Welcome to last month’s FREETOGO blog post. (This was supposed to be posted in February. March’s blog post will go out in 12 days.)

“As I’ve mentioned previously, I am reminded regularly just how special it is that FREETOGO is available to everyone. I hope you have given yourself a chance to visit this website often.

In this blog post, as usual, I’d like to highlight a number of videos. (Some of these videos can be located in the new Travel Now categories.

1) First of all, given that Valentine’s Day is one of this month’s holidays, check out the video on how this day began. You can find the video in the Current Holiday & Season Showcase category, then in the Archive of Holiday & Season Showcase category in other months.

Saint Valentine's Day - a love story

“Saint Valentine's Day originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyr named Saint Valentine, and through later folk traditions, has become a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world. But if there is one figure that symbolizes Saint Valentine's Day, more than the actual Saint, it is the Roman god of love Cupid. So what is the story behind these two figures and how did they come together to enable couples to express their love for each other.”

1. Next, in keeping with the times, I’d like to highlight various videos in the category, Geography – Africa.

LAGOS - Africa's Model Mega-City

Lagos is the most populous city in Nigeria, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper, spreading out across two main islands and onto the mainland. It is the country's financial capital and is famous throughout Africa for its music scene. Lagos has a vibrant nightlife, and is the center of the Nigerian movie industry, often referred to as 'Nollywood.' The city of Lagos lies in south-western Nigeria, on the Atlantic coast in the Gulf of Guinea, west of the Niger River delta. Most of the population lives on the mainland, and most industries are located there too. Lagos is known for its music and night life which used to be in areas around Yaba and Surulere. Still, more nightclubs have sprung up on the island, making the island, especially Victoria Island, the main nightlife attraction.

Serengeti: The Adventure

The Serengeti ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa, spanning northern Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi) of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game reserves. The Serengeti hosts the second largest terrestrial mammal migration in the world, which helps secure it as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, and as one of the ten natural travel wonders of the world.

Zanzibar

Zanzibar beaches are some of the best in the world. Let's see what else is there! Zanzibar offers something for everyone, whether you're searching for beautiful beaches or an unforgettable adventure. After trekking to this Indian Ocean archipelago off of Africa's eastern coast, you'll instantly feel at ease as you lounge on quiet beaches like Matemwe and Pongwe. Next, visit Zanzibar City's UNESCO World Heritage-listed Stone Town, where you'll find the ruins of a 19th-century palace and a graveyard with ties to Zanzibar's former Arab royals. And no trip would be complete without taking a spice tour in the countryside and exploring Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park. 0:40 Zanzibar Sultanate 1698-1963 0:52 British protectorate 1890-1963 2:47 Nungwi beach 3:19 Kendwa beach 4:07 The Maasai 6:09 Hakuna matata - "no worries" "take it easy" 7:45 Paje Beach 15:18 Stone Town 15:53 House of Wonders 16:37 Old Fort 17:00 Darajani Market 17:27 Old Slave Market 19:11 Prison Island 20:40 Jaws Corner 21:07 Tanzanite 22:54 Cheetah's Rock 23:27 THERE'S NO WAY TO OUTRUN A LION 24:31 Jozani Forest 26:35 Kuza cave 34:20 Jambo

2. Lastly, take a look at the Travel Now category, YouTube-created virtual travel videos. I believe that you’ll be pleasantly surprised at all that is available on this site.

=============================================================Note: FREETOGO is entirely free. Also, there are no ads on the site to interrupt your visit. That is not true for many of the videos because YouTube hosts them. However, if you wish, you can eliminate the ads by paying to become a premium member of YouTube.

You can access YouTube’s Premium Membership signup here:

https://www.youtube.com/premium?ybp=OgIIEEoNCAYSCXVubGltaXRlZA%253D%253D

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I invite you to check out the above videos and the many others curated for this website.

Also, be sure to see all of the many ways people are using FREETOGO at the bottom of the ‘Travel Now’ page.

Most importantly, help to improve the quality of life of everyone. Please share this website far and wide, especially with anyone unable to travel freely. Sign up as a member, leave a testimonial, and visit the website regularly!

Get creative and have some fun traveling virtually. I look forward to the day when the term Virtual Travel will be as commonplace as the term travel.

Thank you.”