Hello Friends.

It has been quite a year so far, wouldn't you say?

I know it's been a long time since we've last spoken on this channel, since I've last sat down and had a conversation with all of you.

And so many things have happened since then.

To be honest, it's been quite overwhelming to try to stay informed on all of the different developments around the world that have occurred in these past few months.

The coronavirus has grown to unimaginable proportions and it has shut down the entire world for months.

As of right now, there are over five million cases of COVID-19 and over half a million deaths.

This pandemic has affected all of us deeply and profoundly.

But many people have been affected much more severely.

And over half a million people have paid the ultimate price with their lives.

So if you or any of your family members or friends have been affected by COVID-19 I want to send you my deepest sympathies and let you know that my heart feels for you.

As many of you know, this channel is built upon the belief that travel teaches us valuable life lessons.

It broadens our horizons and expands our minds and shows us that different cultures at times, so distinct from our own can teach us so many lessons and that we share so much in common.

As a student of history and cultural anthropology.

I've always believed that cultural and ethnic diversity is the most fascinating and important element of our shared human story on this channel.

My brother and I have always aspired to experience and learn from the different cultures and different people who call this planet home.

We've always strived to do our best to listen, learn and incorporate different opinions and perspectives into our lives and into the stories we share with you on this channel.

We believe that differences in language, religion, culture or skin color should be championed as equally important and irreplaceable e unique tiles in this beautiful mosaic we call humanity.

Those shared human moments with people from different cultures are invaluable.

They're the reason that we travel and I'm sure that they've enriched many of your lives as well.

Recent events here in the United States have brought into a harsh light, the remaining inequities that need to be rectified.

The horrific murders of George Floyd.

Ahmad are very Brianna taylor and countless other men and women of color by the police in the United States has sparked a global movement demanding real change and accountability as well as showing the world the unheard voices of pain and frustration from generations of systemic racism in the United States of America.

It's been an important and necessary conversation and a time of reckoning for the political structure in this country.

It's been a time of listening, of learning and of empathizing, but I've also been inspired seeing so many people of different colors, creeds and ages coming together into the streets and making heard their demands for a better world for everyone.

Ultimately it's becoming a time for positive change and hopefully Those changes will make the world a better place for everyone in it.

All of these underlying issues have been exacerbated by the pandemic, the lockdown, the huge rise in unemployment and financial hardship and the increased use of the Internet, social media and smartphones.

We've become so connected to our devices which feed us sensationalized news stories 24/7 that it's become nearly impossible to turn them off.

I don't know about you, but I have definitely seen a huge rise in screen time over these past few months and it's led me to actually set limits on myself for how much I can use my phone particularly instagram and the news app.

I know that I'm not capable of saying everything right for every single one of you viewers out there, but I'm doing my best to try to show up when issues arise in this modern interconnected world.

It's important that we rise up to meet them together with love, compassion and unity, not hatred and division our generation and this community and communities like it can be the change that we want to see in the world, starting small locally and expanding bigger and bigger until we're all the way around the world.

I'm sure we've all been coping in different ways.

I've found comfort in noticing and appreciating the little moments of beauty that are all too easy to miss when we are distracted and distressed.

The birds singing at dawn, the soft morning light dancing through the leaves on a tree, a cool evening breeze on our skin.

It's made me really appreciate quality time in the company of loved ones and the lack of that.

Over these past few months, during the lockdown and social distancing has taken its toll on all of us.

We are being tested right now in ways we could never have imagined with obstacles we've never experienced before.

And for many of us we're doing it alone.

It's tough.

There's no other way to say it.

It's tough.

I don't wanna pretend like I have all the answers because I don't, I'm just a regular guy who cares about the world and all of the people in it.

I don't know what the future is gonna look like and I don't know when we're gonna get back to normal, but to be honest, our normal had a lot of problems, ones that needed fixing.

So maybe going back to normal is not the right thing.

Maybe we need to leave normal behind and make a new normal one.

That's better for every living being on this planet, but that's going to require all of us to come together to work towards that better future starting now in the present.

Many of you subscribe to this channel for the travel tips and vlog series that my brother Marco and I used to shoot all around the world and looking back on those videos now, really fills my heart with an immense sense of gratitude.

This channel has been such a journey, such a labor of love, one that has gifted both of us with unforgettable experiences and has connected us to incredible individuals all around the world.

A month or so ago, this channel surpassed one million subscribers and honestly, it's still pretty difficult to comprehend that I want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you, One million.

Thank you's going out all across the world.

Thank you so much for the support over these years.

You've helped my brother and I chase our dreams and for that we are eternally grateful.

I'd love if you could take a moment to share your name and where you are in the world in the comment section, It's really inspiring for me to, uh, to know your names and to see where you are and to imagine this giant community of like minded people, uh, who are curious about the world and, and want to make a better one.

So please take a moment and drop a comment down there.

So, uh, so we can all say hello to each other.

Youtube recently sent this over and I wish I could be holding this right next to my brother Marco.

But unfortunately right now with the Coronavirus.

Uh, that's not an option.

So I figured we could open this together, all of us online.

So here we go.

It is a gold play button.

Marco brother.

I love you, I miss you.

And uh, look what we've done together.

It's been an incredible journey brother.

Each and every one of you out there.

Thank you also a huge thank you to our team.

Thank you Carla are incredible editor.

Thank you Molina for all of the research that you've done.

Thank you juan for the research that you did.

Thank you.

Rana.

Our manager scott, our agent Matt, our lawyer.

Thank you Carlos for the incredible camera work.

Thank you all for all of the help and each and every one of the incredible people that we met and all the different destinations who helped us create these stories and share them with you.

We couldn't have done it without you.

So, thank you for those of you who are wondering, Marco is doing very well.

He's down in SAN Diego working on his creative writing and on himself and both of us have taken a little bit of time away from this channel to work on our own creative paths and on our own channels, which I will link down in the description box so you can check those out these past few months have given lots of time for reflection.

But like the greek, philosopher Heraclitus said, change is the only constant in life during the lockdown.

I've been here at home in Los Angeles with my fiancee Carrie and with my dog, Lanka Carrie and I were actually supposed to get married in May but we canceled our wedding because of coronavirus.

And although that was a letdown, we remind ourselves daily that we have so much to be grateful for.

Our backyard vegetable garden has been a big source of joy.

If you're not growing any vegetables and you have the opportunity to do so, I would highly recommend it.

It's extremely therapeutic not to mention you get to eat what you grow and growing your own food is a powerful thing.

Carrie and I would actually have been on our honeymoon right now and although that's not gonna happen and international travel doesn't look like it's gonna be coming back anytime soon.

It doesn't mean that we can't enjoy our summer and it doesn't mean that we can't travel here locally.

If we take precautions and travel responsibly, we can still safely enjoy the summer road trips, camping, backpacking trips in nature.

All of these things are still out there and still available and you can do them too.

So with that in mind, I'm really excited to tell you about a big adventure.

Have been training for next week.

I'll be road tripping to colorado to do a 215 mile mountain biking adventure from the forested mountains of Telluride colorado to the red rock deserts of moab Utah, I'll be riding through some of the most scenic country in the United States and I'll be doing it with my dad and my best friend Carlos who came with me last year to Mount Kilimanjaro to get prepare cared for the trip.

I have been training and riding a lot here near my house in southern California and I'm just really excited for some quality time in nature.

I find that being in nature is the best way that I recharge and recenter myself.

It's nourishing for the soul, for the body and for the mind.

We all need something to look forward to, something to hope for and something that will help us feel alive in the present moment and for me right now this trip is it.

So I'll be publishing this video series from the mountain biking trip over on my personal youtube channel Alex the vagabond.

If you're not already subscribed to my channel, please do me a favor and head over there, hit that subscribe button and check out some of the videos that I have been posting from the past few months.

I've been posting a lot more regularly over there on my personal channel than I have been on the vega brothers channel.

Also, if you're not following me on instagram, please do me a favor and do that.

That's where I'm posting my daily content.

That's where I'm really sharing a lot more of my life, it's a lot easier to share an instagram story than it is to sit down and to make a youtube video for you also if you're not following Marco on his personal youtube channel or on his instagram, make sure you follow him as well.

He's got content coming out on there and yeah, I'm just I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about the future.

I think that these past few months have been difficult for everyone and I don't want to downplay that at all.

I sincerely hope that all of you out there are doing ok and that you're coping and that you are making the most of this situation and making the most of this time.

Because I know it can feel overwhelming and at times downright depressing, but we can't let this time slip away because as Mahatma Gandhi says, the future depends on what we do in the present.

So make these days count with a positive mindset and a loving heart, we will all make it through to better days in the future with that.