[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
A few days ago, I had a conversation with \u00c0ngels Gascue\u00f1a, a mountain guide who specialises on guiding people with physical impairments. \u00c0ngels is part of Guies d\u2019Arrel, a team devoted to inclusive guidance which we are proud to work with to offer our inclusive tourism activities. This conversation, along with the guided tour around Bag\u00e0\u2019s Old Town I gave a group of people with visual impairment \u00c0ngels herself brought to me a couple of weeks ago, made aware of a very basic thing:\u00a0heritage \u2013both natural and cultural\u2013 belongs to all of us, hence it must be accessible to everyone<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Thus, I started to search information about the matter, only to find an enormous gap. For those who are familiar with the issue, I guess I\u2019m not bringing up anything new to you. However, I was staggered by the fact that\u00a0there are such few people working to put the mountains and the activities in the nature within everyone\u2019s reach.<\/strong>\u00a0Not only in Catalunya, but in the whole Spanish State, the number of companies working on that is extremely limited. And I mean working on it\u00a0for real<\/em>, because having a Jo\u00eblette chair just in case someone asks for it is not the same than organising activities designed to be suitable for all people.<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_empty_space height=”38px”][vc_single_image image=”17018″ img_size=”full”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n I find it terrible that, apparently, the only way to enjoy the mountains and the landscape if you have a physical disability is by going into competition. But, what if you don\u2019t want to compete? What if all you want is to go on an excursion, or to climb the Moixer\u00f3, but you must do it on a wheel chair? What if you want to discover your region\u2019s landscape, but you have a visual impairment? We must have a touristic offer that puts the land within everybody\u2019s reach, and it is necessary to stimulate the demand of such activities. Discovering the mountain, the nature, the landscape, is a gratifying, unique and magical experience that anyone should be able to enjoy. But, most of all,\u00a0everybody should now that they\u00a0can<\/em>\u00a0enjoy it<\/strong>. Because there are people and companies committed to demolish the barrier between the mountain and people with functional diversity. Because, thanks to people like\u00a0Guies d\u2019Arrel<\/a>\u00a0or the members of the Eid\u00f3s Project, it is possible to explore the region without the fact of having a disability being a hindrance.<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n How? Well, for instance, organising outings with\u00a0Jo\u00ebllete chairs, directional bars or sign language interpreters.\u00a0<\/strong>Rocky slopes are the only terrain that a Jo\u00ebllet chair cannot defy; you can even go on a route in the snow! Directional bars are perfect for people with a visual impairment if the terrain is very technical, yet it\u2019s not always needed. It depends a lot on the person and the trail, that\u2019s why the guides have extensive training. The guides also carry tactile materials on the outings: maps in relief for everyone to discover the landscape, different rocks to get to know the region\u2019s geology, animal pelts and bones to allow contact with the area\u2019s wildlife\u2026 Nature is more than just landscape: it is smells, textures, sounds. There are countless ways to enjoy it, and everyone has their own. In Pedratour, for instance, we work on this idea through our\u00a05 senses stay<\/strong>: it\u2019s a 3 day stay, suitable for everyone, to approach the natural environment in many different ways.<\/p>\n Well, this is the kind of thing we must try to promote. There\u2019s room for everyone in the mountain, and this is why we must be accessible through all the territory. We must encourage formation on inclusivity in tourism and leisure companies, and we have to promote the demand of activities in the nature that are accessible to people with functional diversity. Because some of these activities exist, but, above all, because many\u00a0can<\/em>\u00a0exist.\u00a0It is possible for the natural environment and the mountain to be within everyone\u2019s reach<\/strong>, because it is heritage. And it belongs to all of us.<\/p>\n There\u2019s much talk about\u00a0sustainability<\/strong>, these days. And that\u2019s great and necessary, but sustainability must be present in all aspects. In Pedratour, we take very seriously the sustainability issue, in all its sides. This is why we insist on the importance of working for a tourism that is sustainable in the environmental aspect \u2013of course\u2013, but also socially and economically speaking. And\u00a0social sustainability<\/strong>\u00a0necessarily includes accessibility. Therefore, we all must work to make everything the land has to offer accessible to everyone.<\/p>\n This is a job we must do to improve as a society, and to be able to share without barriers what we love the most: the culture, the land, the mountain, the nature. Furthermore, it\u2019s a win-win! To reinforce this message, allow me to end citing the PREDIF Accessibility Guide:\u00a0\u201cAccessibility is indispensable for 10% of the population, necessary for 40%, and comfortable for 100%\u201d<\/strong>. So, let\u2019s work for a mountain with no barriers!<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] A few days ago, I had a conversation with \u00c0ngels Gascue\u00f1a, a mountain guide who specialises on guiding people with physical impairments. \u00c0ngels is part of Guies d\u2019Arrel, a team devoted to inclusive guidance which we are proud to work with to offer our inclusive tourism activities. This conversation, along with the guided tour […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16629,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[217],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pedratour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}