AOL- We’ve all lived vicariously through those wanderlust-stricken travel enthusiasts who quit their jobs to travel the world. While we may not be as brave and adventurous as these people are, we enjoy checking out their Instagram and Facebook pics displaying their breath-taking views and amazing experiences.
However, one couple wants their followers to know that although their social media handles make their lives seem like fairy tales, the pictures don’t show the full reality of the situation. After quitting their jobs to travel the world, this couple went broke and now cleans toilets to survive.
Chanel Cartell and Stevo Dirnberger of South Africa quit their stable advertising jobs earlier this year to see how far they could travel. They’re journaling their travels on a blog called “How Far From Home.” They’ve posted pictures of beautiful pictures all over the world, making us think that their life together is one big dream.
However, not everything is as it seems. When the couple isn’t exploring new areas and doing yoga on destination beaches, they’re scrubbing out toilets and doing anything they can to scrounge up a bit of cash.
In a post on their blog, Cartell wrote that the couple’s social media posts don’t tell the whole story of their journey. She wrote:
“Browsing through our blog posts and Instagram feed, it seems like we’re having the time of our lives. And don’t get me wrong – we are. It’s bloody amazing. But it’s not all ice-creams in the sun and pretty landscapes.”
Cartell went on to write that when the love-birds aren’t admiring pretty landscapes or indulging in foreign eats, they’re undertaking difficult and dirty work. She wrote:
“So far, I think we’ve tallied 135 toilets scrubbed, 250 kilos of cow dung spread, 2 tons of rocks shovelled, 60 metres of pathway laid, 57 beds made, and I cannot even remember how many wine glasses we’ve polished. You see, to come from the luxuries we left behind in Johannesburg, to the brutal truth of volunteer work, we are now on the opposite end of the scale. We’re toilet cleaners, dog poop scoopers, grocery store merchandisers, and rock shovelers.”
In addition, the couple expressed that their travels are taking a physical toll on them. They don’t sleep much and their muscles are exhausted from lugging their bags from place to place. We never consider the difficulty of traveling with baggage when fantasizing about a life of travels. Cartell wrote:
“I am not at my fittest, slimmest or physically healthiest. We eat jam on crackers most days, get roughly 5hrs of sleep per night, and lug our extremely heavy bags through cobbled streets at 1am, trying to find our accommodation (because bus fares are not part of the budget, obviously).”
Despite the hardships, the couple wouldn’t trade their travel experiences for anything in the world. Cartell wrote:
“There’s nothing quite like swopping million-rand advertising budgets for toilet scrubbing to teach you about humility, life, and the importance of living each day as if it were your last.”