The travels of a tourist guide - Maria Tyutyundjieva

published on 2/4/10 3:02 PM

Photo: Архив

Just anybody is lured to travel the wide world. And for professional tourist guides the dream is simply a job. However, is the thrill likely to go on as travel turns into professional routine? Maria Tyutyundjieva has been a guide for more than 30 years. There are places in the world that she has visited at least a dozen times, still every time she embarks on a trip with the same intense curiosity and good mood. On how she chose her occupation, Maria goes back to her childhood.

“As a child I went to ballet lessons, and I loved painting. Then I graduated from a college of electronics. Upon graduation I decided that this field could offer no big challenge to me. The subject of International Tourism started to interest me, so I chose it for my university major. I’ve never regretted my choice. From the 200 people who graduated in International Tourism, only I and my husband became tourist guides.”

In fact the two met as students. Constant travels have not marred their perfect understanding. Maria is fluent in French and Russian. Her numerous travels across Europe however, require use of other languages too. She has studied English, German and Spanish on her own. Being a tourist guide however does not boil down to command of foreign languages. The job is about pleasure, but also about responsibility.

“Sometimes trips cover as many as seven countries”, Maria Tyutyundjieva explains. “I have to acquaint myself with their geography and history first. I also prepare key facts about major towns and cities. This is a must, though very often we use local guides along the way. I have to be ready to say what she or he will say. Once I was with a group in Hungary. The local guide felt unwell and I had to call an ambulance. She was taken to hospital and I had to take the group to all sites included in the program. We, guides, are used to dealing with all sorts of predicaments.”

Maria’s most exotic travel so far has been to Brazil. Last year she took a group of 12 to the Rio de Janeiro carnival processions. The lavish celebrations and Brazil’s intensely beautiful nature have left her with great memories.
Maria Tyutyndjieva and her husband have a grownup daughter. She has traveled widely with her parents, but has not followed into their steps professionally. Maria comes back with more about her unconventional job.

“I’ve been to many hospitals in Austria, Germany and France. Last Xmas in Vienna, a woman from by group fell and broke her arm. It was on a Sunday and we had to call an ambulance and then went to a hospital. Her arm was set in plaster and she joined us for the rest of the trip.”

On another occasion a 73-year-old tourist got lost in Paris. Following a crash hunt, he was finally found absolutely embarrassed. Regarding the foreign tourists that Maria has taken on guided tours in Bulgaria, she says that they are quite disciplined and appear always on time. The guide is happy to have shown some of Bulgaria’s most beautiful places and sites to a few foreign guests. She is happy with both her job and her family.

English version Daniela Konstantinova

По публикацията работи: Lina Ivanova

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The travels of a tourist guide - Maria Tyutyundjieva

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