Speaking of Travel® With Marilyn Ball

The Speaking of Travel + Leave No Trace Series with Richard Crawford of the Amazon Prime TV Show, Leave No Trace, spotlights Glenn Jampol, an ecotourism pioneer and owner of Finca Rosa Blanca in Costa Rica. Glenn chairs the Global Ecotourism Network, a global group of other ecotourism pioneers and practitioners who want to share their years of experience in ecotourism and sustainable tourism pract...

Is there hope for the future?  In his latest book, A Thing of Beauty: Travels in Mythical and Modern Greece, Peter Fiennes travels to the sites of famous Greek myths on the trail of hope, beauty and a new way of seeing what we have done to our world. Peter explores what the ancient Greeks have to say to us today and why it's the people who give us hope.  Peter walks through stunning and spoil...

The autism journey begins very early for some and it can be an exploration filled with challenges. Michele Louzon, Executive Director of Arms Around ASD, a non-profit center providing holistic therapies for people on the autism spectrum, their families, care givers and the professionals who work with them, created a community of supporters and resources to help ensure a happier and more fulfilled...

Ukrainian-born American pianist Inna Faliks was a performer from the earliest time she can remember and her distinguished career has taken her to thousands of recitals and concerts throughout the US, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. She is currently Professor of Piano and Head of Piano at UCLA.   As a concert pianist, Inna's life was often consumed with traveling from performance to performa...

  Suzanne Stavert of AdventuresofEmptyNesters.com is a travel writer, brand ambassador and culinary explorer and she recently returned from a trip to Italy. Find out how she planned her international travel and what you can do to make your travel dreams come true.  Her work with Collette Travel, China Southern Airlines, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Viking Cruises, Hotels.com, Expedia, Oldways, a...

The Speaking of Travel + Leave No Trace Series with Richard Crawford, host of the Amazon Prime TV series Leave No Trace, continues with Richard reflecting how traveling surprises, and challenges, him. Richard explains how he first realized his love of travel and what it was like growing up in Scotland across the road from a major airport. After a soccer scholarship brought him to the U.S., he rela...

Mark Gordon Smith, founder of Private Italy Tours, loves to talk about his love affair with the most gorgeous country known for epic architecture, history, food, wine and gracious people.  For a tour company, not touring and traveling equates to great loss.  However, for Mark, there was no time for feeling sorry for himself. Instead, he created opportunities to bring together community across the...

Suzanne Stavert has a unique perspective to inspire empty nesters (and others) to find adventure wherever they go. Her blog, Adventures of Empty Nesters , is a movement and a valued resource. These stories are a way to open doors to new ideas and experiences and inspire you to find your version of an exciting and adventurous life. Her newest adventure is a podcast called Travel Connections.  Suzan...

Stephanie Carroll Carson, co-owner of Gypsy Circus Cider Company, has many balls in the air. But she and her husband have found traveling with their kids is the most rewarding, exhilarating experience and builds unforgettable memories.  A recent month-long trip to Ecuador allowed them to explore the country without the pressure that every day had to be phenomenal. Their flexibility paid off when t...

Explore the Mediterranean through acclaimed food and wine experiences with Felix Meana of CÚRATE. Felix is a pioneer of sustainable food systems and promotes eco tourism, conservation, and mindful travel. Felix and his wife, Chef Katie Button, have many endeavors through Katie Button Restaurants, including CÚRATE Tapas Bar and La Bodega by CÚRATE. They're changing the industry at its core by...

Arnfinn Oines, Secretary of the Soneva Foundation and Social & Environmental Conscience of Soneva, discusses eco-tourism and sustainability and their environmental, social and economic impact programs in the Maldives and the world.  The Speaking of Travel + Leave No Trace Series with Richard Crawford, host of the Amazon Prime TV series, continues with guests from all over the globe, highlighti...

Jennifer Ball is a Chinese-speaking, magenta-haired, French horn-playing, rock 'n' roll singer/novelist who focuses on inclusive language. Jennifer explains how travel requires more listening because you're often in a new place. With listening comes thinking about language and word choice so you're not offending another culture. She lived in China for two years and taught Engli...

For Akira Satake, the act of creation is a collaboration between him, the clay and the fire. Akira shares his experiences finding the beauty in imperfection and the importance of “ma,” the space in-between. Akira Satake was born in Japan and his first serious passion was American roots music. He taught himself to play guitar and banjo listening to his older brother’s Doc Watson and Flatt and Scrug...

Michael Chowdry, founder of Atlas Air, lived life with passion and enthusiasm. His wife Linda created a special memoir to honor Michael's drive, creativity, charismatic personality and his love of aviation. Her book, "No Man's Son - A Flight from Obscurity to Fame" is the story about her immigrant/entrepreneur husband who came to this country with just about nothing and, throug...

The Speaking of Travel + Leave No Trace series with Richard Crawford, host of the Amazon Prime TV show "Leave No Trace," features Ben Alcott, the show’s director and cameraman (and more) from Australia, to discuss responsible travel and provide some steps we can take to become more mindful travelers. Ben also shares what it's like to film Ricky on location of Leave No Trace and the ...

Allyn Burrows is the artistic director of Shakespeare & Company, located in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts and one of the world’s top Shakespeare festivals. They are committed to inclusion, diversity and racial and gender equity as its foundation. They believe that live theatre connects us all in the universal pursuit of a purposeful existence and reveals through storytelling the mean...

What if you could live for the moment and then take it with you? Holly Christensen, founder of Dune Jewelry, creates unique customized and personalized collections that are perfect for holding on to special travel moments.  Dune Jewelry & Co. creates Experiential Jewelry by handcrafting personalized, custom designs using sand and earth elements from thousands of memorable and iconic locations...

Around the world, live performances are beginning to emerge again. In Cape Cod, there’s excitement in the air as the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival returns this August after a year of live shows being put on hold. What I love about the Cape Cod community is the Festival’s first show will be themed as an ode to people who continued to support the local arts scene when they needed it most.  The Cap...

I'm excited to announce the new Speaking of Travel + Leave No Trace series with the host of the Amazon Prime series, Richard Crawford. Each month Ricky and I will bring guests to Speaking of Travel to highlight the importance of conservation, sustainable travel and eco-tourism.  On this premier episode, Ricky reveals how he discovered a passion for the health of our planet and modern social i...

Karina Kennedy’s laugh-out-loud travel comedy novel, “A Not So Lonely Planet: Italy,” is brimming with art, love and sexy Italian adventures.  As an intrepid explorer, Karina doesn’t want to miss out on a memory and is even willing to bend the rules. She inspires and entertains others who share her passion to explore the world, fall in love and just have fun. Discover how Karina's personal tr...

JoAnn Reilly Yoder is happiest when traveling the world and fearless when doing so. Bungee jumping, skydiving or paragliding off one of the highest peaks in Queenstown is what she loves to do. JoAnn was born and raised in the Republic of Panama and accustomed to living outside the United States. Traveling continues to teach her to love and accept people for who they, no matter where she is, with n...

Jill Culiner has crossed much of Europe on foot, travelled by bus, train, car and truck. Imagine having lived in a Hungarian mud house, a Bavarian castle, a Turkish cave dwelling, on a Dutch canal, and even in a haunted house on the English moors. Jill has lived this life. And her artistic work is exhibited in cultural centers, galleries and museums across Europe and Canada.  Jill is truly a kindr...

Chef Santiago Vargas is a chef and consultant who follows his passion for food by lovingly preparing his dishes with a dose of passion, a love of culture and a touch of magic. Santiago is well-loved for his culinary artistry. Chef Santiago was born in Lima, Perú, surrounded by flavors and traditions from the Andes. From a very young age, he loved the art of cooking. Before becoming a private cater...

Heidi Walters oversees marketing initiatives of group travel, international and sports marketing and industry relations for the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (Visit NC). Heidi shares how their Outdoor NC initiative and partnership with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is helping preserve the state’s precious natural resources. So what and why does NC need an initia...

Toby Brown, U.S. Partner and lead safari coordinator with Outdoor Africa explains what visitors can expect in the days ahead when making plans to journey to this beautiful and exotic bucket-list destination. Toby shares how their focus on private custom tours is a benefit to travel in a post-Covid environment and how they have spent time building their brand and partnerships all over Africa. Outdo...