BAHAMAS BEHIND THE SCENES: ELLE CANADA’S FIRST TRAVEL VIDEO DIARY

Aliyah Shamsher on what it was like to shoot our first video story at Kamalame Cay in the Bahamas.

It’s one thing to write a travel story; it’s something else entirely to shoot a video and have two camera guys and two producers (and, at times, even a drone!) follow you and film your every move.

I arrived at Kamalame Cay, just off the coast of Andros Island in the Bahamas, by seaplane on a very hot afternoon. It all felt so glamorous—right up until the pilot turned around and said with a chuckle, “You’re going to have to swim to shore.” I laughed because I thought he was joking. But he was definitely not joking. He clearly did not get the memo that I was going to be on film and that I was in no position to swim to shore. (To be clear, I was wearing a blazer.) When I finally got off the plane, the first thing I did was drop my shoe—which proceeded to float away.

I did eventually make it to shore (you’ll have to watch the video to find out how), and I was able to complete the shoot. And while there were times when I was very (very) aware of the cameras—like while I was paddle boarding in my bikini (thank God for Pilates) or trying to take a meditative beach walk with a drone hovering behind me—by the end of the long weekend, I barely noticed they were there. (But they were definitely there.) And the end result? You’ll just have to watch the video to: