Around the World With Road Scholar’s Video Production Manager
- Alyssa Bichunsky has filmed 25 Road Scholar learning adventures across six continents, focusing on moments when participants connect with a place.
- Her work has changed how she experiences the world, deepening her interest in local communities and the stories behind what she sees.
- Her five favorites are India, the Azores, the Galápagos Islands, Big Bend and Croatia, with Greece earning an honorable mention.
- From thoughtful support in India to local perspectives in Big Bend, each choice shows how learning changes the way a place is understood.
“Make sure to turn around.”
It’s one of the best pieces of photography advice Alyssa Bichunsky has ever received. When a beautiful view fills the frame, it is easy to focus only on what is directly ahead. But turn around, she says, and something equally magnificent might be waiting behind you.
For Alyssa, Road Scholar’s Video Production Manager, the advice applies to more than photography. Her work has taught her to look beyond the expected view, pay attention to the people experiencing it and remain open to places it might not have occurred to her to have chosen for herself.
Alyssa has been on 25 Road Scholar learning adventures across six continents, capturing everything from wildlife in the Galápagos Islands to ancient temples in India. Her job begins long before she lifts a camera. She researches which programs need new imagery, considers the stories Road Scholar wants to tell and helps select learning adventures where the people, places and educational experiences will come alive on film.
Once she’s in the field, she looks for something less predictable than a postcard-perfect view: a moment of genuine awe.
“You see someone’s eyes light up and then you see what they’re witnessing in that moment,” Alyssa says. “Being able to connect those two — I love that.”
Learning to See Differently
Alyssa is often watching Road Scholars as they listen to a Group Leader, try something for the first time or take in a landscape they have long hoped to explore. She notices their expressions and the point when a lesson becomes a personal connection. Those are the moments she wants future participants to see themselves in.
Her work has also changed how she experiences a place. She still appreciates time to relax, but working for Road Scholar has deepened her curiosity about wherever she goes. Now she wants to understand why a place is the way it is, learn from local communities and hear what residents hope people carry home after spending time there.
That curiosity also shapes the advice she gives others choosing their next learning adventure. Alyssa doesn’t automatically recommend her own favorite programs. She asks what someone wants to learn, how active they want to be, where they have explored before and how comfortable they feel with an unfamiliar language or culture. A program doesn’t need to match her interests to earn her recommendation. What matters is whether it offers the experience another person is seeking.
Still, a few places have stayed with her long after the cameras were packed away. Here are Alyssa’s five favorites — plus one more she couldn’t leave off the list.
Agra Fort, India photographed by Alyssa.
1. India: The Place She Never Expected to Love so Much
India was not originally on Alyssa’s wish list. Before arriving, she wondered how she would navigate a place unlike anywhere she had experienced, especially with severe food allergies. Within days, however, India had surprised her and earned a place among her favorites.
“India felt like nowhere else I’d ever been,” she says. “And I loved that.”
The vivid colors, extraordinary temples and constant movement offered something to photograph around every corner. What affected her most, though, was the hospitality. Because of her allergies, Alyssa is often unable to sample local cuisine while traveling. On this program, the local team prepared dishes especially for her, carefully avoiding allergens while finding alternatives that preserved the flavors they wanted to share.
At one meal, plate after plate arrived until Alyssa had what looked like her own miniature buffet. The other participants were delighted as the dishes kept coming, but the gesture carried meaning. Her hosts wanted her to experience their culture through food and to know she was welcome.
The team also anticipated practical needs throughout the program, from keeping water close at hand in the heat to finding places for participants to rest. For Alyssa, those thoughtful details made an unfamiliar place feel approachable and gave her the freedom to take it in fully.
“It was transformative,” she says. “I fell in love with India.”
Terceira, Portugal photographed by Alyssa.
2. The Azores: Freedom to Be Present
Alyssa once planned her own visit to the Azores, but the 2020 journey was canceled. By then, she had already learned how complicated the planning could become: Which islands should she visit? How long should she stay? How would she travel between them? Which hikes should she choose?
Experiencing the Portuguese archipelago with Road Scholar allowed her to set those decisions aside and focus on the islands themselves. She found volcanic and geothermal features, rugged coastlines, shifting light and an abundance of biodiversity. “The hiking is fantastic,” she says, “some of my favorite anywhere, but you don't have to be a hiker to experience the islands’ beauty. It surrounds you wherever you go, and there are so many ways to immerse yourself in nature that makes the Azores accessible to anyone.”
One morning at Ribeira dos Caldeirões on São Miguel, sunlight filtered through dense greenery around waterfalls, streams and historic mill houses. The whole group seemed to pause together, absorbed by the scene.
For Alyssa, the memory is not only about the beauty of the park. It is about the group sharing the same sense of wonder — and having the time and space to be present for it.
San Cristóbal, Galápagos Islands photographed by Alyssa.
3. The Galápagos Islands: Learning Through Observation
Alyssa had long heard about the extraordinary ecosystems of the Galápagos Islands. Experiencing them herself — with her parents beside her — lived up to years of anticipation.
Some of her favorite memories came from snorkeling, where she observed sea lions, sea turtles and colorful fish in their natural habitat. On land and in the water, respectful wildlife viewing offered time to slow down and study animal behavior rather than rush from one sighting to the next.
That patience mattered behind the camera, too. Alyssa valued the opportunity to observe and photograph wildlife without forcing a moment. Expert instruction added context, connecting what participants saw to larger lessons about evolution and conservation.
She was equally affected by the commitment of local residents working to protect the islands. The Galápagos became more than a place to photograph wildlife. They offered a close look at why conservation matters and the responsibility people share in caring for a fragile ecosystem.
Big Bend National Park, Texas photographed by Alyssa.
4. Big Bend: Finding More in a Familiar Place
Big Bend National Park was one of the few places on Alyssa’s list that she had already experienced independently. She enjoyed that first exploration, but returning with local experts revealed new layers of the park and its surrounding communities.
The park’s remote trails and dark skies gave Alyssa space to observe the landscape and practice astrophotography. The deeper connection, however, came through people who call the border region home. They spoke candidly about its challenges and about why they would not want to live anywhere else.
One day, the group had their passports stamped and crossed the Rio Grande by rowboat to Boquillas, Mexico. From the river, they continued into town on foot or by donkey, then shared lunch accompanied by live music. It was joyful, unexpected and nothing Alyssa would have thought to arrange on her own.
“You think you know a place, and then you go with Road Scholar,” she says.
Learning from local residents gave Alyssa a new appreciation for the national park and the communities surrounding it. Big Bend no longer felt like passing scenery. It became a place whose stories she understood more fully.
Dubrovnik, Croatia photographed by Alyssa.
5. Croatia: Two Views of Every Town
In Croatia, voyaging aboard a small sailboat gave Alyssa two perspectives on each port. She photographed walled cities, streets and architectural details at close range, then watched the same towns take shape against the coastline as the boat approached or departed.
The small ship also placed the group close to the heart of each town and removed the need to pack and unpack as they moved along the Adriatic. Each morning brought a new view outside, often while the waterfront was still quiet.
One evening, local musicians came aboard. Before long, Road Scholars were out of their seats and dancing — even the captain joined in. Passengers on neighboring boats looked on as the music and laughter carried across the water.
It was exactly the kind of unscripted moment Alyssa loves to capture: people no longer thinking about the camera, fully engaged with one another and the place around them.
Mykonos, Greece photographed by Alyssa.
Plus One: Greece
Greece earned Alyssa’s honorable mention for its beauty, hospitality and connection to the past. Historic sites offered no shortage of striking images, but the moment she remembers most happened around a table.
During a cooking class with a local family, the group prepared traditional dishes together. Experienced cooks and beginners worked side by side, and by the time everyone sat down to eat, the gathering felt like one large family meal. The room filled with laughter as participants shared the food they had prepared, along with wine and ouzo.
“So much of Greece is a postcard-perfect view,” Alyssa says. “But what I love capturing goes beyond the view. It’s the people experiencing them.”
Alyssa on the far right in Normandy, France.
The People in the Picture
Ask Alyssa what makes a learning adventure memorable, and she returns to the people. A good group changes the experience, both for the participants and for the person behind the camera.
Although Alyssa is younger than most participants, she quickly finds common ground with the Road Scholars she meets. “I’ve been lucky to travel with phenomenal groups,” she says. “We have similar interests, and I enjoy being with them so much. They make a massive difference in my experience.”
Those shared interests, lively conversations and eagerness to keep learning have shaped her experience as much as the places themselves.
“Road Scholar has totally redefined the way I think about aging,” she says.
Perhaps that is another reason she keeps watching for the moment someone’s eyes light up. The images Alyssa brings home show beautiful places, but they also show curiosity without an age limit — and what becomes visible when you remember to turn around.
Amy Holt is Communications Manager at Road Scholar, where she writes and edits stories about travel, learning and the people who bring both to life. She holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Maine, previously taught college composition and is the author of “The Herbal Goddess Guide”.