The story of Juan...(posting from the road)

The past 11 days of my life have all fallen to the guidance of a unique man named Juan Tintorio. It sort of feels like I am friends with captain of the football team – no matter where we walk or sail, locals are shouting greetings to Juan. He takes it all in stride, strutting along, shaking hands and kissing babies. I become instantly cooler by association when I am with Juan.

An Ecuadorian native, Juan was relocated to the Galapagos at the age of 3 months...where he remained until he was 38. I was shocked that a person could remain on a small collection of volcanic rocks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for close to four decades. When I initially asked him about it, he just shrugs and says...”it’s my paradise”. It wasn’t until Juan and I became better friends that he explained he was afraid to fly.

This is a man who walks across jagged lava rock and burning sand beaches barefoot. He routinely swims with sharks on extremely technical dives. He spends the majority of his life at sea in a various conditions. He can clearly recall several recent volcanic explosions and tsunami waves. But the thought of an airplane terrified him.

It was actually the lower prices on the mainland that drove him to get on an airplane – for short flights only. He will never fly more than 3 hours or at night. He desperately wants to see Africa and many other areas of the world but can never fly there – I suggested medication but he doesn’t want to be drowsy in case of emergencies. Juan states that is content hearing about the world from the Galapagos visitors. We were looking at a rocky coastline one day; Juan stated that it looked like the coast of Oregon, USA. When I asked how he knew that...he just smiled and replied “travellers tell me, my lady”.

Juan’s passion for all things Galapagos is contagious. He has been a guide for over 30 years but still gets excited at the sight of the animals. I have seen other guides point out something and then wander away, Juan is right there with us – taking photos. He introduces every island the same way “welcome to my paradise”.

While the rest of us traipse around in fancy hiking boots, Juan wanders barefoot. “Shoes are only for the airport or the city only”. He doesn’t have an e-mail or facebook and is labtop is for sorting photos only. He states that he tried to use Google once – too much information came up on the screen. I swear if there was room in his cabin, there would be a set of encyclopedia stacked in there. He doesn’t know how to drive a car and remains single after 50 years.

I wrote this because Juan is amazing and I wanted to tell you all about him. Not very often in life do you get the chance to meet someone who is truly happy in every sense of the word. He has very few ‘things’, not due to a lack of funds but rather the recognition that they aren’t needed. Juan is lucky – he has found his paradise...and he gets to spend his life showing it off to others.

Juan, I know you will never read this, but should someone every show it to you...thank you.