As you know, we have started introducing you to our favourite traveling couples and decided to make this a series. Next up in our spotlight are Matt and Heather of the blog Travelationship, who share both of their opinions when it comes to their relationship and traveling adventures.
Matt and Heather: The ones who left everything behind
When I started writing this series, I never thought I would get to read about so many amazing love and travel stories. Matt and Heather reached out to me a few months ago and I just like instantly the whole concept of their “Travelationshipâ€. Getting to know the opinions of both individuals in a couple, when it comes to travel, is highly valuable. It reminds you that we all experience life and travel a bit differently, even though we are part of a duo; and that we should cherish our own individuality even when working as a team. Matt and Heather were both solo travelers before meeting each other… As a person who loves traveling on her own, I am always intrigued when it comes to how becoming a couple changes the way people travel…â€As solo travelers, we each had the freedom to do what we wanted when we wanted. As great as that was, at times it was a bit depressing because there wasn’t someone to share the experience with. Having a travel partner has broadened our horizons and pushed us to try new things and visit places we may not have thought to see or do on our own.†explains Heather.
Though she finds it great to now have someone whom she loves and can travel with, she also admits that this experience led to some adjustments: “We’ve been able to balance our strengths and weaknesses together with a few travel quirks we are still working out. Matt tends to run late for pretty much everything, and I am anxiously and stressfully early. The first time we flew together and arrived at the departure gate within minutes of boarding just about made me faint from anxiety. As we’re a work in progress, we now try getting to our departure gates in an agreeable amount of time. Another difference we had to find a balance for is that I am an introvert and need time to recharge and do things by myself. Matt is an extrovert and doesn’t necessarily need time for himself. To help us both stay happy, we have worked solo times into our trip. We use these to enjoy things the other may not or to simply have time for ourselves. It’s important to remember that just because we are a couple doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything, like to do everything the other likes nor do we need to be with each other 24/7. We both believe it is healthy and important to keep our independence and have time to ourselves while traveling together.â€
The fact that the couple manages traveling together so well also reflects on their blog, which they launched on Valentine’s Day, last year. Travelationship’s content is huge and it is definitely a blog any couple planning a RTW trip should visit. It contains tons of information, from tips about how to get along while traveling together, to general travel advice that has worked or not worked for Matt and Heather; from how and where to give back while on the road to where to find the best street art in the world. The couple has now made blogging their full-time job and keep adding content as they go: “We recently added a monthly review where we lay out the good and the bad of the previous month. Travel isn’t perfect and neither are we, so we want to make sure our readers are getting the full story – mistakes, arguments, travel fails and all. We are also starting a reality check series comparing the dream vs. the reality of traveling. Most of us go into a place or activity thinking it will be one way only to find it to be different than the image we had in our mind. In our series, we will explore the 360-degree view of that 1-degree pictureâ€.
Last April, the couple sold all their belongings and started traveling the world for two years. They started touring Canada, America, Europe and Africa and they hope to finish their journey either in South America, Oceania or Asia. When I ask them if, so far, the adventure has met their expectations, they answer: Our trip has been good with some pockets of incredible and a handful of meltdowns. We knew we’d have ups and downs, but we figured the causes would be routine such as budget, lateness, fatigue, weather, etc. Instead, the cause has been mainly one reason and so different than we thought it would be. The lack of fast, reliable internet has pretty much been the cause of all our fights and most of our stress. We depend on the internet not only to keep the blog running, but we are planning our trip as we go. We need to research where to go, where to stay and how to get there. The constant search to plug in and the feeling of getting further and further behind have triggered some really stupid fights.â€
I love how honest they are about their dependence to the internet as most-travel bloggers generally try to hide it to “keep the dream alive†for their readers. Wifi and spending time on social media will be a big part of your life if, just like Matt and Heather, you ever decide to become a travel blogger. Thankfully, going on this kind of adventure also shows us what’s not as important as we thought it would be, and what we really need in order to be happy. “Surprisingly, when we left DC in April, we worried we didn’t have enough packed (1x carry-on and 1x backpack each). As we’ve moved along, we have shed more and more items to lessen our load. We have been pleasantly astonished how easy it was and continues to be for us to get rid of our stuff.†explains Heather. “And, aside from the surprises and plugged in issues, we have had a wonderful time. For us, the travelationships we make while we are out in the world are just as important as the places we visit. We love meeting locals and other travelers. It’s amazing what types of adventures can transpire from just a simple “Hello†said in the local language. We have been invited into homes for full traditional meals, been driven across countries, and even been guests at weddings all because we smiled and gave greetingsâ€.
Before leaving them, I am curious to know what has been their best travel memory so far…Matt is the first to answer: “Heather and I were sitting in a tiny car, barely enough room in the backseat for our luggage. We were parked on a dirt road in an Elephant Park in South Africa watching a family of elephants for about a half an hour. A small pod of elephants who had strayed in another direction decided to join the bigger heard and our car sat right in the middle of their path. Five mammoths accompanied by two juniors strolled down the road straight at us and only at the last second shifted course enough to just miss us. We were convinced some of the elephants made eye contact with us as if to tell us, “Don’t worry. We see you, but we won’t hurt you”. After the heard had passed, we stared at each other for a moment with that crazy kind of awe in our eyes. I remember thinking how we were such a small piece in a huge world…â€
We cloture the interview with Heather’s best travel memory and she tells me: “I know this is cheesy…but realizing I had found a partner to travel with was pretty amazing. As a solo traveler I loved being on my own, having the freedom to schedule my time as I pleased, only having to be responsible for me but at times the loneliness would creep in and bring me down. I didn’t realize (or maybe even want to admit to my independent self) how much having a compatible and loving travel partner would enhance my experiences. I haven’t abandoned solo travel and will still do trips on my own here and there, but the trips with Matt are what I now prefer.†It seems like these two have really found each other and I can’t wait to see what they’ll be up to in the upcoming years. I’ll keep following their Travelationship and so should you, if you ever want to know more about their story and their amazing RTW trip!
You can follow the adventures of Heather and Matt on their Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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