Today, Living experience is led by our tour expert Francisco Fonseca.

Whoever takes a tour with Francisco will be greeted with a sincere smile and will surely have a very lively day.

In addition to knowledge, wisdom and professionalism, he exudes sympathy and infects everyone.

He's the perfect host! He is always ready to help and takes whatever is asked of him from beginning to end. He is smiling and friendly to everyone, which makes customers feel affection for him! He is always concerned with the well-being of the group and transmitting the best Living experience.

We narrate Francisco experience here:

When chance turns life into a pendulum of survival, it helps luck to be on our side.

October 15th, 2021 – Another normal day in the daily life of Living Tours. Their daily guests discovering the best of Portugal and Spain with their Tour Experts. Sun is shining, the best gastronomy is always highlighted, unique landscapes or even the biggest and sumptuous adventures of our offer.

Well then, all of this would be considered another normal day of luck and chance, were it not the chance being a person's chance of survival.

We are in the Douro Demarcated Region, UNESCO World Heritage Site, next to Pinhão pier. Hundreds of people enjoy in the middle of the afternoon a unique ride on a Rabelo boat through the waters of the Douro River. Among many groups, there are two that stood out, once they belong to Living Tours – the Tours Experts Marina Vieira and Francisco Fonseca.

Marina is in a mini bus – about 23 guests to discover the beautiful Douro Region are present, while Francisco has a small group of only 4 adventurers. All are in the same boat. We would be nearing the end of cruise when the unthinkable will have happened.

One of our guests is stung by a bee…

One of two German ladies is stung by a bee and goes into anaphylactic shock while still on the cruise. Telephone contact is quickly established with the Tour Experts who are on land. Emergency support is activated as quickly as possible. Maria, the name of the victim, loses consciousness and, reaching land, enters into compulsive ebbs of mouth expelling gastric material.

Quickly, the Tours Experts agreed the scheme to pass Francisco's 4 guests to Marina's bus, so Francisco can be free to help with the entire process that could be needed to help Maria and her travel partner who accompanied her.

Maria and Fraümund, travel partners, were German and were traveling to the north of Portugal for the first time. They were also adventure companions for the first time, despite the friendship that united them for many years. However, they expressed little in foreign languages, which would become a serious problem for the situation that would unfold in the following moments.

It took less than 10 minutes for the ambulance to arrive at Pinhão pier for Maria's assistance. Gradually, our new friend came back to life; however, it was nerves that began to reign with our German guests. Harmfully, the few words of English that would still be present in Maria and Fraümund's minds were beginning to fade. Desperately, paramedics needed to know about medication and allergies. The answers were sorely needed and every second was central to Maria's survival. It is quickly realized that the bee sting must have been in a vein and that the venom is spreading.

Francisco, the Tour Expert, quickly ends up taking action and almost automatically manages to start solving the problem. Francisco's father is a doctor, and speaks German. The connection is established between the entities of the emergency vehicle and Francisco's Father, who, in fact, will have been fundamental for the translation and resolution of taking SOS medication for Maria's salvation.

The greatest affliction eventually passed, Maria's time to go to the nearest hospital on duty, Lamego. Francisco's Father followed the entire process with the paramedics and later with the doctors at the hospital in Lamego.

Fraümund, in a first attempt, wants to go with her friend to the hospital, but she was barred due to the current pandemic crisis. Francisco then takes Maria's friend back to the city of Porto, to the hotel they would be staying at. While the trip goes on, our Tour Expert is in constant contact with his father to understand how the victim is doing, he also connects with Living Tours in the person of our Operations Manager, Tânia Monteiro, so that all means and insurance are active. Francisco also ensured that our guest's relatives, in Germany, were calm in explaining what had happened so that there was serenity and quiet, namely with Maria's daughter.

The unlucky Maria would return to the Always Very Noble City of Porto through the means that Living Tours activated, at the end of the night, namely with a driver who would be native in German so that our guest would feel comfortable, after this less happy episode on our friend Maria's trip.

In the end, everything went well, with Maria, Fraümund and their relatives thanking Living Tours for all the treatment they received throughout the entire process.

Maria and Fraümund are fictitious names as we have not obtained permission from our guests to share the story described here.