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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
Hiking and Snowshoe Guide
Valais Region. Switzerland
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
Walking, Hiking and Golfing Guide
Northern Wales.
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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