One of the highlights of tours for me is the guides! You have your very own local expert with you who has so many experiences in the area, and so much knowledge. It must be a fascinating job too!
One that comes to mind for me: I went on a hike up the rocks or Meteora on a 4 day tour I was on. The guide grew up there and had hiked and climbed these rocks for years. He was part of the mountain rescue crew - he said a lot of the locals there who know the rocks well volunteer because they feel its their duty to.
He told us about various rescues he carried out, and what tourists do wrong to get lost. He was also there when they filmed the James bond movie - For your eyes only - and helped the crew with filming on the rocks. He loved his home and couldn’t think of doing anything else, he was such a top guy! It made me realise how much more you learn from locals who live and breathe the place, not just the facts, but the feeling of it.
I want to know what the best experiences you have had, or most interesting thing you’ve learned from being with a guide!