into the moors or the wilds of Northern Wales. Find out anything you can about your guide. Each country, and region within, will assist you in finding the right person. Most, if not all professional guides will have a website. Make certain you explain your likes and dislikes and especially your hobbies. Also make sure you ask your guide about his or her interests. It is kind of pointless to take an architectural guide on a bird watching expedition. Make sure before you meet your guide that he or she is aware of your personal and physical condition. If you are ninety you probably will stay on a well kept trail and won’t race through the jungle on zip lines. Guides are trained in first aid and rescue. They will have a telephone with them for emergencies. Don’t ask to use it to call your family back home or the office and keep yours turned off. If you go on long hikes, ask your guide about alpine walking sticks. He probably has extra ones. Guides have no control over the weather, but they try. Don’t blame your guide if you don’t achieve a goal such as finding a rare bird, a mountain peak or a waterfall, or a hole-in-one if you have a golfing guide through Scotland. (Golfing guides can take you to some hidden gems, have rented equipment ready for you and play usually as good or bad as you do, so that you are not embarrassed.) For twenty dollars you will find a guide in most places, including the umbrella or red flag. You may find a plaque on a house with a name you can’t read or remember, but you probably will not see very much of anything that will make your trip a memorable one. I can suggest though, that if you go as a family or with a small group of friends, and each pays the $20 for an exclusive and proper guide, and listen to what he or she tells you, you will be well rewarded. All the guides mentioned on my site are properly certified, reliable and experts in the fields mentioned. They are guides foremost, but should become your friend after the first half hour. After all, your well being on the trip, your safety and consideration as to your physical capability, will be their hands. SWITZERLAND Edelbert (Ed) KUMMER www.wandersport.ch ed@wandersport.ch Knows the alpine region of Switzerland better than his home village. Interests are in geology, nature, history and lifestyles of the region. Very knowledgeable about glaciers, especially the Aletsch. WALES UK Bryn Hughes www.simplynicetours.com bhughes@micro-plus-web.net Specializing in walking and holiday tours in Wales. Knows history exceptionally well, including every castle and prince or king that once lived in it. Knowledgeable in industrial archeology (e.g. mining). His hobbies include nature and wildlife. Great golfing guide/partner.
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