Stop Taking Safe Vacations and Start Really Exploring

'Risky' experiences are often the most satisfying for our brains.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Stop taking safe vacations and start actually exploring by Jen
Murphy read by Catherine Vasilopolos. I should have been looking
down at the steep, root riddled path in front of me,
but the jungle framed views of the Pacific Ocean kept
drawing my eyes to the horizon, at least until my
young guide stopped me in my tracks. Don't make another move,

(00:24):
Miller Mosquera said, he can kill. Instinctively, my body froze,
my eyes scanning the trees for danger. Finally I spotted
the coiled snake inches from my boots, camouflaged against the
mud and ready to strike. Juvenile bothrop's Asper, Mosquerra said, calmly,

(00:45):
steering me away gently by the elbow, Very venomous, very deadly.
It was a rare moment of panic during five days
in Baia Solano and under the radar rainforest town on
Columbia's remote Pacific coast, around one hundred twenty five miles
two hundred kilometers from Medishin by air. Six months earlier,

(01:06):
a conservationist had told me that by Solano was like
Costa Rica thirty years ago, deserted black sand beaches, virgin
coastal rainforests and extraordinary wildlife. There are no direct international
flights and no official roads. The airport, little more than
a runway in an open field, is surrounded by a

(01:27):
loose network of palk marked dirt paths. The town also
has a reputation as a former hotbed for guerrilla violence,
which has researched somewhat since the US government cut off
foreign aid. All of that is to say I had
contemplated the dangers of traveling to Baye Soolano, but a
run in with a pit viper hadn't made the short list.

(01:48):
Safety is not a comfort easily foregone when making travel decisions.
According to one study conducted last year, safety concerns were
the main barrier to travelers choosing less destinations. Half of
respondents said such worries had led them to rethink their
plans entirely. Veering from tried and true vacation spots, whether

(02:10):
in the Hampton's, Italy or Costa Rica, risks not just
personal harm, but time and money poorly spent. For years,
France balked every time I ignored that mentality with my
own travels, which included trips to Mongolia, Ethiopia and the
Republic of Georgia. It wasn't until I read The Explorer's
Gene HarperCollins March twenty twenty five by Canadian sports science

(02:33):
writer Alex Hutchinson that I've finally felt seen. The book
challenges its readers to pursue experiences that don't fit neatly
into their version of safe. Humans as a species are
hardwired for exploration, Hutchinson argues, but our modern fears of
wasting vacation days and discretionary income keep us from rolling

(02:55):
the dice on unknown locales. That caution ends up costing
us expans perspective and even emotional fulfillment. By choosing the
uncertain option, you are seizing an opportunity to learn about
the world, Hutchinson writes. Hutchinson insists that the rewards of
a quote unquote risky vacation can be far more satisfying

(03:16):
than returning to a popular place with ample creature comforts
but little in the way of novelty or surprise. So
off I went to Bia Solano, where an all inclusive
week at Anigua Beach House, a seven room inn run
by the conservation minded a loft adventure costs twenty five
hundred dollars the price of just two nights at a

(03:37):
five star resort on the Amalfi Coast. I encountered fewer
than ten other travelers. All of them were Europeans, lured
there by the idea of empty beaches, wild jungles, and
cheap prices, and all of them seemed to share my
hardwired yen for offbeat adventures. To be clear, there is
no literal explorer's gene, despite what Hutchinson's book title suggests,

(04:00):
but humans do have DNA variants of the DRD four
dopamine receptor gene, which is associated with seeking novelty. When
we experience new things, whether an African safari or a
fancy new watch, the brain releases this feel good hormone,
though the quantity varies by individual. Hutchinson counts himself among

(04:21):
the people who get an intense thrill from discovering something fresh. Travel,
he says, is the ultimate modern expression of this novelty
based gene. It's a theory. The explorer's gene also applies
to business, food orders, and even relationships, and one Hutcheson
credits to a wonky nineteen ninety one paper by a

(04:42):
Stanford Business School professor titled Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning.
The paper's findings inspired Hutchinson to write a book about
exploration instead of a follow up to his twenty eighteen
bestseller Endure, and articulated the logic he's used to plan
family v occasions throughout his life. This summer, he plans

(05:03):
to hike Vancouver Island's rugged and remote North Coast Trail,
not the island's popular West Coast Trail. I don't want
to just follow in the paths of those who came before.
He says. That choice speaks to one of Hutchinson's most
counterintuitive conclusions. The best destination is not necessarily the most satisfying,
and the most satisfying places are the ones that surprise you.

(05:26):
You get a shot of dopamine, not because something is good,
but because something is better than expected. He says. It's
the ultimate case for not following in the footsteps of
your entire Instagram feed. Uncertainty, Hutchinson argues, can even be
your trip's main attraction. That sentiment rings true to Jack Eason,
co founder of travel agency Embark Beyond, which caters to

(05:50):
ultra high net worth individuals. We're asking guests to book
something old, but try something new. He says. If you're
in Venice, pop over to Lake Garda. If you're in names,
spend a weekend in Puglia. The proximity lessens the risk factor.
Of course, safety can be in the eye of the
beholder or vacationer. Hutchinson is a former elite runner and

(06:12):
endurance junkie. He once hiked one hundred and thirty nine
miles of the Australian Desert in five days, so it's
not surprising that he viewed a twenty two mile trek
on an unmarked route in the Canadian wilderness as a
perfect family holiday. The average person might think of it
more as a scenario for survivor. Assessing safety today can

(06:32):
also feel harder than ever given fast changing geopolitical complexities.
According to a recent survey by Global Rescue, which offers
search and rescue travel insurance policies, geopolitical instability tops the
list of travel risks for twenty twenty five. Some thirty
percent of travelers identify it as their most significant concern,

(06:54):
the highest level since September eleventh for travelers heading in
and out of the US. Recent confus usion around border
policies is playing into more universal identity based concerns, like
whether a destination has discriminatory tendencies toward travelers of certain
religious affiliations, races, sexual orientations, or political views. Some risks

(07:16):
are more addressable than others, but methods for hedging your
travel bets include hiring a local guide, traveling with a
satellite phone and GPS tracker, and purchasing comprehensive travel insurance
that includes search and rescue, which will get you evacuated
in the event of a medical emergency, natural disaster, or
civil unrest. As for my own adventures, telling my boyfriend

(07:39):
I'd booked a trip to Columbia before I'd even mentioned
by Yesolano earned me an unwarranted raised eyebrow. But as
my plane touchdown on the dusty, jungle shrouded tarmac of
Pablo Escobar's former stronghold, it felt like I traveled back
in time. At the airport's lone luggage carousel, I thought
off a few rogue chickens to reach my bag, excitement

(08:01):
winning out over trepidation. During my week long stay in
Bia Solano, I swam with whale sharks, hooked a seventy
pound tuna, watched a sloth play in the tree tops
behind my lodge, released baby turtle hatchlings, and left the
only footsteps in the black sands most mornings, other than
my run in with a snake, I never once considered

(08:23):
the issue of safety. Was it the most beautiful beach
I'd ever set foot on? Probably not, but just as
Hutchinson predicted, the thrill of the experience made this trip
as memorable as my forays scuba diving in Maui and
trekking coast to coast in Costa Rica. Upon my return,
I handed my boyfriend the Garmin GPS tracker he'd insisted

(08:46):
I carry along with my phone and its hundreds of
fresh pictures. He stashed the gadget and lingered on the
images before turning to ask me when can we go
back together.