sponsored by G Adventures
story & photos by Lauren Breedlove. Follow her blog and Instagram, GirlWanderList.
Social media is a ginormous pair of rose tinted glasses. Our lives are wonderful! My baked ziti is so blessed! Look at my children’s new Superman bedding!
We constantly over-share… except when we don’t. Travel posts seem to be one of the biggest culprits in this beyond glamorized world. They’re tasty eye candy nuggets, and we can’t get enough to fuel our mid-week daydreams.
Like any tinder date, not all travel moments are as you would hope—or even as they seem. And that's the best part about G Adventures: they don't sugarcoat sh*t.
The inspiration is immediate (so is the FOMO) as we scroll through lust worthy travel photos. We immediately insert ourselves in that beautiful sparkling scene, dripping in fantasized preconception. As enticing as they are, most posts tend not to paint the entire picture.
We want to go to all the pretty places, where nothing goes wrong, of course. But, what dirty little secrets lie just outside the frame? What is the real story behind the Instagram story?
Allowing our expectations to soar based on social media representations is definitely a roll of the dice. As travelers, it gives us a false sense of reality.
Embracing adventure in all its messy glory, with guided tours that take you across the world to embark on the grandest experiences of your life without robbing you blind, is G Adventures.
G Adventures is basically the mic drop of guided travel tours, offering a huge variety of different travel packages that take you across the world and into the heart of local communities. They've got more than 700 different tours to choose from in close to 100 different countries—no planning needed except getting there.
Just like your tinder dates, not all travel moments are as they seem. And that's the best part about G Adventures. They don't sugarcoat sh*t.
Whether it's the locally-owned accommodations or the messiness of adventure itself, G Adventures doesn't glamorize a single thing. What you get is real.
We’re here to chisel off that falsely sweetened coat and get to the heart of the raw truth behind travel posts. Let’s toss the filters. Here’s 10 hard to swallow travel truths, sans sugar.
1. Pure magic
THE SWEET: The lone explorer captured in an epic moment of raw heart stopping, breath catching, reason for living and the reason we travel moment.
THE SOUR: Setting up a tripod in arctic temps make you question how long you’ll keep your fingers while people stare at you while you set the self-timer and strike a ‘natural’ pose, meanwhile bats are swooping down at your head. Those stars tho...
2. Instant gratification
THE SWEET: That sick view from the edge of the world, or a glimpse of the elusive northern lights.
THE SOUR: That drool worthy view required an intense 5 hour hike; not necessarily instant gratification. If you’re chasing something like the northern lights you have a wake up call, 2398423 times a night, and you may never catch them.
3. Comfy
THE SWEET: Pulling over spontaneously next to the field of Tuscan sunflowers beckoning you to frolic and capture a photo. You’re smiling ear to ear surrounded by sunshine in flower form.
THE SOUR: The several thousand angry bees defending the honor of said sunflowers. The buzzing was audible, as was your immediate scream après snapping the perfect photo.
4. Weather
THE SWEET. Crystal clear almost drinkable island water just begging you to swim and cool off from the immense heat. C’mon it’ll be refreshing!
THE SOUR: The water is anything but refreshing on account you’ve had baths colder than it. Not shown is that you’re actually sweating in that water. It was lit, alright.
5. Crowds
THE SWEET: Admiring the ridiculously beautiful waterfalls of Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia, strolling the boardwalks and marveling at the turquoise water.
THE SOUR: Boardwalks so jam-packed with tourist groups you think you’re in Disney World. You almost fall into the water, three separate times. So much for a hidden gem!
6. Garbage
THE SWEET: Sunrise on a beautifully untouched secluded beach in the middle of the Andaman Sea.
THE SOUR: Everyone on the island also woke up for sunrise and there is garbage strewn all over the beach.
7. Fear
THE SWEET: Attaining awesome status by stepping outside of your comfort zone and attempting canyoning in Switzerland. You daredevil, you.
THE SOUR: That you were actually shi*ting your wetsuit for the 2 hours you trekked in absolute fear through the various natural obstacles in a Swiss canyon. And at the end during your celebration of not dying, a peer canyoner called you “panda eyes.”
8. Danger
THE SWEET: Witnessing thousands upon thousands of flaming wishes float into the air while participating in a cultural festival. The essence of magical.
THE SOUR: There are no rules or regulations and it ends up being more dangerous than it is amazing, as fiery lanterns fall into crowds of people and tangle in trees and power lines. Your dreams are set ablaze just like your braid when you’re hit with a rogue firework sparkler and drop your lantern.
9. Construction obstruction
THE SWEET: Capturing the sunrise as the beams of daybreak splice around the Colosseum in Rome.
THE SOUR: Walking 45 minutes in the dark to get there and finding that construction is unexpectedly blocking ¾ of the iconic structure. Cropping becomes your new BFF.
10. Solitude
THE SWEET: Swimming in a famous grotto in the Bahamas where you feel like you’ve shrunk yourself and have jumped into an aquarium, glorious aquatic life in every nook and crannie.
THE SOUR: Other snorkelers in every nook and crannie, bumping into you and ruining your shot of snorkeling solitude. Isn’t that what photoshop is for?
Got some truly unfiltered travel gems in your photo library? Enter the G Adventures #AdventureUnfiltered Contest by July 26th for the chance to win a G Adventures trip worth $12,000 to almost anywhere in the world.
[Feature Image Courtesy Lauren Breedlove | Girlwanderlist ]