Maritina and Konstantinos share something in common: their love for travel. They met six years ago and since then, they have been traveling the world, collecting experiences and photographing it.
In an interview with News 24/7, they talk about their getaways, share memories, advise young travelers, and, of course, comment on the “new reality” of the coronavirus.
The two stand out because they manage to find something to be optimistic about, even in the most ominous circumstances, constantly creating new opportunities.
“We try to organize small getaways quite often.”
“We are Maritina and Konstantinos, or the farawayfarers. We are 30 years old.
We are not photographers. We work in the creative department of an advertising company, where we met six years ago. Konstantinos as an illustrator and Maritina as a designer. From our first conversations, we realized that we are united by our love for travel, nature, and photography.
We really enjoy discovering pristine and isolated places that not many people know about, whether they are close to Athens or not. We often try to organize small getaways and hikes, exploring beaches, mountains, rivers, forests, and canyons. We feel very lucky to live in Greece. We consider its natural wealth unique, and the options for getaways are endless all year round.”
What we really enjoy doing when we’re in Athens is biking. Whether it’s in the city center on Filopappou Hill or longer rides following the bike path all the way to the beach. On weekends when we have more time, if we haven’t gone on a trip, we go hiking in the nearby mountains of Athens, such as Parnitha.
Beyond photography and travel, Konstantinos has been involved with music for many years. He plays guitar, and from time to time, we see him performing at small live stages in Athens.
Maritina is passionate about beach volleyball, regularly training, and often you’ll find her at a tournament.
For us, travel means “photography,” and photography means “travel.”
Both of us have always had the dream of traveling the world someday. It’s a dream that everyone has, right? Who doesn’t like to travel?
The difference is that for us, travel means “photography,” and photography means “travel.” We realized this when we traveled together for the first time about 4-5 years ago. That’s when our whole philosophy shifted. Now, we don’t just want to travel the world. We want to discover as many places as possible through photography.
Travel for us now is entirely dependent on photography. The excitement and enthusiasm we feel every time aren’t born exclusively from the destination we’re visiting, but from the act of photographing it. Photography for us isn’t just the equipment, the subject, or the photo itself. Photography for us is the whole journey. The challenges, the unexpected moments, the people, and the landscapes we encounter before each click. Through this, we find inspiration and relive the journey over and over again.
After each trip, the moments that stick with us most are the tough times we may have experienced there, the ones that may not have been captured in photos. We reminisce about them, laugh, feel proud of overcoming them, and stronger for the next experience.
Two people who are deeply passionate about creating, in any form, could never have a daily occupation that isn’t creative.
Our work is another aspect of our lives that plays a very important role for both of us. We feel very lucky that our profession is something we love. Two people who are deeply passionate about creating, in any form, could never have a daily occupation that isn’t creative. This is what keeps us alert, and we are grateful to have achieved this.
However, the daily routine at the office is no different from the routine anyone else has in their own workspace. Our vacation days are limited, and we try to save as many days as possible for long trips. Fortunately, we have a lot of support in this. We believe that if someone truly wants to travel, they can certainly organize their days and finances to make it happen.
The magic of a trip begins with the preparation.
Today, it’s so easy to travel (well, it was at least before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out). Aside from the cost of airline tickets (which varies depending on the destination), it’s now possible to organize a trip on the budget you want. There are many enchanting destinations that are much more affordable than the Western world, along with a wide range of new, alternative accommodation options.
It’s true that many people are still afraid to take the first step and are intimidated by the idea of traveling alone, or struggle with organization and, therefore, resort to travel agencies where unfortunately the costs are unbearable. However, the beginning is half the battle. The magic of a trip starts with the preparation. Organizing it may seem like a mountain, but once it starts to come together, the journey has already begun.
When organizing a trip, one must research, read, and gather information about the destination. There are countless helpful travel blogs, tips, recommended accommodations, and even ready-made itineraries for all budgets available online. The internet is now a treasure trove that, with the right search, can be life-saving. Whatever you need, you’ll find it.
We see a lot of interest from people who reach out and ask us about our travels, and this makes us very happy. For this reason, it’s part of our immediate plans to create a blog where we will share the full itinerary we’ve followed for each destination (both in and outside Greece), tips, and photographic material.
Nature and beautiful landscapes are all around us.
Our advice to anyone who loves travel is to aim to do it more often, whether within or outside the borders.
Our goal is to inspire people through our page to travel more, without it meaning they need to go on expensive or long trips. Nature and beautiful landscapes are everywhere around us, and we should make the most of them. It should be understood that wherever you are, there are certainly hidden, unexplored treasures. All it takes is the desire to discover them.
The most “powerful” experience we’ve had so far was our trip to Namibia.
Our most “powerful” experience so far was our trip to Namibia. Namibia was a destination we had both dreamed of visiting for years. The reason was that it inspired us photographically, and we considered it the most photogenic country we had ever seen. The truth is that what we saw and experienced up close far exceeded our expectations.
Namibia is a country that filled us with images and emotions. Emotions that are hard to describe and share.
Namibia stood out to us for its contrasts. There, we saw the Atlantic Ocean meet the world’s oldest desert, locals with blonde hair and blue eyes in the heart of Africa, Bavarian cities buried in the desert, wild animals crossing the road we were driving on, and tribes living in harmony with the modern world.
Namibia is a country where we encountered the most bizarre yet authentic images.
Namibia is an epic country. It’s a country in Africa that, many times, doesn’t feel like Africa. It’s a surreal painting. It’s a land of contrasts.
If everything goes well, in October we’ll be speaking in detail about our trip at TRAVELFEST2020.
The coronavirus caught us all unprepared.
The coronavirus is a global phenomenon that shook, and continues to shake, humanity, and its consequences will be swift and far-reaching in all areas. It’s a phenomenon that caught us all off guard, and no one can predict how things will unfold from here on out.
For us, this lockdown had some positive effects. Although we continued working remotely as usual, we enjoyed creative activities that we had missed for so long (music, gardening, cooking, exercising), we relaxed quite a bit, and found time to organize our next plans. The truth is, we really needed it, just like many others.
No one can predict exactly what the future of travel will look like.
Whether we like it or not, we are entering a new reality. We are learning to live with it, and as expected, we will likely learn to travel with it as well. Unfortunately, travel is quite a unique issue. No one can predict exactly what the future of travel will be like or under what conditions it will take place.
At some point, borders will begin to open again. People will start traveling once more, but with many protective measures and greater security. Especially at first, those who want to travel will need to examine the country they want to visit. Each country has its own policies for dealing with the coronavirus, its own history, and takes different measures.
The impact that the coronavirus has left on travelers is not just the fact that it locked them down and restricted them for 2-3-5 months within their homes or borders. That will pass. The impact is much deeper and more complex. The financial consequences for airlines during this period are enormous. We believe that many of them, if they don’t close, will have to significantly raise the prices of airline tickets. Something we hope doesn’t happen, because that would make traveling much harder.
There are so many hidden treasures in our country, and now is the perfect time to explore them.
Like many others, we too have already lost a trip we had planned for April to Central America. Of course, we miss traveling, and we believe that after all of this, we will come out much more creative and ready for new adventures. Our next trip had already been planned before these events for September, and it is to Iceland. We hope everything will go well by then and that it will take place.
On our side, we want to view this positively. The most important thing is to stay safe and individually responsible. If someone loves travel and adventure, there is space for that everywhere. It doesn’t mean that one has to cross borders to experience something beautiful and unique.
We are seizing the opportunity given to us by staying here and discovering new places.
There are so many hidden treasures in our country, and now is the perfect time to explore them.
“The world is out there and waiting. The right time will come when we can visit it and enjoy it again.”
