Hey there my Steemit friends! So I'm here in the Galapagos Islands. I can't believe I've been here already a week. In this short time I've made a couple "Travel Pro Travel Plan Changes!" that I'll get into in just a bit. I actually didn't even plan on coming to the Galapagos as it's generally not a very "Travel Pro Budget Destination!"
The Galapagos is by far the most expensive place you can go in this part of the world in general. Besides it being a tourism mecca, they have to import all their products 1,000 kilometers off shore from the main land. Meaning the same strawberries I was buying for one dollar a pound are now three dollars a pound for example.
No $12 dollar a night hotels here either. Eating out, that's about double to ten times as expensive as well. So being a long term budget traveler I normally don't get too excited about blowing my budget. But, sometimes you just have to reassess your life situation, your finances, your earning potential, and celebrate when appropriate.
That is what this trip to the Galapagos is all about for me. What I'm celebrating is my "Travel Pro" success here on Steemit! The original plan dating back to November was to leave Ecuador and head south to Peru around January 10th. However I simply couldn't neglect or ignore the explosion of attention, followers, and earnings I was suddenly having on Steemit.
This was around the same time the price of steem/SBD went way up around the end of December. Being the opportunist that I am, I went from posting once a day, to three times a day capitalizing on the situation while not being too piggish. I soon settled on twice a day as I simply couldn't keep up and still have time for myself.
However this had my earnings going up by about 30 times! Which was unreal while the SBD was trading over 10 USD. I went from about 600 followers in December and now I'm honing in on 1200. I suddenly found my time and even days just going by while I typed away on my computer. I saw myself spending 30 minutes a day doing replies to two-three hours a day doing replies. I went from reaching out to others for support on the platform to others reaching out to me! I went from rep number of about 57 to now 64!
I had to learn ways to manage my time. I learned about voting bots and how to set them up. I had to learn about moving money around the crypto scene into other cryptos, cash, silver, and gold. Probably most importantly I learned how to use steem auto's auto post feature which is really saving my rear while here in the Galapagos.
All of these things while continually pumping out two posts a day took up weeks of time. So much time instead of leaving to Peru on January 10th I was cooped up in my hotel in Guayaquil Ecuador until the 30th. Some days I didn't even leave my room. I was just online all day!
I'm now learning what it means to be a true Travel Blogger. I'm very stubborn and hate to fail. I've made a set goal to post twice a day seven days a week. This includes longer more in-depth posts Mon-Fri mornings for the Sndbox group I'm apart of.
So much of my life has not been about travel lately, it's been ALL about steemit, blogging, my relationships on steemit, and crypto currencies. Essentially this is exactly what I wanted and now that my dream has come true to be a paid travel writer who's work is in demand and valued by many; I suddenly find myself trying to figure out a balance between traveling and blogging.
I don't want to think of this new situation a "be careful of what you wish for" kind of deal. I'm devoted to finding a balance, applying new time management strategies, and simply figuring out how to stay "Travel Pro" in this new highly rewarding position I find myself in.
I've calculated that to create 14 posts a week like I have that's about 20 hours a week of work right there, then to reply and be social on the platform, discord, steemit chat, sndbox group that is about another 10-15 hours a week. Then several hours editing photos each week as well. So suddenly I have a full time job, combined with traveling it's turning into a real challenge with time management.
Now don't bother to leave replies like "post less", or just ignore what I have going on. On just "have fun and go on Steemit when you want". I just don't work that way. I do things 100% or I don't do them at all. I've always been that way, and that is what I attribute many of my life's successes to including this one.
I came to steemit to share my travels and travel knowledge, and now that I'm finally being rewarded for it I couldn't be happier. This is exactly what I wanted and I thank all my steemit friends for your interest and support! I'm just in a phase of adjustment to live how I'm used to, "Travel Pro" and keep up with all that I'm doing on Steemit.
Part of this will probably be shorter replies, getting real comfortable setting up steem auto, and probably taking one week a month to write as many travel posts as I can and have them backlogged for times when I simply can't keep up. I've never been one to shy away from work when it's worth while and rewarding, and my blog on Steemit certainly is both. If I can write and create posts for 70 hours in one week and then travel and write a little bit the following three, I'd be totally happy with that.
For now that is my plan. So I left Guayaquil for the Galapagos with a good 10 posts backlogged that I've been sharing with my awesome Steemit friends. Before I left to the Galapagos, I told my dad that it would be an all out crying shame for me to come to a place like this and just sit in my room all day writing and I have not been doing that other than a couple hours in the evening and thirty minutes in the mornings.
So what is up besides all that? The Galapagos is awesome! I've never been to a place so teeming with wildlife. What's more incredible about this place is that the animals are totally not afraid of us humans. It's like they have this way about them that seemingly says "these are our islands and we heavily out number you humans so you better get used us." when often it's the other way around.
I've been taking so many wildlife photos it's just incredible, and I can't wait to start doing posts on them and sharing all the incredible moments I'm having here on the Island of San Cristobal. You'll see photos where I capture multiple animals of different species in one shot. They'll be photos of how many iguanas can you count in one picture.
I've walked beaches surrounded by sea lions. I've even filmed two sea lions jousting for mating rights, or some sort of dominance related horse playing. I've gone on long hikes and photographed incredible landscapes. I've certainly wandered through the main town doing my favorite activity, taking photos for my "Real Life Captured" series.
I've visited the museum and learned all about the history of this place. I've met a lot of interesting people from around the world. Including Switzerland, Japan, Argentina, and Israel to name a few. It's funny how people form other countries get excited when I say I'm from New York; then I explain Albany New York not New York City and they all look disappointed!
I've done lots of amazing things here but one thing is for certain. Life has progressed. I'm no longer traveling for myself entirely, I'm now traveling for 1200 followers and counting and trying to bring you all along with me. I'm trying to represent for Steemit and my Sndbox group. I've traveled for myself for over 11 years. Now I'm happy I have a little more purpose behind my travels. Taking photographs have become much more important, and is now a hobby I really enjoy!
One thing that has been a total surprise disappointment is that the entire Galapagos Islands area has the worst wifi I've ever experienced, ever! I thought it was just my hotel, but it's the Galapagos itself. It's so bad I often don't have enough power to get my email, it takes a full minute to upload a photo if it works at all. Skype, forget about it, youtube, not happening either. Fortunately I can load up steem auto with posts; with a lot of patience I've spent several hours getting some posts out. The download speed is about 30kb/s and sometime it's just not working at all.
I bought a round trip ticket and head back to Guayaquil on the 8th of February and was considering setting myself up with a connecting flight to Lima Peru; but the internet here is so bad I can't even buy a plane ticket let alone do research where I'd go and what I'd do. So I made a phone call setting up a week's stay at the hotel I'm comfortable at in Guayaquil. There I'll edit photos, write a bunch of posts, and plan my travels.
This is actually my first year traveling alone, without a girlfriend. I figured I would have met somebody by now, but everyone has their lives to go back to, where my life is that of a Travel Blogger now. So let it be known, I enjoy traveling solo, but I'd prefer to meet Miss Travel Pro! If you are out there in Steemit Land, feel free to give me a private message on steemit chat, and I may fly half way across the world to meet you! Until next time, checking in from the Galapagos! -Dan "World Travel Pro!"
Not To be Missed!
Real Life Captured #65: Yellow Green Farmers Market in Hollywood Florida USA! Part Six (13 photos)
Real Life Captured #66: Guayaquil Ecuador! Part Five (13 photos)
Travel Pro Hotels #8: Hotel Rio Guayas, Guayaquil Ecuador! An Ideal Travel Pro Hotel! (9 photos)
Travel Pro Places of Interest #5: Parque Seminario "Iguana Park", Guayaquil Ecuador! (19 photos)
Travel Pro Deals #2: Three Travel Pro Deals Found in Ecuador!
With over 11 years of travel experience I answer travel and international lifestyle questions. Leave a question in the comments and I may make a Steemit post just for you!
