- Part cheeky / part true, this week's newsletter is brought to you by the many times we've seen things being asked that were hard to answer. This comes from questions on our various social media channels, in the Facebook community we run, on Reddit or as told by guides and travel professionals we work with. I hope this email will make you laugh a little
- On this week's podcast episode, I talk with Marinel de Jesus, founder of the Porter Voice Collective, about the often unseen realities faced by the porters of the Inca Trail. This episode was recorded before the tragic death of a porter last week and does not discuss the incident. However, we want to acknowledge their passing and extend our deepest condolences to their family, friends and fellow members of the trekking community. It is a heartbreaking reminder of why conversations about porter safety, working conditions and dignity matter so much.
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Things we've seen asked that are hard to answer
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This week's newsletter is brought to you by the many questions we have seen and been asked that are hard to answer. There are even some I have asked myself.
So with my own exampled included, this is not to shame anyone, but to make you chuckle a bit.
- "Do you think we will see tigers or panthers on our Tanzania safari?" If you ever checked the geographical location of tigers and panthers you'll see they don't really live in the African continent, so they would be hard to spot in the wild alongside any of the wildlife that live in Tanzania.
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- "If I book the safari during the Great Migration, can you guarantee we will see a crossing?" I don't think I can ask the wildebeest to to wait for our tour to cross ;) The reality is that a safari is a wild experience and any animal sighting can never be guaranteed. Global warming and the El Nino effect are making it extra hard to predict the migration too.
- "I will be in Europe in May, is anyone around to meet up for coffee?" Pretty sure there will be thousands of other Europeans around you when you visit, but it's hard to set up a day and time to meet up without knowing where in Europe you will be :)
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- "Does anyone know what the weather will be like in Switzerland in December?" If only I could predict the weather, I would probably be rich! Nobody can and even the official predictions are often wrong, so what I do is check for 2 weeks prior and make a guesstimate. Oh and check the specific cities and places you are planning to visit rather than a whole country since they can vary dramatically across cities, valleys and mountain peaks.
- "Can we skip this stop? I saw it on Instagram already." With how different Instagram is from reality and how distorted social media makes a place look, I will always advocate for seeing a place for yourself. I have been both disappointed and positively surprised by famous sites after having seen them on social media and if I really want to see a place, I don't let social media dictate whether I should or not, unless it is to decide against it because of crowds or negative impact on the local community.
- "Where do you keep the city walls at night (or in the winter)?" A strange question our guide got asked. Not sure where they thought the walls went, but they are very much fixed to the ground and unmovable!
- "Can we get out of the car and pet the lions?" Our Tanzania guide has heard this one over way too many times...They are most definitively not pettable in the parks, they are wild and it is forbidden to get out of the car, for your own safety.
- "Are there dragons in the mote?" I would love it if there were! But sadly this is only in fairytales, movies and fantasy games.
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- "Can you tell the waiters to hurry up? Meals just take too long in Spain" Food in Spain is not a transaction, it is en event. We take time to eat out and enjoy the food, the place but above all, the company. Most food is made from scratch and takes time. Waiters don't have an incentive to turn around tables as quickly as possible because they don't earn a living out of tips and they are unlikely to rush you out the door. We even have a word for what happens after a meal is over and you just enjoy conversation with your friends: sobremesa, which translates to over the table and is the time together with maybe a coffee or tea. A waiter will never bring you the bill in Spain if you don't ask for it, it would be seen as rude. So do as locals do, and make enough time to enjoy the fine art of eating out.
- "I don't want to share a room... but I don't want to pay the single supplement." Sadly, hotels won't half the price of the room, so the best solution would be to convince a friend to join you.
- "Can you call reception to ask them to bring the cicada noise down?" I most certainly wish I could!
- "Can I pay with USD in the European Union?" Or can I pay with EURO in the US? These two hard currencies are in fact accepted in many countries but are not accepted in the other countries.
If you work a client facing job, what have you been asked that you had no idea how to answer? Hot reply and tell me!
Episode #21 - The Hidden Realities of the Inca Trail
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In this week's podcast I'm joined by Marinel de Jesus, a former civil rights attorney turned mountain nomad, filmmaker, tourism equity advocate, and founder of Equity Global Treks and the Porter Voice Collective. Marinel shares her journey from practicing law in Washington, DC, to building a life around hiking, community-led tourism, and advocating for the workers who make some of the world’s most famous treks possible.
We take a closer look at the realities behind trekking in places like Peru and Nepal, including porter working conditions, wages, overloading, cultural identity, tourism leakage, and the power dynamics between local workers and tour companies. We also discuss the additional barriers women face as guides, and how Marinel’s Himalayan Women Trail Leaders initiative is helping women in Nepal develop not only guiding skills but also leadership and self-advocacy.
The conversation offers travelers practical reasons to ask harder questions before booking a trek and to think beyond the experience they see as tourists. Women who love hiking, trekking, solo travel, or community-led tourism will come away with a better understanding of how their travel choices can support greater equity for the people behind the journey.
This episode was recorded before the tragic death of a porter this past week, and does not discuss the incident. However, we want to acknowledge their passing and extend our deepest condolences to their family, friends and fellow members of the trekking community. It is a heartbreaking reminder of why conversations about porter safety, working conditions and dignity matter so much.
Tags: Solo Female Travelers
