A Day in the Life of a Travel Blogger: Stomach for Adventure

For as long as we can remember we’ve been addicted to travel. It’s an obsession for experiences and adventure, and we’ve been lucky enough to turn our passion into our lifestyle.

Writing anecdotes and sharing photos of where we’ve been and where we’re going isn’t all that there is to travel blogging. It demands diligence, planning, hard work, and long hours of boldly putting yourself in front of an anonymous audience who try to distinguish you from the rest. It’s a challenge we take on head-first, and the freedom it affords us is second to none.

The adventure begins

8:00 a.m – We’re currently in the Costa Blanca region of Spain. It’s our home base for the time being. Our van is parked, ready to set off whenever the impulse strikes. We let the soft light of our laptop wake us up as we check social media for news of people keen on hearing about our next adventure. We respond to comments and emails from readers and excitedly share our plans for the next few months.

9:45 a.m – The heavy rains over the last few days have made the surrounding area even more tempting to explore. We talk about the Barranco Tancat, a normally dry-riverbed canyoning trip with two brilliant abseils. We can tell by the torrent of water rushing through the village below us that the Tancat must be flowing, meaning the basin at the foot of the last pitch must be filled with water. This hasn’t had water in it for a few years, so we know we have to make this trip to see it for ourselves.

10:15 a.m – Hurriedly, we gather our gear: waterproof bags, GoPro, cameras, neoprene shoes, rope, and our trusty canine sidekick, Tilly. We quickly run through our plan for getting to the basin and brainstorm how we can immerse the readers in visuals and video footage. We get stoked on what is ahead of us, and with that we tear off.

1:00 p.m – We’ve been walking and wading through knee deep, ice-cold mountain water for hours by this point, stopping intermittently to take photos and catch some GoPro footage of Tilly running wild and free in her element.

2:00 p.m – The basin is in front of us, and it’s stunning. We scurry past the last deep puddle, clambering over boulders to reach the emerald green water that’s still and untouched. It’s mesmerizing, and we feel like the only two people in the world to experience this. Who knows when it will be like this again. This realization makes us appreciate the moment so much, and that right there is why we love to travel blog. The power of social media has now enabled us to share this beautiful wonder to so many who may never get the opportunity to see it. We thrive on this!

2:30 p.m – After sitting happily for a little while, the only thing left to do is do something crazy, like jump into the freezing cold water. We are ‘adventure’ travel bloggers after all. With our rope tied into an old bolt, Jessie lowers herself tentatively into the chilly lagoon. Although she doesn’t last long, she can say she did it and that’s enough for her.

We pack up our things, give Tilly a belly rub and a stick to chase, give one another a smile, and we make our way out of the bramble-filled riverbed.

5:00 p.m – Knackered from the hike and the day, we finally make it back home. The smiles across our faces are still being worn as we share what we just saw with family

We strip off our wet packs and muddy socks and stick the kettle on.

7:00 p.m – The laptop hums to life and we’re right back where we started this morning. We now have hours of video editing, music making and photo spritzing to do. As Dilly starts to go through her footage, I post a couple of photos across social media and respond to a few reader questions. We bounce notes off one another, while all the smells and sights are still fresh in our minds. Our aim is to always write as vividly as possible, so that the reader feels like they were there with us.

10:00 p.m – Our aching bodies from stumbling around on boulders are ready for bed. We rest easy knowing we’ve spent an incredible day sharing our journey with thousands of people, and tomorrow we get to do it all again somewhere new. We fall into bed planning our next adventure!

Bio: Stomach For Adventure is a travel blog by married couple Dilly and Jess, freelance chef and photographer. They spend their time zipping around Europe in their bright yellow van, Meryl looking for the next great adventure and new recipes.

Related Articles

4 CommentsLeave a comment

  • Very nice story guys. I love that yellow van. So, you guys are living and traveling the world and that’s beautiful. How long have you been doing that and what are you goals in the future? Are you planing on doing it forever? Anyway, You guys rock

    • Hey Aria! Thanks so much! We feel so lucky that we get to do what we love, and it makes it worth it when people like you enjoy reading about our adventures. We’ve been doing this for almost two years now and we have some big goals for our future! More travels, crazier adventures and simply enjoying the world around us. As long as we can keep the dream going, we will be living this life 🙂 Thank for your kind words – Dilly & Jess

  • You girls rock. loved your story and I see that you are living the dream. Bravo and keep it up.

    • Thanks Dan! We are stoked that you enjoyed our story. There will be more to come! We certainly are living the dream and we want to inspire people to do the same. Check out our website if you ever want to see more.

      Cheers,

      Dilly & Jess

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *