Nicolas Bouvier acknowledges that he is reluctant to travel with a group, while admitting that it is sometimes a necessity. His fellow tourists rescue him from loneliness, but his ‘blindness’ and ‘deafness’ are alleviated by a single individual: his guide. Following a guide goes against the stereotype of the independent traveller – it is something tourists do – but travellers like Bouvier are sometimes forced to admit that without a guide or interpreter their travel experience would be impossible or at least incomplete. Even when they do not follow a paid guide or employ an interpreter, all travellers are obliged to seek the aid of an intermediary at some point. Travellees constantly perform acts of guiding and interpreting, frequently on an unofficial basis, with no money changing hands.