Mayté Guadalupe Peñaloza Vázquez grew up with the sea as her daily scenery. From a young age, life in the community of El Manglitoin La PazBaja California Sur, Baja California Sur, was marked by the fishing and the proximity to the marine ecosystems.

She comes from a family of fishermen and her whole life has been related to the sea. Today, at the age of 28, she has turned that legacy into a vocation: she is tourist guide specializing in tours of protected natural areaswhere it promotes respect and conservation of the marine environment.

His story was shared on the podcast Voices from the Seaa collaboration between Loudspeaker Radio y NOS Sustainable Northwest which seeks to give a voice to those who live from and with the sea.

This is how a guidebook is born

Mayté's entry into tourism was motivated by economic necessity, but over time she discovered that her work had a much greater value.

"At the beginning it was a job to support the family expenses, personal expenses, my children's expenses. Then you realize that this is what you really like: the activity at sea, the wonders there are, the landscapes, what the sea offers us, such as dolphins and turtles. Every day is a very different spectacle, so that's when I started to get a little more interested in this activity," he says.

His training as a guide has been rigorous and constant. He has certifications such as the NOM09, sea notebookspecialized courses to operate in protected areas, such as the Espiritu Santo Island and sighting areas of the whale shark. He has also taken training in first aid, group management, customer service, diving, mangroves and seabirds.

All this, he assures, allows him to offer safe, informative and deeply connected to nature tours.

But beyond the technical knowledge, Mayté carries with her an experiential and emotional experience that transforms her tours into true learning experiences for those who accompany her.

"One day, when I had a lot of problems in my head and my mind was somewhere else, not focused on work, suddenly I was swimming with the whale shark and a dolphin came along. It was my turn to swim between a dolphin and a whale shark. For me it was a very nice experience, I even feel the connection in that the sea said: 'relax, everything will be fine, everything will flow'. It was something very beautiful. Even my eyes got watery," she recalls.

An opportunity to educate for conservation

On each tour, Mayté explains to visitors the importance of not taking shells with them, not crossing the limits of protected areas, and understanding that conservation is part of enjoyment.

"Here we work more with ecotourism than with mass tourism. People like it when you explain why you can't do things and they understand, because it's not the same when you explain and teach them and make them aware of what things are, as when you just tell them 'you can't do it,'" he says.

In addition to her daily work, Mayté uses social networks to show what she lives in the sea. On her TikTok account (@Maytepv03) and through its website Adventures La PazHe shares videos of marine fauna, landscapes and reflections on his work and life by the ocean.

His message for the new generations, especially for girls and young women, is that if they like the sea, they will not regret it if one day they decide to dedicate themselves to be tourist guidesEvery day is different and you never get tired of admiring the wonders and spectacles that the ocean offers.