Sex on the Road

Told in the collective first person, jointly from Stu and Janell Clarke's perspective.

Narrated Audio Blog

Stuart's vision blurred and dimmed, the room began to spin, he gasped for air in an attempt to fill his lungs with as much oxygen as possible given the elevation. His body had gone into autopilot, thrusting again and again in an animalistic fashion. Stuart finally climaxed and immediately after his body weakened and we both collapse on the bed. Earlier that day we had woken up at 800m (2,700ft) of elevation, we'd ended the day at 4200m (nearly 14,000ft) and it was our first experience at any substantial height. Lesson learnt; when you reach elevation for the first time, keep your sexual activity tame.

So what about our sex life?

We decided to write about this taboo topic because we believe its important and that many people will have a very real interest. When travelling, sex is easily forgotten or ignored, there is so much excitement all the time, why add more, right?

Whether you're travelling as a couple, solo or in a group, sex is going to be on the mind at some point, probably fairly often. In Latin America it is hard to avoid, sex hotels, G-string bikini's, steroid assisted muscles, over the top implants (top and bottom) and half naked models on billboards and TV selling anything and everything, even street dogs constantly going at it reminds us of our own desires. In parts of the world that the above is not so common, you will still find yourself among testosterone high youths in hostels, hotels with paper-thin walls and of course tents, need I say more. You will get closer to it and hear it more than ever before.

The importance of sex in general cannot be overstated. It reduces stress, feels great, is a lot of fun and makes everyone involved happy (when done right). Within a relationship, it reaffirms the bond between couples, maintains passion and has the ability to solve disagreements or right resentment that may have built.

While on the road, sex is just as important, maybe even more so with the constant interaction and challenging conditions. Life on the road isn't easy, there are stresses that don't exist in everyday life, stresses that take some getting used to. You can have financial strain, disagreements on places to visit, how hard to party, what type of accommodation to choose, all good problems to have but problems that nevertheless place tension on a relationship.

When it came to sex, we decided that a good target would be to 'do it' at least once a day. This is of coarse not achievable with long riding days and so often uncomfortable conditions or sleeping on someone's couch. But we decided it was a good goal and we would try and maintain the average. With our best efforts, we'd be lucky to find the time and conditions conducive to lovemaking 4 days a week and often less. But still, striving for intimacy remains a high priority and we are happy to keep the goal high so that when the stars do align, we can go to town. It is important for us to not think of this goal as an essential requirement, but rather the ideal and that not achieving the goal is not considered failure but rather consider success in every opportunity that we did make happen.

There are always excuses, but there will usually be a solution. Squeaky beds – do it standing or on the floor. Squeaky floorboards – do you know your neighbour? Will you see them again? Chronic Diarrhea – well OK, there are limits to this advice, but you get the idea. Like anything in life, do it regular and it becomes habit and habits are hard to break.

Equal satisfaction is also just as important on the road. Real time needs to be made available for passionate lovemaking and not just a quickie. This requires more than just the playtime but also truthfully and openly interrogating each others needs and desired and constructively discussing previous sexual activities in such a way that subsequent passionate endeavours are accentuated.

Every couple needs to decide on what is right for them, if both parties are truly happy with their current sexual activity, then why change anything; after all, putting too much thought into sex isn't exactly a turn-on. However, a common goal or understanding is important so that expectations are established and it may be that the goals of the journey need to be revisited in order to achieve your sexual goals. There is no point riding day and night to see everything just to be sexually frustrated and miserable. A quick trip can easily end in breakup if you are not careful, you don't have to ask too many people before you hear the stories. Always word of mouth and never blogs because bloggers only want to write about what a great adventure they are having and how much fun it is, who wants to tell the world about the devastating breakup or how little sexual attention they're getting.

Keeping it interesting can be much more fun while travelling. You'll find yourself in some very beautiful places with no one around, you may have hiked a tall mountain, rode deep into the desert or found yourself in thick woodlands; each potentially isolating, and demanding some pants-down action. Don't be afraid to take some risks in public, you'll be amazed how thrilling the experience can be, just be careful and try to comply with the laws of the land otherwise you may find out how thrilling your cellmate can be!!!

Romance, seduction, desire, make time to make them all happen because it shouldn't go on hold because you want to see as much of the world as you can in a short amount of time. If sex is ignored, it will become an issue. Advice on how much sex is healthy can range from twice a week to five times a day, but the point is: regular sex is healthy.