Words are dirt cheap these days, and in the travel world they make or break a destination. More often than not, a place that makes a prestigious “best of” list, first experiences a boom, and then, is inevitably and tragically destroyed by it.
BackpackMr and I have a favorite place in the world. I was last there in 2008, what seems like a lifetime ago. BackpackMr was there a handful of years ago. We are going back there soon.
And we are both afraid that it has changed.
Back then, it was the kind of place everyone dreams of finding. Remote. Unspoiled. Idyllic. A perfect, private beach.
Travel reviews, hot takes and top 10 lists are currency these days. They’re highly clickable, totally addictive, and they seem to live forever in the deplorable shouting match that is the internet. And they are monetized and generate ad revenue and convert to sales and there’s someone, somewhere who knows exactly how well this model works for their brand.
I could tell you about this perfect beach,
but then…you might go there.
For the perfect places in the world, this is a problem.
I could tell you about this perfect beach, but then you would know about it. And you might go there. And you might review it and say how awesome it is, and then the legions will come and the Starbucks will set up shop and the H&M will open and the air will be scented with McDonald’s fries and hotel lobby fragrance. Everyone will have free Wifi and everyone will stare at their phones and instagram every moment, including the perfect bikini selfie. And it will make a best of list, and a zillion blogger top 10 lists, and a new airport will go in and tours will bring the day trippers and the prices will skyrocket.
And gone will be the peace.
Gone will be the perfection.
Gone will be the reason to go.
It will have been spoiled entirely, and we will be the ones to blame.
There is great value in having experiences you love, and keeping them to yourself. Not the least of which is that you have the power to actually protect the perfect places.
There is great value in having experiences you love, and keeping them to yourself. Not the least of which is that you have the power to actually protect the perfect places.
More, there is peace to be found in keeping thoughts to yourself and not posting every moment, every experience. It’s perhaps not a sustainable approach for a travel publication, but I don’t make any money off this blog. If I needed your clicks, I would have sold this blog’s soul entirely to the SEO gods long ago. Truth is, I blog because I love the world and writing and reflecting on life experiences and if you’re reading this, chances are good I love you too.
No clickbait. No sales funnel. No ads. No charge.
There are still a few places in the world where we can truly get away.
Precious places that are dying like a massive fish kill with every social media post.
So.
I’m not going to write about my favorite place.
I’m not going to tell you where it is, or how to get there, or how much the rooms cost.
I’m not going to tell you that you should go before it’s gone, before it evaporates into the ether of the over-publicized, over-toured and over-exposed.
I’m not going to tell you about how the stars wink. Or how time slows. Or how good the food is and how clean the water is.
I’ll just say that there are still a few places in the world where we can truly get away. Precious places that are dying like a massive fish kill with every social media post and top 10 list. Places that are worth preserving.
I hope you hold one in your heart.
And I hope you never tell anyone about it.
Charish Badzinski is an explorer and award-winning features, food and travel writer. When she isn’t working to build her blog, she applies her worldview to her business, Rollerbag Goddess Global Communications, providing powerful storytelling to her clients.
Posts on the Rollerbag Goddess travel blog are never sponsored and have no affiliate links, so you know you will get an honest review, every time.
Find Charish on Twitter: @rollrbaggoddess, on Facebook at @rollrbaggoddess, and on Instagram at @rollerbaggoddess. You can also read more about Charish Badzinski’s professional experience in marketing, public relations and writing.
Rollerbag Goddess travel blog by Charish Badzinski is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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