@Vulnerabletraveler: "Do you HAVE to go with a guide to hike the Paramo?" I said to the Swiss girl at my hostel. The paramo is an alpine tundra ecosystem. "Yes, but it is worth it because they know a lot. You'll like it," she noted. Most of the guides I've hired to go on hikes with have pretty much just hiked with me to show me the path and to keep me safe from muggings. I didn't expect my guide today, Maria, to be one of the most inspirational, passionate guides I've ever met. She has Muisca roots and as soon as we began our uphill adventuret, she began to tell me about her people's roots. She told me about how they were a matriarchal society, pacifists, and ate a mostly vegan diet long before the Spanish colonizers came in the 1500s to rob them of their gold by draining their lakes, carving into their mountains, and robbing from the graves where their mummified relatives were buried. Despite this dark history, Maria stayed positive and came alive when she told me about the three levels of the paramo we were hiking through, and how most of Colombia's water comes from the condensation that the plants collect up here. Another thing I liked about her was that she looked me in the eye when she spoke to me. When I met her, she didn't look me up and down in confusion like most people do because I'm gender nonconforming. She didn't ask me if I was a man or a woman, which I've been asked before (I just take it as people asking what my pronouns are so it doesn't bother me much). We hiked together for 9 hours, so we talked about everything from Muisca legends to past abusive relationships, and we'd stop sometimes to catch our breath in the high altitude or to snack-her on her empanadas, and myself on my trail mix. Being with her reminded me of why I love being a tour guide so much. As a guide, you get to share a little piece of your world with someone else, and you can share yourself with them, too. It's days like this that I'm grateful I've kept up my Spanish throughout all these years, whether it has been listening to latin trap music or sending voice messages via Whatsapp to friends in Latin America. My Spanish has helped me connect with magical people like Maria. ⬇️⬇
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