female travel

7 Songs by Women to Empower You For Your Journey

by Ekua on January 24, 2010 · 17 comments in female travel,songs for the road

I know there is no shortage of travel song playlists out there, but the bulk of them are comprised of rock music by men. So I’ve come up with a list of a songs by women that can inspire you for every part of traveling, from the first sparks of a trip idea to the ups and downs of a journey. Here they are:

» Beautiful by India.Arie

Play this song when: You’re planning a trip someone in your life may not approve of and the time has come to tell them about it.

» Let The Wind Carry Me by Joni Mitchell

Play this song when: You’re coming to terms with your nomadic ways and want to feel like someone to relates to you.

» I’ll Take You There by The Staple Singers

Play this song when: You’re trying to convince someone to come along with you on a trip. Or when you’re just trying to get soulful and shake your groove thang.

» Get Out the Map by Indigo Girls

Play this song when: You’re taking the ultimate road trip. This song oozes with joyful independence.

» Nostalgie Amoureuse by Zap Mama

Play this song when: You’re uneasy about the conditions you see people living in. I can’t say the lyrics of this song completely make sense to me, but it seems to me that she is describing a situation where happens upon squalor and begins to form an opinion on it. Then, someone living in the squalor surprises her by teaching her about his life, and life in general.

» Ain’t Got No/I Got Life by Nina Simone

Play this when: You’re down and out on a trip. This a great song to help you remember what you do have.

» Beautiful People by Melanie

Play this when: You’re experiencing a moment of hippie travel bliss. When everything’s like totally connected, peaceful and hopeful, man.

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5 Travel Memoirs by Women

by Ekua on October 20, 2009 · 6 comments in books for the road,female travel,inspiring adventurous people

The air is getting chilly and the rainy season has begun. My typical urge to fly south for the winter has kicked in. Unfortunately, travel is not an option for me at the moment, so I will hibernate instead. To me, that means curling up with a hot beverage and a travel memoir so I can live vicariously through someone else’s adventures.

I’m partial to travel memoirs written by women rather than men because I can usually relate to both their outward and inner journeys more. I have found a few good options beyond the ubiquitous Eat, Pray, Love. Here are some suggestions:

Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World
by Rita Golden Gelman

During an impending divorce, Rita Golden Gelman made her first solo journey to Mexico. This trip transforms her and she makes the decision to give up everything to become a global nomad. It’s encouraging to see the author evolve from a timid traveler to a confident adventurer ready to take on the world.

Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for Women Who Are Changing the World
by Holly Morris

In this memoir, Holly Morris shares the details of the creation of the “Adventure Divas” PBS television series. It highlights powerful and unconventional women in several countries who are doing amazing things for their communities. It will inspire you to travel and make positive changes in the world.

Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure
by Sarah MacDonald

After Sarah MacDonald first traveled to India in her early 20s, she vowed to never return again. Several years later, her boyfriend takes a job in India and she decides to join him. This is a hilarious and insightful account of the two years she spent in India dabbling in various aspects of the culture and learning to accept the country as it is.

Stalking the Wild Dik-Dik: One Woman’s Solo Misadventures Across Africa
by Marie Javins

In this travel memoir, Marie Javins goes boldly where few travelers have gone before. While it was not the most poetic read, the author still managed to draw me in with tales of her exciting off the beat path adventures in Southern and Eastern Africa.

Kite Strings of the Southern Cross: A Woman’s Travel Odessy
by Laurie Gough

Maybe it’s wrong to recommend this book as I haven’t finished reading it yet. But so far I’ve found it to be a wonderfully descriptive and passionate account of traveling in the South Pacific and South East Asia, and I’m excited to continue reading it.

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They say it’s an El Nino year, so it looks like it’s going to be a long, wet winter. I may be doing quite a bit of armchair travel in the next few months. Suggestions for other travel memoirs are welcome!

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Wanderful Words No. 1: Introducing Regular Bits of Travel and Life Inspiration

by Ekua on September 25, 2009 · 0 comments in wanderful words

Everyone can use regular inspiration. Today, I’m starting a new category of entries to share my favorite “wanderful words” about travel, culture, and adventure– quotes from books, poems, and movies that linger in my mind and inspire me to keep moving and exploring.

I recently began reading Kite Strings of the Southern Cross, a travel memoir by Laurie Gough and have already found it to be full of great passages. For Wanderful Words No. 1, I’d like to share an excerpt from the introduction about the love of travel writing:

“Writing, like traveling, deepens my life, and writing about my travels gives them new meaning. Sometimes, it even allows me to live those journeys over and over again, minus the mosquitoes and sunstroke.”


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