A Not-So-Perfect Story of a Couple Who Abandoned Everything for the Sake of Travel

Almost every day there is a new story about some brave souls who got tired of working 9 to 5, ditched everything, and went off in pursuit of eternal summer, adventure, and new discoveries. We at Bright Side find such tales truly inspiring!

For instance, meet Chanel and Stevo — a couple from South Africa. Almost a year ago, the pair left their stable jobs in advertising to find out just how far from home they could get.

The young couple chronicles their travels in a blog entitled How Far From Home. Right from the beginning of their adventure, they posted pictures of stunning vistas from different parts of the world.

Judging by these photos, Chanel and Stevo live the kind of life every office worker probably dreams of.

But the young nomads ensure they familiarize their readers with the full realities of their magical journey.

In those moments when they’re not practicing yoga on the beaches of Greece or enjoying the fjords of Norway, they clean toilets and undertake any other menial work for cash.

At some point, Chanel and Stevo simply realized that the photos in their blog can’t truthfully convey the whole story of their trip. They don’t want their readers to see only this sweet “cherry“ on the top of the ”cake."

"We’ve decided to paint a realistic picture for those who want to repeat our experience, yet think that this nonstop travel lifestyle is easy and filled only with beautiful things," says Chanel.

"According to my calculations, we’ve cleaned up somewhere around 135 toilets; buried around 551lbs of dung; dug up 2 tons of stones; laid about 197ft of road; made 57 beds; arranged hundreds of products on grocery store shelves. Аnd I don’t even remember how many wine glasses we’ve polished off. Even though we’ve grown up in relative luxury in Johannesburg, these days we are practically volunteers, doing any job for the sake of acquiring new experiences."

"The physical toll is quite exacting as well. I’m not the best-adapted person to face all this. Right now, you wouldn’t call me slim, or 100% healthy. For the most part, our food consists of crackers with jam. We sleep for 5 hours a day and are forever carrying our hellishly heavy bags."

"But, believe me, all those things are worth it. To us, this kind of life is paradise. Sure enough, all the firewood must be properly stacked and the rubbish taken out. But as soon as we’ve finished our small-time work of the day, we’re free to do whatever we want: to wander, to explore, to discover, and enjoy."

"This adventure has presented us with valuable lessons — ones we would have never learned had we continued to work in advertising. Moments like this teach us humility and make us enjoy every day like it’s the last day of our lives."

"When we were just starting on our journey, we made a vow to ourselves not to give up, not to retrace our steps. We’ve vowed to accept any challenges that fate might throw our way. And we want to inspire other people to leave the boundaries of their comfort zones, to understand that there is nothing more exciting and enlightening than to say ’No’ to one’s familiar existence and ’Yes’ to everything that this life can offer!"

SOURCE: BRIGHTSIDE