Last Updated on 09.10.2018 by Iliyan

In the following lines, I will present you a remarkable pair of travelers who travel around the world and share their experiences on their own blog. Bistra and Nace of “The Magic of Traveling” will tell us what it is like to be a traveler and a travel blogger.

Contents

Hello, Bistra and Nace! Introduce yourselves with a few words. Where are you from?

Hello, Iliyan! We love to say that we are citizens of the planet Earth. Bistra is from Sofia, and Nace comes from Strumica, Macedonia.

Bistra and Nace in the Seychelles
Bistra and Nace in the Seychelles

How did the story begin for you? Before you started traveling together, did you do it separately?

We met at work (not very romantic) and we found that we really love traveling, especially when we do it together. Before that, we had traveled but not much.

How did you get the idea to create your own blog and why exactly “The magic of traveling”?

Our first more exotic and distant journey was to the island of Bali, Indonesia and we wanted to describe our memories from there in the form of a blog in order not to forget them. We were sending our stories to friends who were interested in our experiences, and later it turned out other people were interested too, so we were actually doing it no just for ourselves, but for others as well. Traveling is a magic that enchants us, and it easily “infects” others. And we want to infect as many people as possible with a wanderlust and desire to explore the world.

San Blas Islands of Panama
San Blas Islands of Panama

In the last years, we have seen a spike of interest towards being a travel blogger in Bulgaria. What is it like to be a travel blogger?

Traveling and exploring the world and its people is one thing, but taking the time and effort to describe experiences so as to convey your experiences to the readers is another story – and you need to be very responsible. If you want to present a place as you have experienced it, that will affect the experience itself while you are there. You think what to photograph, what to write down, so you do not forget what everything was like and so on. Being a travel blogger means you are constantly looking to balance the delight of being somewhere and the responsibility to have enough footage to deliver your story as authentically as you want.

Salar de Uyuni
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Do you feel magic when you travel around the world and how does it affect you?

Always! It makes us constantly positively charged and looking for the good and the positive in every situation, place, in all people.

So far you have visited 69 countries on a total of 6 continents. Where do your dreams extend?

One must always dream BIG, that is how you get closer to realizing your dreams. We dream of visiting the poles of our planet and we sincerely hope to be able to use more affordable space travels.

Senegal
Senegal

Which are your favorite destinations that you want to visit over and over again?

There are few places we would not come back to, we like each destination in a different way. The practice shows that we are coming back to Spain again and again, so there must be something hidden there.

Somewhere along the way in Portugal
Somewhere along the way in Portugal

What’s the funniest and worst moment of your voyages?

A very tough question, always makes us think. Bad moments are when we need to get to know the health systems of different countries. For example, Nace got very sick in China, and although we went to see a doctor along with an interpreter, the check, blood test with results, prescribing drugs and buying drugs took us no more than 5 minutes. The interpreter from the small town of 6 million people told us that he was sorry for the delay, in big cities they were much faster. It’s an unpleasant, but also a fun story. Well, of course, we’ve been robbed twice, but we managed the situation and that did not ruin our trips.

Your last grand voyage lasted about 2 months in Central America. Which places did you visit and what impressions did they leave?

In Central America we set a very ambitious goal of 8 countries for 2 months without fixed plans or itineraries – we arrived with a return plane ticket and a reservation for the first few nights. We visited Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. It is difficult to sum up our impressions in a couple of sentences, but in general, we liked the wonderful nature of the region and people the most. It doesn’t matter that in Guatemala locals treated us as money machines and that did not help us feel welcomed, in the other countries we were surrounded by smiling people and started many new friendships. Now we are trying to catch up with blogging and tell more stories on our blog. We will tell about all the crazy experiences in a book we are drafting at the moment.

Bistra in Costa Rica
Bistra in Costa Rica
White-headed capuchin
White-headed capuchins in Costa Rica

Many people are afraid to travel alone in these countries. Is it really dangerous and what would you say to the people who would like to visit them?

Once it was dangerous in these countries. Nowadays they are working hard to help tourists feel safe and protected. If you follow the well-known travel safety guidelines, do not expect any problems. Many people on the road told us we were crazy as we were planning to go to El Salvador and Honduras. It turned out that none of them had ever been there, but rather had heard from someone else who had heard that there was a danger. We never felt threatened or endangered at any time, but on the contrary – we would return to these underestimated countries because they are amazing.

The Magic of Traveling in Honduras
Bistra and Nace in Honduras

How do you overcome the language barrier in countries where English is not widespread?

We speak Spanish, German and a little Russian, but sometimes this is not enough. For example, in Japan, it does not help. But if you are friendly and smiling, there are always people who will spend their time and help two misguided travelers. Hand and gesture-languages are spoken everywhere, just the communication flows a bit slower.

Maasai Mara National Reserve of Kenya
Maasai Mara National Reserve of Kenya

In addition to your passion for traveling, you love dancing too. Tell me a little more.

We love dancing and wherever we go, we try to learn more about local dance culture and even dance in open spaces or wherever we feel like. In addition, we choreograph and teach dance to people who want to make their event special. We mostly work with couples for their first wedding dance. It fuels us with many positive emotions and we gladly do it when we are in Bulgaria and sometimes online.

Mauritius
Mauritius
Belize
Belize

Bistra, you published a book 2 years ago. Will you tell a little more about how you decided to take this step?

As we were driving on the roads of New Zealand, following tips from a local man we met in the mineral springs, we had an idea. It hit us – local people had very often made our experiences unbelievably good, authentic and memorable. I thought it was time to use new story-telling means – a book. People are so overwhelmed with information online and rarely devote enough time to something. And we wanted to pay special attention to inspiring local people who have changed our journeys. We named the book “The Magic of Traveling: Follow the Locals”. Publishing a book turned out to be far more challenging and energy-intensive than maintaining a blog (and you know a blog is a serious effort already). But when you are determined, you have your friends to support you and you work hard  – there is nothing impossible.

Great White Pelicans in Senegal
Great White Pelicans in Senegal

What’s next for you both?

We were excited to figure out which country to be our number 70. After many changes to our plans, it seems to be a sure thing – we organized a trip to Nepal. Then we think about visiting Jordan. Bistra finalizes the first draft of the second book, so stay tuned for news from us.

The Magic of Traveling Central AmericaI wish you all your dreams come true and visit all the places you dream of. At the end of our interview, what would you recommend to people who still find it difficult to leave their comfort zone?

We believe everyone should be open to the world and to the people. Good attracts more good. The more open-minded you are, the more you give a chance to new things like styles of traveling, accommodation, tours, countries, places, etc., the more you will exceed your own expectations and change your views. This is true for both traveling and anything else in life. Smile, be positive and enjoy the world and the people around you. We, from the Magic of Traveling, will give you ideas, challenges and tips on how to make your dreams come true.

*Follow Bistra and Nace оf “The Magic of Traveling” on their website: www.themagicoftraveling.com

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2 Comments

  1. Thank you for the interview! So happy to be featured on one of our favorite traveler’s website!

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