Each week we feature an interview with a member of the Superstar Blogging community. These interviews highlight the ups and downs faced on the road to success, illuminating helpful tips and tricks along the way. If you want to get inspired and succeed in the world of travel blogging, video, writing, or photography then consider these interviews must-read material! This week we are featuring Miguel from the Business of Blogging course.
Tell us about yourself!
Hi everyone! I’m Miguel. I’m from the Basque Country, Spain. Although I worked for seven years as an architect, my real passion has always been travel and adventure sports. I love hiking, climbing, scuba diving, rafting, and other crazy activities. Basically, anything related to the outdoors that gives you some adrenaline – I’m in.
On top of that, I’m from a small town where nothing ever happens. You can imagine that having lived there while enjoying such hobbies, I had to leave the nest and explore new frontiers.
Where did your love of travel begin?
My family had a house in Andalucia, the south of Spain, and we used to go there every summer. I remember how I enjoyed every trip, but not because I was going to Andalucia. I enjoyed the trip itself: sitting in the car, watching the landscapes, making stops to eat something, getting gas for the car, etc. On the other hand, most other kids were like “Are we there yet?” I didn’t want to arrive at the destination because the trip was so great.
When I was 16, I traveled to the Czech Republic with a few friends and it was an unforgettable experience. I felt like that trip changed something inside me.
When I finished University, I moved to Barcelona. I had a nice group of friends and a well-paying job. That’s what most people would call a “successful life.” However, every day I felt something in my stomach calling me to explore other places, to travel, to get out of my comfort zone. It was like an obsession; I needed to travel the world.
Conveniently enough, I lost my job due to the financial crisis. No doubt, this was when my new life began. I started traveling and I was the happiest person on earth. My initial plan was to do a round-the-world trip in a year, but I had some savings and traveling is like a drug: Once you start, it’s hard to stop.
I started in Africa, visiting the West Coast. After that, I traveled around India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and then Southeast Asia. That was my first big trip and I did it in about two years. I went back home due to a health issue. Once I recovered, I flew to South America.
I had a little problem in South America: I just fell in love. I fell in love with the culture, the people, the forests, the food, the parties, the music, the dances…everything! I couldn’t leave the continent. It’s going to be almost five years now, five years living in South America. I think meeting people is the best part of travel, and while Asia and Africa are perhaps more interesting in certain aspects, the contact with the local people is not the same as it is in South America. And I speak Spanish. It’s my mother tongue! It’s great to travel to other countries and make friends in your own language.
I’ve traveled to more than 60 countries now and I hope that number will keep growing, but not just for the sake of travel. I’m not a stamp collector. I travel differently now. I visit fewer countries, but for those I visit, I want to learn something and share something. Like now, I’m in Rio de Janeiro, but I’m not a tourist. I’m kind of living here. It’s been five months in the city now, and I’ll stay longer, a few more months.
60 countries is a lot! Do you have any favorite destinations?
Tough question. I guess the first one would be Africa. It was the first time I traveled out of Europe and I had the crazy idea of going to Mali and Burkina Faso. Yeah! It was a very strong cultural shock. That trip really changed my perspective about life and what’s important. I was traveling with my girlfriend, and we didn’t even speak French! Being in Mali at the age of 23, traveling the country by public transport, without any knowledge of the language…it was a real adventure, and we certainly loved those countries.
Another trip I’ll never forget was the Andean route. With a friend of mine, I traveled the entire Andean range from Venezuela to Argentina. Not only did we hike (there were a lot of hikes), we also took buses, visited cities and even went to the coast a few times. The main trip, however, was along the Andean Range. When we arrived at the hiking paradise of Patagonia, I couldn’t believe it. It was so beautiful and we were so close to the end. As a hiking lover, there are two places that blew my mind: the Fitz Roy Trek in Argentina and the hike to Las Torres del Paine in Chile. If anyone is looking for top-class trails, those places will never disappoint.
What destinations are still in your bucket list?
Africa and Central Asia.
I have an ambitious plan for next year but it’s not well-conceived yet. My idea starts with flying to the Indian Himalayas, around Darjeeling. That would be the starting point. Then I would cross the Himalayas all the way through India, Nepal, Ladakh, and Pakistan, then probably continue through Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Iran.
I’ve always wanted to go back to Nepal since the first time I visited the country, and that would be the perfect opportunity to do so. On my first visit, I hiked to the Annapurna Sanctuary, which is definitely one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. If I go back, I’d like to hike the complete 23-day circuit and keep on the Himalayan route towards India and Pakistan. I have to study the routes, but it makes sense in my head. The problem is that sometimes my head doesn’t make much sense!
Another option would be a trip from Cairo to Cape Town, crossing East Africa by public transport. And there is a crazier idea, which is doing both trips together, starting in India and finishing in Cape Town, but yes, that would take me a few years. As I said, I don’t like to visit countries too quickly, so staying a few months in each country…I think I’d go back to Spain being 45 years old or so.
With so much traveling, you’ve likely had some misadventures. Care to share any?
I’ve been assaulted, I’ve been near several shootings, I’ve encountered guerrillas in Myanmar, I’ve had both parasites and dengue, I’ve had a little scooter accident and experienced other potentially dangerous situations. I think all those things are completely normal if you’ve been traveling for almost seven years. I’d say they taught me to be careful, but it’s not true. I’ve always been careful, and yet all those things happened. They taught me that we have to use common sense as much as we can. Yes, we have to be careful but sometimes you can’t prevent those things from happening. I wouldn’t stop doing what I like doing because I’m afraid something might happen.
When did you start your blog during all these travels?
When I started traveling around Africa and Asia, I knew it was going to be a long trip. I decided to start a blog so my family and friends would know where in the world I was. It wasn’t even a travel blog, just a basic blog with stories, photos, etc. It was only in Spanish and had no commercial purposes. I was traveling and writing and that was it.
A few years later, when I was running out of money and thinking about what I’d do with my life (I admit, I was completely lost), I met a guy in Indonesia. He told me about his travel blog. He was making money online and traveling the world. I was like, “What? Is that even possible?” That guy blew my mind! I thought, ‘This guy has been traveling for two years and he has a successful blog. Maybe I should try to do something like that.”
Then I decided to create a more professional-looking blog, in both English and Spanish, and try to make a living out of it. Basically, I’d already been blogging for five years, but I’d never focused on getting a bigger audience. Now I’d take it seriously and transform my passion into a business. Doing what you love for a living – isn’t that what everybody wants?
Has blogging changed how you travel?
Yes, definitely. I think blogging is great. It’s feels so good when you write a nice piece of content, you share it, people like it, and you give some travelers helpful tips. However, you become a bit of a slave to responsibilities. You have to answer emails, check social media, you have deadlines, you have to think about what would be a good place to visit so you can write a great post, etc. Blogging can be just like any other job in relation to worked hours. During the first few months, I worked for nine to 11 hours a day, so it was pretty much impossible to travel and work at the same time.
In the beginning, I was traveling with a cheap laptop, an old Canon, and a few articles of clothing. I didn’t have to worry much about my backpack. Now I have an expensive laptop and camera, and that changed the way I travel. I have to be careful with my belongings all the time.
Now that you’re taking your blog more seriously, what are your blogging goals for 2017?
I want to grow the number of followers and create a loyal community. When I started my blog, I was living in Guatemala, so I wasn’t really traveling at that moment. However, I had so much content and photos from my last years of adventures that I could get started. I started writing one day about Venezuela, another day about Papua, and yet another day about Guinea. There was not much of a relationship between posts.
I think it’s difficult to gain loyal followers when you aren’t traveling and posting in real time, so that’s my 2017 goal. I want to finish writing about all the places I’ve visited in the last few years and start a new trip. So, if I’m doing the Cairo-to-Cape-Town trip, I’ll be posting about Egypt today, then my readers will know that next month will be Sudan, then Ethiopia next month, and so on. It makes more sense for the blog and it makes more sense for my followers.
We all know blogging can be a struggle. What is the area of blogging you have the most trouble with?
In the beginning, it was SEO because I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. But, you know? I kind of like it now. I think the most trouble now would be social media. I don’t think it’s hard, it’s just that I don’t like it. I’ve never been a Facebook or Twitter person. I know it’s very important for the blog, and that’s why I make a big effort every day and spend an hour or so on social media. The only thing I like about social media is getting in contact with other bloggers, sharing tips, etc. I like that part. But promotion, posting updates about what you’re doing, etc.…it’s not for me. If it wasn’t for the blog, I wouldn’t have a Twitter account, for example.
Another difficulty, as a Spaniard, is the language. I think my English is pretty “acceptable” for a Spanish guy, but it’s hard to write in English with no mistakes. I think Spain must be the European country whose inhabitants speak the worst English! Fortunately, I hired a woman from the USA who edits all my posts and I’m very happy with her.
What is one thing you wish you knew before you started blogging?
Before I started, I had a lot of long conversations with a blogger friend, so I had a good picture of what I was getting myself into. However, I wish I had thought of a better name. I like travelsauro, but it’s related to travel too much. Yes, I have a travel blog, but I also talk about outdoor adventures like hiking, scuba diving, paragliding, etc. and sometimes I feel like the name doesn’t match. But it’s OK. It’s not that bad.
We have a lot of new bloggers in the course. What tips do you have for them?
- Try to do something that hasn’t been done yet. Something different. If you’re writing about the “Top 10 best things to do in Barcelona,” it’s going to be a hard path. There will be hundreds of blogs that rank much better than yours for those keywords, and nobody will know you exist.
- Write excellent, helpful, long posts. If you’re going to write about a topic, find good posts about it and then write something that’s way better than those, even if it takes you several days. Then you can share those posts with the right people, who will link to you and share your posts because you’ve written something great
- In the beginning, I wanted a lot of content so I could launch my blog and get started as soon as possible. After a while, I realized that some of the posts I’d written were terrible. I had to rewrite several parts, delete some, etc. My tip would be to not think about quantity, only quality.
What about tips for travelers. Any advice to share?
- Travel as light as you can.
- Don’t pay much attention to what most people will tell you, like it’s dangerous, you’ll get kidnapped, etc. Follow your instinct and use common sense and things will usually be fine.
- Try to get in contact with the local people as much as you can. Trust people even (and especially) when they speak a different language, practice a different religion, or have a different culture.
- Try to get off the beaten path as much as you can.
- Do a few crazy things. Try new experiences, food, activities. Enjoy life!
You’ve been in a bunch of unpleasant situations, yet you still travel. Why?
One day I realized that, without traveling, my life would make no sense. So, in a certain way that’s the reason. It gives sense to my life. I don’t even know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes, when I think about settling down and having a “normal” life, I don’t think I could do that. Travel makes me happy, and we have to be happy in life, don’t we?
Now, where can everyone find you online?
My website is Travelsauro and you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.