Why I’m Making Travel Videos
I’m not sure why some of us like to travel and others of us are content to never leave the town we were born in. I don’t think it’s genetic. I’m addicted to travel, but neither of my parents went out of their way to travel the world. They did the odd few trips, but nothing that made me think that one day I’d like to be like them. Somehow or other, as soon as I began teaching I became infected with the travel bug.
Seeing the world
It seems unbelievable, but I have lived and worked in 13 different countries. I used my teaching to see the world. I have lived in countries where there have been coups, protests and civil war. Life has been pretty exciting at times. Until my 3 children reached adulthood, they traveled with me. So I have traveled with a family and traveled as a solo traveler. All in all, I have visited 64 different countries, but there are still a lot more to go. I’m not even halfway! And it’s not as if I’m rich either, many years I just about had money to get by. As a teacher, school holidays were always a great opportunity to travel to different places. Holidays were always done on a tight budget and I always went with the cheapest options. This included using local transport, staying in some suspect places and eating street food. Looking back, I’m pleased that’s the path I chose. If I was only going to travel when I had enough money for a resort, then I would never have traveled. Now I travel alone, for the first time in my life I can afford to upgrade a little. I can eat at decent restaurants, take tours, go on cruises and stay in 3 star hotels. I should be saving for my retirement, but I’d rather keep traveling. It’s all about personal priorities I guess. I just want to live my life to the fullest and see it all.
Keeping a record
Photography has always been a hobby of mine as soon as I got my first Brownie camera as a young child. I enjoy it even though my children often tell me that I’m not very good at it. I quite like the photos I take and I guess that’s what matters. I have this compulsive need to take photos of my travels. It’s like I want to capture all the memories for the time when my memory fades. Then I can look at my photos and remember. I was there. I did it!
Taking photographs is keeping a record. Documenting my journey through life. Unfortunately, over the years I’ve had several laptops, hard drives and cameras stolen. All my digital photos lost with each theft. Each time I was heartbroken. Not so upset about losing the device as I was losing the photos and all the memories they held. Those photos can never be replaced. The last few years I’ve started saving my photos on Facebook in albums. Not to brag about my travels, but to ensure that if my laptop or hard drive is stolen, I would still have my photos. Keeping a record is important to me. Like my collection of fridge magnets and Starbucks mugs from the places I visit. Maybe I am psychic and know that I will get Alzheimers one day, and that’s why I have this compulsion to keep a record of my travels.
Starting a Youtube Channel
Just before my trip to Iceland in February 2019, I bought a GoPro Hero 7. This was because I was going to snowmobile on a glacier and I wanted to record the experience. The fact that the battery of my GoPro died just before I climbed on the snowmobile is besides the point. Sometimes annoying things happen. It’s just one of the unfortunate aspects of life. But regardless, having the GoPro opened my eyes to the possibilities of video. So i revamped my Youtube Channel I had started way back in 2010 as an avenue to market my novels, and had forgotten about for several years.
I was now an old fat woman Youtuber.
Besides some of my book trailers, my Youtube channel is largely in the Travel niche. I’ve started making videoas of some of my past travels, as well as making videos of all the trips I am currently doing. Being a creative person, I enjoy the editing process. But what I’m really enjoying is reliving magical memories as I sift through old photos of my travels. It reminds me of how blessed I’ve been. Many people wish they could travel to the places I’ve been to. I am one lucky old woman! That’s why I thought I would aim my Youtube Travel Channel at armchair travelers and older travelers. In particular, solo travelers in the over fifty range. But of course, you don’t have to be over 50 to watch the videos on my channel. People of any age would derive benefit from it.
If you are interested in travel, like to find out more about the world and get handy travel tips, then you can subscribe to my Youtube Channel. It costs nothing, it’s not a paid subscription. All it means is that when I post a new video each week, it will appear on your Youtube news feed. If you click on the bell which is to the right of the subscribe button, then you will be notified when I upload a new video. You won’t be spammed to your email, it will just show up in your notifications when you log in to Youtube. You can subscribe to my channel when you click on this link to my Channel Trailer.
You can find out more about my books on my author website www.cindyvine.com. You can follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram @cindyvine. I also have a food blog inspired by my travels called Around the World in Eighty Plates. Here is the link for that. I would love for you to follow me on the different platforms, like – subscribe and comment. If you’d like one of the Travel Bug t-shirts I designed, you can find it here.
