The Journey that Made Me A Travel Blogger

Let me start this article with the following disclaimers: Firstly, I am not a writer. I like reading, doing research, and listening to people but composing an article to make sense of things based from my experiences is most difficult for me. Secondly, I am not techy. I easily get intimidated by high technology and I am slow in understanding things that has to do with sophisticated gadgets. I own the simplest gadgets with the most basic features. So really I don’t have the characteristics of a blogger to begin with.

So, how am I able to keep Traveler on Foot over the years?  Where do I get the motivation to keep this travel blog running? What is that journey that made me a travel blogger?  These are questions I’ll attempt to answer in this article.

January 14, 2008 –I was sharing with Riza Faigao who owns the site Princesa Lakwatsera, pictures of my two-year son, Joaquin in his first walking tour at the San Miguel District with Ivan Dy. Old-fashioned me that at the age of digital cameras and memory cards I still preferred to have our pictures printed on photo paper.  Riza suggested that I a blog about our trip. I was very doubtful if I can keep a blog. But on that same day, Riza set me up for WordPress. She asked me for a title and the first thing that came to mind was the fun experience we had traveling by foot with Ivan. The Afternoon Stroll at the San Miguel District has become the first post in Traveler on Foot and as they say it, the rest is history. Traveling has become a lifestyle.

Traveler on Foot allowed us to share pictures of our amazing and memorable journeys and together with supporting articles, the pictures have become storied. I was strongly influenced in presenting this travel journal in the same style (or at least made attempts to follow their styles) of veteran bloggers and photojournalists who authored visually appealing sites and have written thought-provoking yet candid articles like Señor Enrique, Tito Basa, Sidney Snoeck, Ferdz Dacena, Oggie Ramos, Connie Veneracion, and Estan Cabigas.

Our travels led from one interest to another. Eventually my interest about our country became more defined. I have become interested in Philippine history, Filipino contemporary art, folk art, architecture, food, 19th and 20th century furniture and objects.

Comments began to pour in. It feels good to read kind and encouraging words from regular followers and accidental viewers about how they got reconnected with their heritage after reading a particular post or how a certain post made them a proud Filipino. But really, the most fulfilling comment is when I learn that I get to influence parents to expose their children to our heritage and share the same hope that their children will fall in love with our heritage the same way we do.

It is always a privilege to listen and learn from people we meet in our travels. We are thankful to the people who became part in building this travel blog. This group consists of artists, historians, heritage advocates, journalists, and fellow bloggers whose works I have always admired and feedback I have always sought. Over the years, they have generously shared their time, knowledge, and resources that inspired and made it possible for me to post articles for Traveler on Foot.

So where do I get the motivation to keep this travel blog running? It stems from a belief that God has given us a beautiful country and I believe He wants every Filipino to experience it. He allowed our nation to have a colorful history so that we get to enjoy today a rich heritage and share our amazing culture to the world!

This article is starting to sound like a declamation piece. So, to describe the journey that made me a travel blogger tells of stories about my journey as a father to Joaquin, as a proud Filipino, and as a son who is forever thankful to God the Father for allowing me to experience this beautiful world He has created for us all.

-Glenn Martinez | Feast of St. Benedict of Nursia 2012
That in all things, God may be glorified.

This is myofficial entry to the  July 2012 Pinoy Travel Bloggers’ Blog Carnival,  The Journey that Made Us a Travel Blogger, compiled by Edmar Gu-Quibb author of Edmaration Etc.