PHOTO: José Miguel Martínez Abraham (left) in the Atacama Desert. (photo by Colby Blount)
“And who will care, who will chide you if you wander away from wherever you are, to look for your soul?” wrote the great nature poet, Mary Oliver.
It would appear that Oliver is speaking to those of us who seek fulfillment in the great outdoors.
It certainly does appear that she was speaking directly to and about my tour guide on a recent trip to the driest place in the world, Chile’s Atacama Desert.
The remote Chilean destination—reachable from the U.S. by LATAM Airlines’ year-round direct flights to Santiago (including 32 flights a week from New York’s JFK) and 10-14 daily flight from Santiago to Calama—is renowned for other-worldly landscapes and topographic diversity. The desert’s Valley de la Luna (Valley of the Moon) for instance, is so named for its resemblance to the lunar surface.
In the Atacama Desert one can experience everything from mountain peaks to horizon-grazing salt flats.
While staying at the Atacama iteration of hotel Explora—a group of South-American luxury lodges geared towards the adventurous wayfarer who seeks a confluence of authentic outdoor experience and elegant comfort—we were paired with tour guide José Miguel Martínez Abraham or, Josélo, as we came to know him by the end of our unforgettable four-night stay.
From our first encounter with Jose, his innate love of nature was palpable.
His eyes lit up with wonder when he described the pyroclastic phenomena that led to the formation of the Andes mountain range as we overlooked the peak of volcano Licancabur during a resplendent purple sunset on the salty shores of the Chaxa lagoon. (Explora guides are as much walking encyclopedias as they are companions and helpers.)
I was thus surprised to learn that José was fairly new to the art and science of leading Explora’s curated explorations. I was even more shocked to find that he’d come to this unique career from a former life as an attorney is a high-powered, multi-national consulting firm.
“I used to have pictures of outdoors in my office,” José stated on a drive to an al fresco luncheon the hotel had organized at Cucuter—an alley framed by a canopy of lush trees.
“Now the outdoors is my office!”
As one who has recently transitioned from a scientific career to a creative one anchored by traveling the world, I was curious to learn more about Jose’s career pivot from lawyering to guiding. Jose shared with me many insights, including how he came to work in tourism, his most memorable travel experiences, the transformative power of the Atacama Desert and why he feels Explora is the best way to experience the desert.
José, what made you decide to quit your job as lawyer?
Well, this was a long process. When I was in my first years of college I just wanted to be successful. I studied a lot, always at the library, trying to get the best grades. I succeeded and, on my third year, I was ranked first between my classmates but it felt hollow and purposeless. It was just a number, a rank. And for the first time, I started to feel that being a lawyer was not going to be something I would care too much about.
After getting my degree, I started working. I even went back to college to specialize in what I was working on: corporate labor law. But there was a job fulfillment that I was searching for that just never came.
About two years after I started working, I confronted the truth: Being a lawyer was something I could do, but not something I wanted to do. I imagined myself as an old man, looking back, regretting never taking the chance to do what I really wanted to do, to bet on myself, to follow my passion.
And that was it. The first day after a summer vacation that I took, in which I thought a lot, I went to my boss’ office and just said the words: “I quit.”
How did your friends and family feel about your decision?
I think my friends felt it was a great decision for me. They all knew that, for me, being a lawyer was not an important thing so they were very supportive of my choice. It was understandably difficult for my family, on the other hand, to stand by my choice. After all, I was leaving the safety of a stable career for something uncertain.
But in the end, they supported me, as they have always done. I am very thankful of that.
What was the trajectory of events between quitting your job and becoming a travel guide?
I started exploring the things I thought I would like to do. I started going to seminars of subjects I really liked (and not things I could necessarily profit on).I did several courses of acting; I started going a lot to the hills surrounding Santiago, for a run or for a hike, alone or with friends. In short, I just followed my curiosity wherever it would take me.
It was a period in which I grew a lot.
One of the other things that I did was to enroll myself in a web page that offers uncommon jobs, or, as the name of the web page tells it, “jobs with purpose.” One day, on the webpage I saw a little banner that said: “Apply to become an Explora guide.”
At that time, I knew that Explora existed but I had no idea that they had a program for people coming from outside the tourism industry to become part of their company. I clicked the banner and saw the requirements and job description. When I saw the banner, the deadline for applying was in just 72 hours.
I mentioned this to a friend and he told me exactly what I thought when I saw the job offer: “This is the job you have been searching for.”
So I applied and, after several recruiting steps (outdoors, psychological, physical and interviews), I was privileged enough to be chosen to work in Explora.
What attracted you to Explora?
At its core, Explora is a company that aims to transform the people that go to anyone of its destinations. It is very rare to find a company with such a strong sense of purpose; with an ethos so firmly embedded in itself; with such a clear answer for why it exists.
And why did you choose Atacama?
I choose Atacama for two reasons: The first one is that, when I was 16 years old, I came here with my school classmates and I just loved it: The colors of the sunset, the isolation, the light brown of the mountains—it was amazing.
The second reason is that Explora Atacama is, of all the destinations the company has, the one that offers the most diverse activities. We have treks, bike rides, horseback rides, high mountain ascents, overland trips and even astronomy. And I just wanted to learn and do all of this things because they are all awesome.
What makes the Atacama Desert special?
For me, the Atacama Desert is special for a few reasons. For one: its people. I have had the honor of meeting great Atacameños, the native people of this territory. Extremely caring, honest, happy and hard working. It’s amazing to find inspiration for your daily work from the people that were born and live in the land you are meant to show to the travelers.
The Atacama Desert also has such remarkably different ecological floors, each one with the most beautiful landscapes. And, it has the clearest sky in the world, in which you can see the stars like you have never seen them before: truly jaw-dropping.
The energy of the Atacama Desert is difficult to explain in words, but if you are in Atacama, in its overwhelming beauty, you definitively can feel an energy that uplifts and inspires you.
What is your favorite thing about your new career as an Explora Guide?
Every day, you get to have the chance to inspire the people you go out exploring with.
Of course, it doesn’t happen every time because the travelers that come here have different interests. But, in my experience, many of them come to Explora and to the Atacama Desert not just to see something different but also to experience deep transformation. I always [hope] that the travelers I go out with find something new about themselves by exploring the nature.
And when I accomplish that well, it is the most amazing feeling.
PHOTO: José Miguel Martinez (photo by Colby Blount)
Do you have any regrets about your career change?
Absolutely no! Is there a better and more luxurious office than nature?
Is this a full-time career change? Where do you hope this path leads you in the future?
Yes, it is a full-time career change. I enjoy this job very much, and the tourism industry is both incredibly challenging and fun.
It is amazing how, through a spirit of service, you can create an unbelievable experience for the people. I get to have the power to offer them an experience they will never forget. I sincerely don’t think too much about where this path will lead me in the future. Back in college and in my law career I use to think like that but I found out that is not very useful.
I prefer to concentrate on doing my job the best I can and let the doors open by themselves. When the time comes, I hope I have the wisdom and the courage to make the right choices.
What is your favorite thing about your new career as an Explora Guide?
Every day, you get to have the chance to inspire the people you go out exploring with.
Of course, it doesn’t happen every time because the travelers that come here have different interests. But, in my experience, many of them come to Explora and to the Atacama Desert not just to see something different but also to experience deep transformation. I always [hope] that the travelers I go out with find something new about themselves by exploring the nature.
And when I accomplish that well, it is the most amazing feeling.
Do you have any regrets about your career change?
Absolutely no! Is there a better and more luxurious office than nature?
Is this a full-time career change? Where do you hope this path leads you in the future?
Yes, it is a full-time career change. I enjoy this job very much, and the tourism industry is both incredibly challenging and fun.
It is amazing how, through a spirit of service, you can create an unbelievable experience for the people. I get to have the power to offer them an experience they will never forget. I sincerely don’t think too much about where this path will lead me in the future. Back in college and in my law career I use to think like that but I found out that is not very useful.
I prefer to concentrate on doing my job the best I can and let the doors open by themselves. When the time comes, I hope I have the wisdom and the courage to make the right choices.
What’s your favorite place you’ve ever traveled and why?
It is very difficult for me to choose a place as my favorite; They all have their own and unique charm. But, there is a place that is breathtaking and in which I have had the pleasure of being because of my job: The Uyuni salt flat in Bolivia.
It’s like a white ocean of pure salt, with 10,600 square kilometers (4,090 square miles) of complete silence and isolation. I have never seen a sunset or a moonrise in a more spectacular way than in that place. It sincerely redefines the word “beautiful”.
What has been the ultimate lesson of pursuing your passion for travel as a career?
This is something I would like to make perfectly clear: the pursuit of one’s passion, of joy, fulfillment, in whatever career you choose (guiding, acting, lawyering, engineering, computer science, design, etc.) requires a lot of hard work.
Don’t think for a second that this new path that I chose didn’t come with lots of effort, lack of sleep and, most of all, personal sacrifices. I am doing this because I strongly believe that, to find joy in your life, you have to be honest with yourself. But that same honesty, that leads you to what you really want to do, demands huge sacrifices.
And it is then you have to make a choice: to be average in something you don’t really like or to be great in something you love to do.
If you chose the second one, make no mistake about it, you will have to be up to the challenge, put in the hours, defy yourself and sometimes others. Obstacles are going to be there, ready to pull you down. Some people are not going to understand you, and some of them may even laugh at you. The mainstream, the safe path, is always going to be there, tempting you to renounce, to let it go.
And, at the end, the only thing that will keep you going is the conviction of following your heart. The only way you are going to start acting towards your dream is when you stop treating your passion as an unlikely dream and start seeing it as an achievable goal.
Final Thoughts
Perhaps we aren’t all ready to leave our day jobs to be travel guides, but that should not stop us from getting out there to experience the world when and how we can.
As Mary Oliver put it, “there is time left—fields everywhere invite you into them. Quickly, then, get up, put on your coat, leave your desk!”
And when you do, you must absolutely make your way to the Atacama Desert. LATAM will get you there. José and hotel Explora will be waiting to give you the experience of a lifetime.
The Ecstatic Flash 
Hello (José). It’s me.
I was wondering if after all these years you’d like to meet.