The Lost Shepard.

I am hoping to capture the spirit of traveling, not the act of traveling. Travel has unreal expectations placed on it and has been glorified to a point where it seems like you can go anywhere and have your life changed. The only cost is signing up for the rewards program and buying the hotel through them.

My Type of Travel

I do not like cruises, guides, tours, personal transportation, travel agents, or any third party involved if I can avoid it. These are tools to be used in specific situations, not the foundation of a trip. I would never let someone dictate what I do, but I do use guides and tours when the situation calls for it. I was required to have a guide for the Inca Trail in Peru, and I did a few day tours in the Galapagos Islands. Outside of circumstances like those, I want to explore on my own, control my itinerary, and do what I want when I want.

Planning and booking a trip yourself will save you money and give you freedom. Use guides and tours to augment your trip, not replace it. Choose the hotels, decide what to do each day, and build the trip around how you actually want to spend your time.

My type of traveling is exploration and adventure, and I am able to reflect that in every trip because I am the one planning it and making it happen. I would not be able to travel any other way, having control over the trip is what makes it fun for me. That said, the best type of travel is your own personal way of traveling.

Is It Another Tuesday or Are You in a Developing Country?

Traveling outside of your own country is a big deal. You are away from your support systems and everything you are familiar with. I am not saying you need to be afraid of leaving your country, but you cannot assume everything is as safe as your city or neighborhood.

When I see a blog about traveling to Myanmar or Lebanon written as if it is somewhere you can just go, it has left reality. You should not go to these places unless you are willing to take serious risks and traveling has gone well beyond a hobby for you. Certain locations are not meant for new or inexperienced travelers, and the writing should reflect that. Leading with cheap flights to a war-torn country comes off as out of touch and insensitive. I am not saying you cannot go, but it is far beyond just traveling.

Sometimes It Sounds Like Every Country Is the Same

Ecuador is a very different place from Japan, and I am not just talking about the physical and cultural differences. I am talking about the amount of preparation, the vibe, and the mental tax.

In Ecuador, they have beautiful mountains and forests. In Japan, they have astounding temples. Both of those things are true, and most travel blogs leave it at that, which is a problem, because these countries are completely different in terms of what it is actually like to travel there.

In Japan, I could walk around at night, drink at bars, and explore anywhere and everywhere. In Ecuador, you cannot walk around at night. When you are exploring, you need to stay sharp and watch for bad situations, stray dogs running at you with no animal control in sight and electrical poles blowing up from a lack of regulation. You cannot tell the difference between what is a safe area and what is not outside of the designated tourist zones. Both places are great, but they are definitely different types of travel. That kind of difference should come through in the writing.

As a reader, you should walk away with an accurate impression of what it was actually like to travel there. Reducing a location to its physical highlights takes away more than it gives. Honest writing will give you a full picture, not just the beautiful parts, but the reality of what that place is. My blog will not tell you every place is the best place on earth. It will tell you what you need to know and what kind of trip it is in spirit. Are you going to be on edge thinking about what could go wrong and which neighborhood is safe? Or can you relax, pick a hotel at random, and just enjoy the stay?

The Pictures vs. Reality

A picture rarely captures reality. It usually over-sells or undersells the location, and every incentive in travel content pushes toward making a place look better than it is. Combine drone footage, a skilled photographer, a great editor, and a glowing review, and what you end up with has either left reality behind or exaggerated it to the point where it might as well be a different place.

Drones are a big pet peeve of mine. I am not a drone, I will not see what the drone sees except through a screen. Making photos Instagram-ready strips away what it is actually like to be standing in these places. The trash on the ground, the overcrowding from tourism, the grit that is part of the real experience, all of it gets erased when only the highlights are shown. Pair that with every post calling it the best place to go, and the gap between the content and the actual destination keeps getting wider. Pretty pictures and a great review are not an accurate reflection of a place.

Does Traveling Mean Anything Outside of the Biggest, Craziest, Once-in-a-Lifetime Trips?

It is big-ticket item after big-ticket item, and they all cost thousands of dollars. The majority of blog posts should focus on trips that are actually obtainable for most people. That means state parks, small towns, and trips that do not require a ton of planning, expenditures, or PTO.

The spirit of travel lies in what we do when we are not doing the big-ticket items. Do we only love the biggest, coolest places, or can we enjoy traveling no matter where it is? I take great pleasure in completing the main trails at a state park, finding a new green space in the city, or stumbling on a building or piece of architecture that catches my eye. For trips like these, you do not need to spend thousands and you barely need to plan. Get a hotel the day of and drive an hour or two to a neighboring city or town.

You can do this on your own, but I hope to inspire you to see that it is traveling itself that is worth it, not just going to whatever new destination is trending.

What This Blog Stands For

A real perspective on the places I travel to. I am not here to sell you a location like every other article out there is trying to do. I am giving a detailed, personal account of what traveling to a place was actually like, what type of trip it was, and what your experience level should be before you go. It is not all about the destination. It is about the type of travel you are doing, and that is what the spirit of travel is.

The spirit shows in what someone writes about when there is no paycheck attached.