Soul of Travel: Women's Wisdom and Mindful Travel

Send us Fan Mail Today’s guest, Dee Gibson, designs experiences for conscious travelers while also talking about things she’s passionate about. Dee knows design plays a key part in travelers experiencing other cultures and countries. Dee Gibson is a London-based Interior Designer and Hotelier and a regular speaker and panelist. As founder of the Kalukanda House, a luxury villa in Sri Lanka, Dee ha...

Send us Fan Mail Christine is very excited to be joined by Elisa Spampinato. They had the pleasure of connecting at the Transformational Travel Council. Elisa’s story is really representative of a lot of people that Christine speaks with because they really find themselves or tourism finds them because they're out there engaging with the world. Travel is less about going someplace and more ab...

Send us Fan Mail Safe and clean drinking water is essential for survival and good health. Without safe access to clean water, clean hygiene practices are impossible. Safe hygiene practices lead to improved health, improved education, access to food sources, improved women's rights and greater prosperity. Globally, 1 in 3 people do not have access to safe drinking water. 2 out of 5 people do n...

Send us Fan Mail When you travel, are you present? Are you aware of what your body is doing and feeling when you’re traveling? By changing your environment and focusing on new experiences around you, the people, the surrounding landscape, you awaken your mind. You’re breaking out of your normal routine and allowing yourself to be self-aware. When you are self-aware is when you can start changing a...

Send us Fan Mail Are you an avid traveler? Are you conscious of the footprint they are leaving along the way? Most people think the effects of travel are solely based on climate but covid has shown us that the world is dependent on tourism and the pandemic has affected many businesses around the world.  In this episode, Christine and Hilary Matson are talking about all things sustainable travel an...

Send us Fan Mail Ellenore Angelides is a lawyer by training and defines her path as “following her curiosity.” She spend 13 years in a corporate career and eventually founded Open Hearts Big Dreams, which focuses on increasing literacy and educational opportunities. In this soulful conversation, she and Christine talk about the foundation that literacy provides, culturally representative literatur...

Send us Fan Mail What would it look like to live in a world where we knew who made our products and where they are sourced? Costa Rica-based local Galit Flasterstein and her company, Local Keeps, is out to make that happen. In this conversation, Galit and Christine talk about the rising levels of entrepreneurship amongst women in Latin America, how re-purposed waste can become beautiful works of a...

Send us Fan Mail This conversation begins with breath and the Amazon rainforest and continues to traverse subjects such as healthcare, being a traveling woman, and exploring the inner artist. This is what it is like to talk with traveler, filmmaker, artist, and author Céline Cousteau. Her interests and travels are bone-deep and far-reaching, and this conversation is a journey. We are thrilled to s...

Send us Fan Mail The empowerment of girls and young women will shape and change our future. This is what drives the movement of Jamila Mayanja’s SMART Girls Uganda, whose mission is to empower and mentor girls to develop their confidence and life skills. In this conversation, she and Christine discuss menstrual equity, how it’s connected to girls staying in school, and all of the ways SMART Girls...

Send us Fan Mail The stigma around menstruation spans the globe, which has far-reaching impacts for people who menstruate everywhere. Celeste Mergens is tackling this issue head-on. Days for Girls prioritizes cost-effective, safe, sustainable and contextually relevant products help women and girls manage their periods and engage in livelihood activities. In this bonus conversation, Celeste and Chr...

Send us Fan Mail "How can we use our entrepreneurial skills and passion for travel to create a pathway that would make it easy for travelers to give back to meaningful causes - without necessarily volunteering?" This is the question that spurred Jessica Blotter into founding Kind Traveler. Kind Traveler is the type of brilliant business that the Soul of Travel can truly get behind - in t...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 3 of the Soul of Travel Podcast. Christine shares a bit about the genesis of the podcast and gives listeners a glimpse at what's ahead for this season. Learn more about Lotus Sojourns and ways to be a part of the community here . Find Lotus Sojourns on Facebook , or join the Lotus Sojourns Collective, our FB community for like-hearted women. Follow us on Ins...

Send us Fan Mail In this BONUS episode, we are resharing one of the most listened to Soul of Travel conversations in season 2. This interview with JoAnna Haugen will propel you across time and space. She is, amongst many things, an exceptional storyteller. She wears many hats in the worlds of sustainable tourism and social impact, and through her colorful stories, the importance of her work comes...

Send us Fan Mail In this BONUS episode, we are resharing one of the most listened to Soul of Travel conversations in season 2. This conversation revolves around the power, leadership, and storytelling prowess of women. Rosette DeKool and Hannah Bamwerinde are the founders of Adventures with Locals Uganda , which they birthed from a passion for locals and community development. Their story and busi...

Send us Fan Mail In this BONUS episode we are resharing one of the most listened to Soul of Travel conversations in season 2. Meet Laura Grier - she is a storyteller, adventure travel photojournalist, and entrepreneur. She and Christine talk about the impact of supporting and elevating fair trade artisans, the power of rest and "cocooning", meaningful travel groups, and more. This conver...

Send us Fan Mail In this solo show, Christine shares some of her journey in the tourism industry as well as the origin of the Soul of Travel podcast.  She reflects on the past season and some unexpected topics the came up with many of the guests. She also announces the theme for Season 3, Shaping Our Future. This season will begin on November 3!  Thank you for your continued support of these soulf...

Send us Fan Mail "When you look at sustainable travel, it is like a niche; but actually, for travel to exist a few hundred years from now, all travel has to be more sustainable." In this final conversation of season two, Christine is joined by Beth Santos, the founder of Wanderful, a travel community for women and women-identifying travelers.  It is the perfect way to wrap up this season...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever dreamed of setting off around the globe on your own, but weren't sure where to start? Christine speaks with Valerie Wilson, Trusted Travel Girl, about her first solo travel experiences.   You'll hear what it is like to be a full-time traveler and how Valerie feels that solo travel has changed her.  Gain an understanding of why she prefers to "travel li...

Send us Fan Mail Kate Webb's true north is to ensure that any tourism that she facilitates drives the local economy and community. Her companies, Orbis Expeditions and the Responsible Safari Company, achieve this aim through sport challenge trips, learning ventures, and travel with a purpose. In this conversation, she and Christine talk about Kate's focus on supporting current initiative...

Send us Fan Mail Today's guest, Sally Miller, birthed a business from a desire to do tourism differently. In this episode, Sally talks about the practices their business implements to create robust and integrated travel experiences, bridging the gap between product and travel, and resiliency and flexibility in these pandemic times. This is a hopeful, heartening conversation for anybody intere...

Send us Fan Mail "Travel is more than just a vacation." This is one of the foundational ideas of this podcast, and on today's episode, Christine sits down with Jools Sampson to discuss the transformational experiences through her business, Reclaim Your Self. They discuss travel as an opportunity for the connection we may all be craving post-pandemic, her transition from aid work int...

Send us Fan Mail Sarah Dusek has a radical idea: business can be the vehicle that drives change forward. In this episode, Sarah shares her story of transitioning out of a lawyer track and into adventure travel, her views on businesses as having a positive impact in communities, the challenges and possibilities of entrepreneurship, and more. Along with being a lively, stimulating conversation, Sara...

Send us Fan Mail If you've been a long-time listener of this podcast, you know that it was born from a desire to stay connected and problem solve in the midst of a global pandemic. Today's guests are examples of people in the travel industry who are taking this moment to ensure the travel industry comes back better than it was. Lola Åkerström & Sara Mansouri are two passionate world...

Send us Fan Mail What does it mean to be a guide in the travel industry? This is Nikki Padilla Rivera 's guiding question. She works to empower guides through training and advocacy and supports them to create consistently branded, high-quality experiences that generate word-of-mouth marketing. Christine and this self-described "Tour Guide Advocate" discuss what makes a magical, life...

Send us Fan Mail Valerie Merut is a truly incredible resource for sustainable travel businesses. Originally from France, Valerie grew up traveling with her family. Valerie now helps sustainable tourism businesses create attractive branding and impactful business strategies for social media and digital marketing. She loves encouraging people to travel AND maximize opportunities for tourism business...