Roaming the Earth with Drea Castro

Eric is a travel writer and photographer based in California. He's lived in Italy, Norway, Germany and the US and traveled to 97 countries on 7 continents. Eric is passionate about the benefits of family travel and lets each of his three kids (11, 13 and 15) choose any destination in the world every year for a one-on-one trip with him. They also travel as a family during school breaks. His kids have been to over 60 countries.  Eric is an accomplished photographer, winning Conde Nast Traveler's Photo of the Year award. He's an ambassador for AFAR Magazine, and his writing and photography have been featured by Conde Nast Traveler, Bon Appetit, Yahoo Travel and Lonely Planet. He is a two-time NATJA gold award winner for family travel writing, Forbes has named him the World's #4 Most Influential Traveler, and Fodor's has called him the world's best family traveler. Show Notes:00:00 Eric reads an excerpt he wrote about traveling as a family.   2:00 Introduction to Eric Stoen 3:20 Eric explains how they make traveling with children happen to 60+ countries including countries that may be considered as particularly harder destinations to travel to Eric allows his kids to choose where they go every year.  His kids determine the countries that they travel to which forces his kids to look at the world differently.  6:54 His kids ended up bringing him to Antarctica and Easter Island - countries Eric didn't really think about at first.  Eric shares the stories of how that happened.  Traveling with his kids gives a brand new set of eyes for countries that Eric has been to before and he finds that journey enjoyable 11:00 The wonderful experiences his kids are having before they are adults are preparing them to be more empathetic with skills that make them ready for the world in such a unique way. 12:51 The importance of every experience that in turn shapes and alters his kids. Due  to travel, Eric's children are becoming very worldly and informed children.   Household traditions at the Stoen house also means having a meal from a different country. 17:22 The solution to making a great trip when planning a family trip.  Making the trip about your kids is the solution to making the trip enjoyable.  Being flexible is important. 20:16 Eric shares what travel means to him 22:05 Travel Babo and where the name came from! 24:55 Eric shares his fears when he first started and how mitigated those challenges 29:00 Eric shares his most valuable thing he learned while traveling with his   kids 30:16 Eric shares his most interesting stories while traveling - Getting lost in Croatia and having the journey turn into something really special  35:14 Eric shares his most fulfilling moment - Hiking in Greenland with his son and the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil with his daughter - unplugging is his fave 38:38 Eric's most meaningful person he met while he was traveling.  He shares a story while he was in Oslo 42:32 Eric talks about the award that changed his life, Forbes #4  Influential Traveler in the World 47:42 Eric took a risk to follow his passion and it turned out to be the right path for him 50:02 Eric's tip and tricks for people who want to follow in his footsteps 54:30 Eric's favorite place he's explored - Greece and the Greek islands He shares why his family loved the islands so much and why! 57:19 Guess where Eric is going next? …. GREECE Discussion of about how the pandemic will affect his travels 62:00 Eric shares the one interesting item he takes with them when they travel - Blue Painters tape.  He shares why 63:00  Eric shares a piece of life advice to a younger Eric 64:00 Find Eric on  www.travelbabo.com http://www.instagram.com/travelbabo (www.instagram.com/travelbabo) www.twitter.com/travelbabo

Angel Castellanos, (Castayanos) (http://www.angelstravellounge.com/ (www.AngelsTravelLounge.com)) is a passionate world traveler, freelance travel writer, content producer and nationally recognized speaker dedicated to helping people travel smart, well and often. Traveling to over 80 countries on 5 continents (and counting), Angel travels 12-14 weeks internationally each year and draws on his experience and frequent travels to teach “Smart Travel” and equip travelers with the skills they need to make travel easy and enjoyable. Angel is a multi-media travel personality and travel expert that has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Fox News, CBS, ABC, Univision, Frommers Radio, USA Today & Travel & Adventure Show and New York Times Travel Show.  Angel is also the executive producer and host of the travel and adventure tv show Hot Spots debuting in Europe in Asia in late 2021.  Show Notes:00:00  Angel reads an excerpt he wrote in March of 2020 - at the beginning of the pandemic 00:45 Intro to Angel  4:01 Angel discusses the excerpt at the beginning and talks about his retrospective post while he was in Brazil 4:57  Drea asks about the transition from traveling so often to a halt once the pandemic kicked in.  Angel talks about mental health and how much he realized the isolation at home really affected him.  He traveled to Mexico in the summer and he realized how important it was for him and for the local economy there.  The global effect of the pandemic and how everyone was feeling the same way all at the same time Some of the positive effects of the pandemic  How the pandemic affects connection when you travel 9:27 Angel defines travel and what it means to him  10:20 Angel discusses where his love for travel all started 12:45 Angel is a renowned travel expert who has spoken on news channels and has offered sound advice for many outlets.  He explains that journey to that title.   He talks about his company, Travel Ambassador  15:40  Drea discusses Angel's incredible ability to speak well.   Angel shares that he actually speaks 3 languages 17:38  Angel talks about slow travel and how that all started for him What is slow travel?  Angel shares what that looks like and the meaning of slow travel His best slow travel trip was from Beijing to London on the train - And stopping along the way in Mongolia. Siberia, Poland, etc in 7 Weeks! 23:59 Packing tips from Angel 25:59  Angel talks about the beginning and the lack of fear he had.  He was fearless because he was young and really ambitious 27:59 Angel talks about some of the challenges he has faced when he has been traveling Flexibility  Pandemic and the lack of connection Angel shares some interesting stories in Brazil and a passport situation in Turkey, Bribing his way out of Egypt TWICE! 35:00  Angel shares the two most valuable things he has learned while traveling  36:00 Angel talks about Traveling with a purpose and his evolution of travel  Eco Tourism 41:00  Angel talks about his most fulfilling moment when he travels 42:00 Angel shares his most meaningful people he's ever met while he was traveling.  He is still friends with them today.   46:00  Angel shares how much he loved Costa Rica Talks about some of his favorite locations he went 51:30 Angel shares tips and tricks on where to start doing what he does 52:00  Angel shares where he goes next 54:00  Angel shares the one thing he takes with him when he travels - A moleskin journal 54:55 Angel shares the one piece of life advice he would give to a younger Angel 56:36 You can find Angel on http://www.angelstravellounge.com (www.angelstravellounge.com) Www.instagram.com/angels_travels

In this episode, I interview Digital Nomad Taylor Wallace. She shares some of the struggles she had living this lifestyle and how she found balance. Show Notes:00:00 Taylor reads an excerpt from her travels 2:30  Taylor talks about the excerpt from her travels 4:13 Taylor defines what a digital nomad means 4:43  Taylor shares with us what a regular day living her nomad life looks like 8:37  Taylor shares how she defines traveling and the difference between being a digital nomad and traveling 13:03 Taylor shares the decision when she decided to become a digital nomad The importance of finding a community so you can thrive 20:53 Taylor shares one of her fears when she had - The feeling of falling behind and how she dealt with that challenge 24:51 Taylor shares how she moved into the mindfulness space and her journey to moving into the importance of mindfulness as a digital nomad 33:26 Taylor's most valuable thing she learned was that nothing is important Taylor explains what this means to her 37:19  Taylor shares her most dangerous moment she's ever experienced while being a digital nomad - She shares a story in Mexico where her group of friends and their acquaintances almost got arrested.   44:13 Taylor shares her most fulfilling moment on a Greek Island getting invited on a massive luxury yacht 50:15  Taylor's favorite place in the world is Japan and she shares some of her favorite locations and experiences 53:19 Taylor shares one piece of advice that she would give to her younger self. 55:00 Find Taylor http://www.instagram.com/taylorwallace (www.instagram.com/taylorwallace) www.thefitfounder.com

With over 650,000 followers across his personal brand, Luke has nailed social media travel content down to a science. He showcases areas around the world that aren't typically visited and loves to connect with the local people, showing how they live and what occurs on a day to day basis. Uploading his adventures to Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube have allowed him to connect with others around the world, and set-up a life of travel Show Notes:00:00 Luke reads an excerpt about his travels 00:30   Drea introduces Luke Luke having the goal of producing videos that make people feel like they are in the moment with him.  2:28 Luke shares what he meant with the beginning excerpt and the story about his love for travel 3:16   Luke shares the beginnings of his travel life  He talks about knowing the travel lifestyle His first place he went to Sri Lanka He talks about the growth of his social media starting in India Having parents that supported him at such a young age to purse his dream really helped in his success.  9:53 Luke talks about the importance of mindset 11:17 Luke talks about being 18 and some of his fears he had Traveling with no plans    13:56  Luke talks about what his day looks like 16:00 Luke shares his biggest challenge when he travels and how he mitigates those challenges 19:37 Luke shares the most valuable thing he had learned during his travels.   20:27 Luke shares the most meaningful person he's met on his travels  How luke found his meaningful person through instagram 24:24 Luke shares his most interesting story during his travels when he got hurt and a firecracker blew up on his hand in India during Diwali He had a full recovery of his hand and he tells the whole story on how to get his hand back. 31:40  Luke shares that his most fulfilling moment is going back when he recovered a few months later to see the people who took care of him and give thanks to the doctor and his team.   33:40 Luke gives advice on how to do what he does to a younger version of himself.  35:48 Luke shares what makes good content and his belief on what good content means He shares what his older videos vs what his videos look like now. 42:14 Luke shares his favorite place - Southern India and how to travel to that location 44:14 Luke shares a piece of life advice to a younger Luke After sharing some positive advice, Drea asks Luke where he got this positivity from - Luke's answer… Gary Vee 50:19  Luke's next destination is Pakisatan.  He shares why  52:10 Luke shares the one special thing he brings with him when he travels 53:15 http://www.lukedamant.com (www.LukeDamant.com) http://www.instagram.com/lukedamant (www.instagram.com/lukedamant) https://www.facebook.com/LukeDamantt/ (https://www.facebook.com/LukeDamantt/) https://www.tiktok.com/@lukedamant (https://www.tiktok.com/@lukedamant) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWm__g4cPmX-umorqM8VfWw

As the founder of Expat Empire, David McNeill is focused on inspiring people to move abroad and showing them how to do it. In addition to producing books, podcasts, blog posts, meetup events, and more, Expat Empire offers personalized consulting services to give everyone the opportunity to achieve their international dreams. David started Expat Empire because he has a genuine passion for living abroad. He left the United States in 2014 and has since lived in Tokyo, Berlin, and Porto. Show Notes00:00  David reads an excerpt her wrote about his travels 00:40  Introduction to David McNeill 1:38 David shares the story behind what he opens the episode reading.    3:16  David shares where he is located right now in Portugal David talks about meeting his wife abroad and the things they had in common that brought them together 9:54  David shares what travel means to him being a digital nomad 13:31 David shares the decision to move and how this passion started 17:18  David shares some of his fears about his lifestyle and moving to a foreign country David shares some of the difficulties and challenges while living on the road Prioritizing travel 24:56   David shares the most valuable thing he has learned while traveling as a nomad 26:00  David shares his podcast and business, Ex-pat Empire and why he started this personalizing consulting service helping people make the move.  30:00  David shares his favorite place - Budapest and why David shares of his favorite tips and tricks  The Ruin Pubs 38:00 David shares a dive he did with sharks in the Philippines David also shares another interesting trip he had in Guatemala and having a problem with the border crossing 43:41 David shares his most meaningful person he has met abroad - A friend in Japan 45:52  David shares his most fulfilling moment while being abroad - Getting Lost 48:39 David shars his tips and tricks on following his footsteps as an Ex-pat 52:00  David shares a piece of advice that he would give to a younger himself 53:54  David shares the one thing he takes with him on many of his trips 56:45 David shares his next plans with his wife  58:22 www.Expatempire.com http://www.facebook.com/expatempire (www.facebook.com/expatempire) www.instagram.com/expatempire

Carleigh Fairchild lives her life as a journey, taking each adventure and living it to the fullest. She has studied survival skills since she was a teenager, and Niaszhii Healing over the last seven years. Carleigh is passionate about basket weaving, shelter building, fire making, edible and medicinal plants, and finding joyful connections wherever she goes. In 2016 Carleigh lived solo for 86 days and filmed herself as part of History Channel's TV series Alone. Carleigh is a practitioner of Niaszhii (Nya Zee Yi) Healing, teaches survival skills, gives inspirational presentations, and is an ambassador for LT Wright Handcrafted Knives.  Show Notes:00:00  Carleigh Fairchild reads an excerpt of her journal about her time on the show “Alone 2:30  Drea introduced Carleigh and her background 3:52  Carleigh talks about the excerpt in the beginning about the feelings she had about the show, “Alone.”  She shares how they weren't allowed to bring a journal on the show.  4:43  Carleigh shares what travel means to her 5:52  Carleigh shares her preferred way of travel   Carleigh shares that she actually went back to Mongolia and interned for Panoramic Journeys.  Drea shares that on the show, they went to her two favorite places, Patagonia and Mongolia 8:55  Carleigh shares what it looks like to travel with her and some of the things she carries with her when she goes to travel 10:12 Carleigh shares her travel style Cowboy camping - Drea talks about Carleigh on the show when she still went cowboy camping even though she spots a bob cat She talks about having familiarity and rationalizing being a big factor with cowboy camping. Carleigh shares about sleeping with just a tarp for some of her time hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail 17:14 Carleigh tells us that there is nothing else teaches you more about yourself than being out there in the wilderness for a long period of time She shares what the most valuable thing she has learned out in the wilderness  19:27 Carleigh is a wilderness survivalist and she talks about where it started.  23:20  Carleigh shares with us what wilderness survival has taught her the most.  The importance of being part of the wilderness The importance to have empathy when hunting and being part of the cycle of life 28:70  Carleigh talks about making a drum out of a cow hide she found on the show She talks about the things she made with this cow hide  She starts to discuss what the experience was like on the show “Alone” 33:58  Carleigh and Drea discuss the difficulties about filming and surviving at the same time.   35:45 Drea asks if this was the first time she really had to apply the survival skills she had learned in the past.  Carleight explains that she actually had less items in the past.  Drea asks which of the two were more difficult -  her time on Alone or her previous experiences  36:52  Carleigh talks about how they weren't allowed to go outside of the area they were in.  39:42 Carleigh shares her biggest challenge on “Alone” - Food She only caught 6 fish and she explains that journey 42:03 Carleigh talks about her mental capacity to stay for such a lengthy time on the show.   46:43 Carleigh talks about how she really learn to value other people's company after being on the show both on the first and second times. She talks about how soon they had her work on the 2nd time on the show - it was one year.  48:43 Carleigh talks about the recovery period after her experience.  Losing her love for Bacon and Chocolate after the 86 days in the wilderness 52:52 Carleigh talks about how close she was to winning the show Carleigh talks about how Alone was a journey for yourself as opposed to competing against each other 56:02 Carleigh talks about the 2nd time on the show, "Alone" and her experience with the fish

Julius Mayo Jr. is a photographer, digital marketer, and content creator. He travels for food and plans trips around the U.S. and abroad to discover local food and culture, sharing the experience through social media channels and his food blog, Droolius — food photos that make you drool. Starting the Droolius blog in 2010, he shared his travel and food experiences, helping people find good places to eat. He also used the website and photography to showcase local restaurants and food trucks, leading to a social media marketing business. The blogging experience led to presenting as a speaker at food blog conferences and teaching photography live on stage. Julius has collaborated with brands, including Walt Disney World and KEH Camera, to host food photography workshops to teach influencers how to capture food with cameras and lighting techniques. The goal is to travel the world and eat everything, while inspiring others to discover different cultures through food.  Show Notes:00:00 Julius reads an excerpt where he discusses his thoughts on Philippine Cuisine 00:36 Drea introduces Julius Mayo Jr.  2:17  Julius talks about the excerpt in the beginning about traveling to the Philippines and exploring the country, and the local food! He talks about some of the foods in the Philippines and the street food - The Kwek-kwek, lechon, etc and then going to Japan afterwards for Ramen Discussing the Philippines and Coron Julius shares his love for travel and find any excuse to travel - Especially for food 8:15  Julius shares what travel means to him  The decision when his food travel blog started before there was instagram or other social media platforms ---- 12:44  Julius talks about the progressions of his food blog and how his career in food became a reality Talking about creating this blog because of passion Talking about social media and finding your passion, as opposed to focusing on fame and fortune 21:44 Julius talks about some of the challenges of having an over amount of content and finding the balance of backlog content 24:38   Julius talks about his inspiration why he started to become a food blogger - Anthony Bourdain 28:17 Julius shares the most meaningful person he's ever met - a man from Japan, Yoshi who took him under his wing for a ramen adventure 36:36 Julius shares the chef that changed the way her viewed food - The chefs at Kadence Orlando who have Filipino Chefs 42:30  Julius talks about his favorite places to eat in Los Angeles - Lasa  Drea and Julius also discuss LA TACOS He also shares some of his favorite places in Los Angeles  Julius shares a day when he went to 10 different places to eat in one day in Los Angeles Julius' love for donuts 50:18 Drea asks Julius what his favorite dish and food experience - Carcar Market in Cebu in sampling all different types of Lechon   54:03  Julius shares his favorite restaurant - DEN  57:24  Julius shares his tips and tricks for aspiring food bloggers 61:00 Julius shares a piece of life advice he would give to a younger version of himself 63:00 http://www.instagram.com/droolius (www.instagram.com/droolius)  http://www.doolius.com (www.doolius.com) http://www.youtube.com/drooliusfilms (www.youtube.com/drooliusfilms) https://www.facebook.com/DrooliusBlog/ (https://www.facebook.com/DrooliusBlog/)

Special Guest: Marquita WrightHave you ever heard the phrase, "Once you have kids, you can't travel anymore" or "Once you have kids, kiss your traveling days goodbye?" Well, Marquita Wright, mother of twin toddlers debunks that lie that has been told to many expecting parents. In this episode, we hear about the journey to traveling with infants to toddlers, and some handy advice to take with you when you attempt to do what many people think... is the impossible. Marquita is The Traveling Twin Mama- traveling the world with her twin 2 year old boys. In their 2 years of life, they've been on over 25 trips and visited 5 countries. Her goal is to provide tips and inspiration to help women and families travel smarter. She believes the world is our oyster, so let's explore it! Show Notes:00:00 Marquita opens the episode with an excerpt she wrote about traveling 1:28  Introduction 2:02 Marquita talks about the excerpt in the beginning about traveling as a black family.  She speaks about the experience she had on a Delta flight as a black woman.  Marquita and Drea discuss feeling racism  6:28 Marquita discusses what travel means to her and what travel teaches her.   The importance of travel to get through life 9:31 We talk about “The world is your Oyster” written on Marquitas #Clubhouse profile Exploring the US outside of where Marquita lives which is New Orleans Traveling within the US during the pandemic Drea and Marquita share some of the places they have traveled this past pandemic year 13:56 Marquita discusses traveling with twins and why she believes it's important to travel She talks about traveling with her kids at 4 months and they have been on 25 trips at the age of two.   She discusses how people are always willing to help 17:25 Marquita talks about traveling internationally with her children - Thailand, Amsterdam, Costa Rica, Paris, and Puerto Rico Marquita's favorite place she's traveled to with her kids was Thailand, so she talks about how she prepared for the trip and one of the challenges she had 22:08 Drea asks Marquita if she had any fears traveling with her kids 25:33 Marquita shares some of the challenges and the journey of taking the first trip with the kids Strollers and finding the right travel stroller - GB pocket stroller 30:08  Marquita shares what's in her bag on the plane and when traveling Marquita also shares some great tips on how to travel with the kids   The importance of snacks when they hit the toddler age - Packing their backpacks so they can carry their own things She shares a few items/toys to bring when traveling 33:57  Marquita shares the most valuable thing she's learned while traveling 37:25 Marquita shares her most fulfilling moment during her travels while she was in South Africa 40:53 Marquita shares the most meaningful person she's met while traveling 44:12 Marquita's advice on how to travel with children  The importance of having your own memories of your children traveling and how it is as much of an experience for the parents to have their kids travel as much as it is for the children.  48:41 Marquita's favorite place she's traveled is Chiang Mai in Thailand 50:43 Marquita prefers to travel to airbnb's because of the space and the convenience of having a washer and dryer Marquita shares some of her tips, tricks and food to eat in Chiang Mai 56:00 Marquita shares her one thing she definitely brings with her when she travels 57:11 Marquita shares a piece of life advice to a younger Marquita - The importance of being patient    61:00  Find Marquita MarquitasTravels.com www.instagram.com/MarquitasTravels

In this episode, Digital Nomad, Omar Mo shares his story going from a normal life with a regular job and home to buying a one way ticket to Nicaragua and living out of his suitcase.  He shares some of the life lessons he learns along the way and stories about his adventures on the road. Show Notes:00:00  Omar Mo reads an excerpt of something he wrote 00:34 Drea shares Omar Mo bio 2:24  Omar tells us the reasoning behind the excerpt he wrote.  5:05  Omar explains what a Digital Nomad means Omar tells us the transition into the Digital Nomad life and how he knew that he was destined not to have a normal life  He shares the story when he decided to book that one way ticket to his adventure to Nicaragua - He stayed traveling for 2 ½-3 years 11:20  Superficial Conversations and the experience of having a podcast   13:01 Omar talks about his “Why” behind his travels Redefining Traveling - What it was, what it means now and how it is constantly changing 18:28  Drea asks Omar about the fears that he may have had  The fear of missing out on family and friends Being nervous about a new place not knowing anyone Growth vs Relationships and the balance 24:32 Omar and few challenges he faced Australia and gaining weight due to drinking Broken Bones and the importance of Travel insurance 28:08 Omar shares his most valuable thing he's learned why he's traveled 29:01 Omar shares his most meaningful person he met and the valuable things he learned He shares a very personal story about learning empathy from a previous relationship and how it affected his entire outlook 33:00 Omar shares his most fulfilling moment in Sydney  He also reveals his favorite place in the world, Sydney 36:17 Omar shares his favorite places in Sydney 39:43 Omar shares his most dangerous situation he's ever been while swimming 45:40 Omar shares some valuable tips to live a life as a Digital Nomad 49:07 Omar shares his goals and where he plans to do next 52:40 Omar shares the one thing he takes with him when he travels 53:45 This is the piece of life advice that Omar gives to his younger self  54:30 http://www.instagram.com/nomadables (www.instagram.com/nomadables) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nomadic-executive-discussions-digital-nomads-online/id1505908580

Jeff Garmire is only 30 years old but has already backpacked over 30,000 miles since 2011.  It all began with a 55-pound backpack at the start of the Pacific Crest Trail and from there, he was hooked. His first thru-hike led to a second, shortly after college and then even when he began his career, he started looking for ways to explore nature and the world. A few notable achievements are 15-speed records on long-distance hiking trails, the calendar year triple crown, the great western loop,  AND climbing all 58 of Colorado's 14,000' peaks.  His book, Free Outside shares his journey completing the Triple Crown which means thru hiking the Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Tail and the Pacific Crest Trail  in one year through 4 seasons.   Show Notes:00:00  Jeff Garmire reads an excerpt from his book “Free Outside” 1:30  Drea introduces Jeff Garmire and his impressive biography 2:50  Jeff talks about the excerpt he read which talks about crossing a cold, nearly frozen river in Maine swimming across naked during the winter season.  Jeff talks about stripping naked, using a dry bag to get across the river.  8:07  Jeff defines the meaning of thru-hiking 8:56  Jeff tells us what travel means to him.  He explains what he believes is the difference between a vacation and travel.   10:00  Drea asks Jeff if he goes on vacation.   11:19  Jeff and Drea discuss why they love traveling “uncomfortably”  14:15  Jeff tells us why he began this journey to backpack and thru hike the Triple Crown (The Appalachian Trail AKA the AT, The Continental Divide AKA the CDT, and the Pacific Crest Trail AKA the PCT in one calendar year. He talks about the beginning of it all the progression to attempting the Triple Crown  He talks about meeting people who were doing the PCT when he was younger.  He took off Spring Term of college and decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.  He talks about the lessons he learned during the PCT when he was a very novice. This became his obsession He talks about the transition into attempting the Triple Crown - All of the “Stepping Stones” to get there.  17:55  Jeff elaborates on meeting those initial PCT hikers that introduced him into the world of thru hiking.  He talks about his perspective on how hungry they were.  He tells the story of watching one of the PCT hikers slab a ton of mayo.   Jeff now related to the PCT hikers he met when he was younger.  He talks about a time when he got kicked out of an All You Can Eat Buffet that he stopped at while he was trying to complete the Appalachian Trail.  21:07  Jeff talks about some of the fears of doing the Triple Crown 22:25  Jeff talks about getting charged by a Grizzly Bear. Jeff shortly after the near bear attack, encounters Mules he decided to become momentary friends with. 25:45  Jeff discusses some of the additional challenges he faced while on the trail.  26:58  Jeff tells a story about losing gear on the trail  28:41 Jeff used a tarp as a Shelter for much of the Appalachian Trail which some people due to decrease the weight.  The Appalachian Trail has shelters but many times they are filled up so it was a risk - He discusses that experience.   Jeff talks about switching to a tent because of the cold and also because of mosquitoes Drea talks about her experience in Big Pine, CA and the attack of the mosquitos.  32:00  Jeff talks about the importance of DUCT TAPE! 33:57 Jeff talks about the 2 most valuable things he learned during his travels 35:43  Drea asks about Jeff's mental endurance 38:20  Drea asks Jeff what his most fulfilling moment was during his treks 40:00 Jeff shares with us the most meaningful he met while he went traveling.  He talks about this man “Little Buddah” he...

Special Guest: Ruben GarayRuben grew up in Sweden and made his way over to the US after publishing the world's largest music website at the age of 18, garnering 30 million unique visitors in 5 years, before getting acquired by Hollywood.com Since 1996,  Ruben has been immersed in the evolution of the world wide web, building recognizable brands with loyal audiences. His already successful career in the entertainment industry led to studying at  New York Film Academy and Music Business at the Musician's Institute in Hollywood. He then went on to work as a concert video editor for Live Nation and helmed several video and post production departments of major online publications such as MTV, VH1, Fuse, Celeb TV and Hollywire. In 2013, he left the entertainment business and began focusing on his childhood dream of becoming an airline pilot.  With only a private pilot's license and 125 hours of total time to his name, Ruben acquired all of the necessary ratings and became a flight instructor until he achieved 1500 hours in 2 years and 2 months. In 2015, Compass Airlines, a regional airline based of LA was the first airline who took a chance on him and within 15 months he was upgraded to the left seat of the Embray-air  E175. After being a Captain there for 3 years, he took a job as a Captain flying the Embraer E-135 for JSX. Then, 7 months later, on a bright Saturday morning, he received an interview invite from a major airline Despite loving his job at JSX and being home based in Las Vegas, he couldn't say no to the job offer. Nevertheless, before he new it, Covid entered the picture and Ruben was furloughed just shy of completing his 200th hour on the Airbus A320/A321 based out of LAX. Outside of flying, his hobbies include building the latest expert mode Legos with my wife, hanging out with their two dogs (a Peagle named Charlie and a Corgi named Bella), jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, and working on side projects, such as mentoring young and and upcoming entrepreneurs with an emphasis on online e-commerce, video production and marketing. SHOW NOTES:00:00 Ruben reads an excerpt from his travels 00:16-2:29   Drea introduces Ruben Drea & Ruben discuss how long they've known each other and their background of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles Drea & Ruben talk about Femme Fatality web series and how successful it became pretty quickly.  Ruben talks about his success as a pilot coming from very little monetary help and hard work. He talks about hard work and results that will come out of it if you keep going. The power of believing in yourself and the American dream   9:20  The beginning of Ruben's career with the World of Brittany www.worldofbrittany.com, which was the first fan site for any celebrity on the internet and it was all about Britney Spears.  11:10  Ruben talks about the beginning of his life in aviation and his love for planes even as a child.  Ruben talks about his early childhood living as an expat and meeting friends who had parents who were airline captains.  Ruben talks about Microsoft Flight Simulator in the 90's and his progression to getting his pilot license.   15:02 The story of the day Ruben decided to become an airline pilot and the transition to Compass airlines, then JSX and then over to a major airline. 17:20  Ruben talks about the difficulty of getting hired by a major airline and how most of the hires come from the military He shares the moment when he got the call that he got hired for a major airline and how surreal it felt. He shares how excited he was to finally get hired and then covid-19 hitting the world a month after his hire The Gala he was invited to after getting hired and then losing it all to Covid-19 While he was training, he saw the way the world started evolving in front him from pre-covid to post-covid He discusses his time at the hotel where he was

Special Guest: Mike CrowleyAt the age of 11, Mike went on his first backpacking trip and the outdoor bug has been with him ever since. Taking time each month, he would explore the mountains and deserts of Southern California and take week long treks in the Sierra Nevadas. As it happens to most of us, life later got in the way and took over, but Mike always remembered the call of the wild. Fast forward 30 years and Mike started making his way outdoors again. From exploring the Mojave Desert, to camping in Death Valley in August, bike packing across the Hawaiian island of Molokai, finding once again his old stomping grounds in the Sierras and now... thru-hiking across America last year, and doing it once again this year. It seems Mike is now making up for lost time. After his second walk across America is over, he is conjuring up plans for other adventures. Some ideas are: hiking the lowest to highest trail (Badwater in Death Valley to Mount Whitney in the Sierras), kayaking and hiking the circumference of Kauai, exploring the forests and lonely places of the American southwest and more. Show Notes: 00:00  Mike Crowley reads an excerpt from something he has written about his travels 1:30   Drea introduced Mike Crowley and his history with traveling.   Drea talks about the reason why she decided to introduce Mike 3:56  Discussing the reasons for his excerpt that he wrote and about his love for the vastness.   The importance of silence and experiencing God or the Universe.  8:13  The walk across American from West to East  Saddleback mountain and the regrets he started to have - the lesson he learned to be present The importance of not looking at the destination because it can make it difficult 12:24 The decision to conquer the hike across the country and Mike's “whys” once and then now going from South to North West to East Hike - Started in March and ended in New Years Eve - A total of 3900 Currently hiking 2200 Miles from South to North - Started in August 1st till mid to later part of February 2021  15:36 Mike's shares his most valuable lessons 17:07  Mike has been hiking alone and shares that there is a community of people who are walking across the country like him.  He talks about briefly meeting someone who was also doing the same thing and they accompanied each other during the most mentally difficult part of the trail, the Missouri River.  19:36   Mike shares what travel means to him : the special connections you have with the people you meet.  21:21  Drea asks why Mike decided to do this type of  travel.     22:32 Mike shares how he prepared for this hike.   Mindset Financial Aspect 29:20  http://www.youtube.com/ilikemike (www.youtube.com/ilikemike) Mike talks about his youtube channel and how it began!  30:29  Mike shares some of the challenges walking on the road Missouri River - The mental challenge The Grand Canyon/Little Colorado River - the lack of trail legs and the physical challenge 32:56  Mike has never gotten hurt but he has gotten stuck on a cliff.  He was saved my Alex 33:58  Mike shares a story when he felt the most in danger in Rockies.   He also shares how he keeps going when there are places of danger. 36:35  Mike talks about one of his most interesting stories in the backroad of Kansas and meeting these people who decided to take him into their home.  Mike talks about importance of the people that he meets and the connections he makes  39:50 Mike shares his most meaningful person he's ever met - it was Alec - a former guest on Drea's show in the Grand Canyon.  43:51 Mike shares his most fulfilling moment on his hike Being able to turn off the time Connection with others 44:57  Mike's favorite location is Kansas  Mike's advice to...

Special Guest: Mary CallisteMary's love for travel started at the age of 16 when she left the Spice Island of Grenada for an extended visit to the U.K. Mary has traveled to several countries since and has been sharing her travel and faith journey by way of story-telling with hopes to inspire, empower and equip others for moments in their own journey. Mary's life is filled with more little moments than big, more abundant with quiet moments than loud, and colored by more lessons than losses. Having to navigate and survive challenges at a young age, Mary is choosing daily to live a life of meaning and inspiration. Travel inspired Mary to share stories with the world. She recently founded the Moments Unplugged Collective to provide a safe space for a global community of women who are interested in travel, not just external travel, but a deeper travel within themselves to find real connection and emotional healing. Show Notes: 00:00 Mary reads her excerpt from one of her instagram posts about #TravelingWhileBlack 1:49 Drea introduces Mary and shares her biography 3:07 Mary explains the instagram post she read about Traveling while being black.  She has had many experiences that she found as an opportunity to educate different cultures.  6:27 Mary talks about an experience where she changed a man's mind about using the “N” word so casually. She used it as an opportunity to educate this man who had no idea the history and origin of this word. Drea and Mary discuss how it's just a lack of education why moments like this happen and how as Americans we also enter into countries where what we do might be considered insulting - Education is the gap to all of these differences. Mary talks about in Sri Lanka she loved the food so much that she licked her fingers.  But in Sri Lanka that means you do not like the food and is very disrespectful.  9:15 Mary shares how she balances her work life/career and travel.  She gives the advice of how to approach a full time job and make them aware of your priority for your passion for travel.  14:32 Mary shares what travel means to her - She is really passionate about meeting people and really understanding who they are.  She enjoys spending the time to really talk to them and get to know them on a personal level.  This passion for connection is what she loves about travel.  17:18 Drea talks about her trip to Nepal, talking to her Sherpa, Raj and hearing about his life.   19:38 Mary talks about how she discovered traveling and how it serves her.  23:40 Mary talks about living in England  24:08 Mary discusses her travel blog, Moments in Square and what she shares on her travel blog. She talks about her experiences on her travel blog vs. what to see or do.  26:08 In her blog, she also talks about her healing journey and how she used travel to help her.  She speaks about traveling solo and reflecting on her life when she does travel.  30:02 Mary gives a piece of advice to someone who wants to go on a healing journey.  36:50 Mary loves to travel to a hotel but not a hostel (only nicer ones).  She made a commitment to herself that if she can afford nice things, to treat herself.  She doesn't do luxury hotels usually but she does do the mid range hotels.  She stayed in a tree house once called Rumah Pohon in Bali.   40:47 Mary talks about traveling solo and what that means to her.   43:43 Finding the ideal travel partner and the importance of finding your tribe 44:44 Mary talks about the challenges she's had when she travels.  One challenge she faces is her friendly personality.  She talks about a negative experience she had in Morocco.  Drea also shares her story in Fez, Morocco. Mary talks about the difference between Casablanca and Fez.  57:47 Mary discusses the most meaningful person she's ever met on her travels.  Her most meaningful...

Special Guest: Drew GilmourDrew Gilmour is 58 years old and is a retired  U.S. National Park Service Chief Ranger with 32 years of service. During his Career in the NPS he worked in ten National Park as well as detailing to many other sites and other government agencies on law enforcement, wildland fire, Homeland Security and other risk assignments including the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and hurricanes on the gulf coast. He has traveled to 28 countries and all 50 States. He has a variety of interests including Travel, Bird watching, Backpacking, Hiking, Camping, History, Aviation, Kayaking, SCUBA/Snorkeling, Dog Sledding and Ocean Voyages. He enjoys traveling by small expedition vassals and ships and has even traveled across several oceans, seas and rivers across the globe. Following retirement in 2017 he started section hiking the Appalachian Trail. He has completed 725miles of the AT from Harpers Ferry WV to Hanover NH. He has plans on finishing the other 1427 miles in three section hikes once the Covid -19 Pandemic is over.  When He is not traveling He lives with his girlfriend Stacie in La Crescent, Minnesota with their two Alaskan Malamutes and one Alaskan Husky Two of which are retired Sled dogs. Together they enjoy traveling and exploring the world.  Show Notes:00:00 Drew reads an excerpt from something he wrote 00:24 Drea does her intro and then goes into her Drew Gilmour's biography 2:23 Drew shares why he read those quotes and where the National Park Rangers gets their authority.   2:57 Drew starts to talk about how parks pose different challenges for park rangers 3:55 Drew shares what travel means to him from the perspective of a National Park Ranger 5:34 Drew shares about how travel ran in his blood.  He discusses about his parents who were also world travelers. He talks about how his parents really introduced him to the national park system and exploring the world.   8:04 Drew shares his love for the Arctic and how he is really in love with that area.  He recently went on trip on a ship in the Arctic 8:59 Drew continues to travel because he loves exploring the unknown.  10:00 The pandemic has taught Drea that there is so much to explore your own backyard.  10:43 Drew shares what inspired him to go into the park service.  He started a seasonal job at the age of 21 in Maintenance at a historical National Park in Morristown, NJ.  It was there that he was convinced that working as a ranger was an exciting opportunity. He starts to talk about working for Glacier National Park and “living among the grizzly bears and mountains.” 12:46 Drea talks about how much she fell in love with Glacier NP. 13:24  Drew was a backcountry ranger in the East portion of Glacier NP.  He talks about some of his duties in the backcountry and the encounters he had with wildlife.  15:12 Drew shares his favorite park - The Grand Tetons.  He shares what it was about the Tetons he loved. He was there 1988 during the major wildfire and how he experienced fighting the fires there.   16:15 He shares his most valuable lesson he learned while fighting these fires.   17:44 Drew shares more stories about the Yellowstone Fires. These were the first modern fires that went out of control 20:55 Drea asks Drew if he ever felt afraid.  Drew says yes there were quite a few times.  He goes on to explain a situation that scared him 22:30 Drea asks “What is the most challenging that you have faced as a ranger?”  He shares the moment when he changed parks and he was moving to Florida to Big Cypress NP during a hurricane 26:10 A park ranger is called during national disasters according to your qualifications.  26:50 Drew talks about Space Shuttle Columbia and having the park ranger called to help for the recovery operations. Drew discusses the variety of things that a park ranger is called to do and how you were

Have you ever dreamed of traveling the world serving others? This episode explores the life of Ashlee Redd on one of her many trips around the world to Uganda. Her faith based mission trip took her on a mission to spread her faith as well as provide education and water to communities in Africa. She discusses the problem that the community faces with the lack of clean water and the challenges that women often face in those communities as a result. Special Guest: Ashlee ReddNative New Jerseyan, former Brooklynite, and now currently by the mountains, she settled in Fort Collins, CO. Ashlee is a graphic designer with an incurable case of wanderlust. She loves to explore new places, foods, cultures, and take in the beauty of the world around her. Ashlee started her love of travel at a young age has been to 20+ counties And counting. In 2013, Ashlee went on her first mission trip to Honduras w the non profit organization Run4Water, founded and ran by her cousins in Tennessee. Since then, she has traveled to Central America and Africa with Run4Water. She has become part of the leadership team helping expand a new branch called 84Days, a women's ministry whose goal is to spread the love of Christ, empower women, teach feminine hygiene workshops and self defense classes. Show Notes:00:00 Excerpt from Ashlee Redd :45 Ashlee Redd's Bio 2:15 Ashlee shares why she loves to travel and how travel began with her mother being originally from Chile.  She also shares how they had foreign exchange students that would live with the family.   4:00 Drea asks her about why she travels the way she does - What draws her to travel the way she does - which isn't your typical vacation? Ashlee shares traveling to Africa and that experience.  She shares her love for being out of her element and immersing herself into a completely different culture.   6:22 Ashlee discusses how she got involved in Run4Water and how she got involved. She speaks about how her experience with Honduras and how it changed her perspective on her life.  She explains what Run4Water is and what the organization is about.  9:22 Ashlee talks about the length of time she typically spends on missions.  She also discusses what Run4water does in the countries that they go to.  10:30 Ashlee talks about the issue of water in countries like Uganda and how hard it is to get water for many people.  She explains how women or children are usually carrying jugs of water to their villages, and the many, many issues of bringing water in that way.  Ashlee talks about Run4Water and how it is their mission to help bring sustainable and safe drinking water to their villages.  Ashlee also shares the difficulty of many women in Uganda and places like Uganda wherein the responsibility to bring water lies on their shoulders.  They also began a branch of the non-profit mission called 84 days which is a women's ministry that helps the fight for Period Poverty which helps supply the women with sustainable feminine hygiene kits that supplies them for 10 years as well as workshops and self defense classes.  14:42 Ashlee starts to talk about period hygiene in Uganda and explains that there are 1.2 billion women that suffer from “period poverty” 16:17 Ashlee shares what is in the kit that is in the hygiene kit that they provide for the girls.   20:14 Drea and Ashlee discuss assault in Uganda and the viewpoint of the men in the country in regards to women.  She talks about the Self Defense classes and the importance of the classes. Women get raped, abducted and sexually assaulted - so the self defense classes are so important 24:18 Ashlee shares her most meaningful person she's ever meant - which is a woman in Uganda named Vivian, the daughter of a preacher. She talks about a couple that inspired them to start another branch called Real Men which is part of the 84 days program which is about working with men...

Matt Wild is a lifelong adventurer who spends most of his free time outdoors... from hiking, backpacking and camping, to trail biking, all the way to kayaking, and even surfing. When it comes to travel his preference is always a good old fashioned road trip to somewhere new and exciting. His mission over the past decade has been to find the balance between managing the demands of day to day life with exploring the wild and to help others do so as well. Show Notes: 00:00 Intro to Matt - Matt reads an excerpt about the beginnings of his love for the outdoors 1:06 Drea reads Matt's bio  1:53 Matt explains the excerpt at the beginning that he read 3:02 Matt says that he lost his love for the outdoors when he got older but the Canadian show “Departures” about two guys who decided that were going to quit their jobs and travel the world for a year inspired him to change his own life.  He walked away from corporate in 2012 and took a gap year.  He hit 21 states starting in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and didn't really have a solid plan.  6:27 Drea talks about her love for loose plans and admires Matt for being able to do that. Matt discusses the sporadic trip to Italy and the fun loose plans that ended up happening.  9:12 Matt shares the most valuable thing he learned traveling loosely within the United States.  He talks about the infrastructure for road trips in the US being much easier than Canada.  Drea and Matt discusses in detail the highway infrastructure that lends to the American Road trip lifestyle.  14:19 Drea asks Matt which state was his favorite and his answer was Oregon.  Matt explains his reasoning why he chose this gorgeous state 16:46 Matt tells us why he's passionate about travel and what it means to him   19:02 Matt shares his love for the Pacific Coast Highway 19:59 Shares his favorite tip for the CA-1/Pacific Coast Highway 20:28 Matt shares with us why he decided to choose the mountain and outdoorsy lifestyle - He talks about living in Vancouver and the outdoor lifestyle that is so prevalent in the area. 22:46 Matt shares his most challenging thing he's faced as a hiker which is the high cost of gear.  Matt also shares some tips on how to mitigate those costs 28:17 Matt shares his current hiking boot. 29:14 Matt shares the importance of trying on gear  31:06 Matt discusses how he prepared for the GAP year and the steps he took to go 35:23 Matt shares his favorite moment during his GAP year 36:13 Matt shares his most fulfilling moment during his GAP year - He was inspired by a Jackie Chan quote and shares it  37:40 Matt shares his most dangerous moment when he went to Winnipeg and was driving back to Thunder Bay, Canada.  He saw a bunch of moose all over this highway and they needed to stop for the evening to camp.  42:44 Matt shares the most important people he's met during his travel.  He talks about finding his best friends on the trails in Vancouver.  47:25 Talking about spending time on the mountain during sunset and sunrise 50:45 Matt shares his favorite hike - Mount Garibaldi in Canada. He talks about jumping in the glacier fed lake.  He also shares a few tips on how to do this hike.  59:00 Lake Lovely water is one place that Matt wants to go to via helicopter 1:36 Matt shares his piece of life advice he would give to himself which is that he should do this sooner.  1:02   http://www.instagram.com/mattoutwild (www.instagram.com/mattoutwild) www.facebook.com/mattoutwild

Alexys is a 27-year-old Los Angeles native who's gotten really good at traveling on a budget, loves going outside of her comfort zone to experience new cultures, & says “yes” to any new type of food abroad.  Within a 6 year period she had ventured to 50 countries, while going to school and then later working full time.  She started her instagram page and blog because she wanted to provide honest destination tips to show just how affordable travel can be, and help others to spend less time behind the computer screen trip-planning and more time out exploring." Show Notes:00:00 Alexys begins our episode with reading an excerpt she wrote about traveling to Havana, Cuba.  :40 Drea introduces the show and tells us about Alexys, a young traveler who enjoys exploring on a budget.   1:31 Drea asks about budget traveling to Havana and Alexys shares with us in further detail the Havana, Cuba trip she started the episode. It was originally supposed to be a 3 day domestic trip somewhere but after finding cheap flights to Cuba, it quickly became a 5 day trip to Havana.   2:41 Drea asks Alexys when she booked it and how she prepared for this trip  4:13 This was Alexy's first true budget trip.  5:30 Drea asks Alexy's budget to go to Havana, Cuba. She breaks down her flight costs, food costs, and Mojito costs.   6:24 Drea talks about her Cuba trip in February 2020 before Coronavirus hit. It was a last minute trip. Both Alexys and Drea provides some tips on the visa situation 9:15 Alexys Shares how she prepared for the trip to Cuba and the “Supporting for the Cuban people”  13:04 Alexys shares some of her activities that she did in Cuba. She talks about the convertible tour and her tour guide Alan.  15:19 Talking about Cuba and exchanging money 17:23 Alexys talks about the Charles Schwabb Debit card, which is one of her favorite travel tips.  20:30 Drea asks Alexys why she started traveling and how she started traveling to 50 countries. Alexys talks about how much travel runs in her family and how her mom really influenced her adventurous spirit. She believes travel really has brought her closer with her mom. 23:57 Alexys shares what travel means to her - and finding your Right Travel Buddies 29:48 Alexys shares her most dangerous travel stories when she was drugged in Budapest during a pub crawl.  35:33 She shared her most exciting experience which happened on her trip to Havana when she met Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino.  37:46 Alexys talks about the importance of Budget Traveling and how she got started 38:51 Alexys shares her favorite places she's traveled to and she talks about Thailand. She speaks about street food in Thailand and all the flavorful dishes the country has to offer.  42:55 Alexys shares some tricks and tips about traveling to Thailand 44:40 Buy the Local Bug Spray - Top Tip from Drea and Alexys! 45:49 Alexys shares her most fulfilling moment in Oktoberfest in Germany meeting the local college students.    48:20 She also shares another fulfilling moment in Cinque Terre, Italy 50:00 Alexys talks about how to budget travel 53:39 Alexys talks about what she purchases when she goes abroad Alexys has an impressive wall full of beautiful artistic pieces and crafts from around the world.  55:05 Alexys shares a piece of life advice to herself which is “Stay at Hostels more” She talks about meeting amazing people at hostels. She even met a singer at a hostel in Portugal who was incredible.   58:01 Find Alexys on http://www.instagram.com/travelalexys (www.instagram.com/travelexys) and her blog on https://travelexys.com/ (https://travelexys.com/) Alexys' Tips on Cinque Terre https://travelexys.com/cinque-terre-tips/ (https://travelexys.com/cinque-terre-tips/) Travel tip - Charles Schwabb...

Gary Arndt is not your regular traveler - He is a photographer, a world renowned travel blogger, a podcast host for “Everything Everywhere” and he even owns an NFL Franchise. He embodies traveling and garners an impressive list of places he's been to - including visiting all 7 continents of the world, 204 countries and territories, 50 US states and every US territory, 220 US national Park services, and 400 UNESCO heritage sites, and even explored the vast Canadian provinces. He began his traveling quest in March of 2007 when he sold his home and decided that he was going to live out of his suitcase.  Gary has an impressive list of awards and accolades but here are just a few to name.   He was in Time Magazine Top 25 Blogs in the World in 2010, earned a gold medal and two silver medals for Best Travel Blog by North American Travel Journalist Association, 3 Lowell Thomas Awards, which are the most prestigious prize in travel journalism and over 40 lifetime NATJA awards - holding the recording for travel bloggers, and he was named one of the 100 Most Influential Photographers in the World. Show Notes:00:00 Gary reads an excerpt that he wrote in his travel blog 1:16 Drea begins to read Gary's extensive traveling bio 2:25 Gary talks about the excerpt and people's futile quest for an authentic experience 4:40 Gary talks about an experience in Cambodia when he knew that being poor didn't mean that they didn't have anything.  The number of people in the world who live in extreme poverty has decreased dramatically over the last 20 years and he thinks that this is a good thing.   7:38 Drea asks Gary about how he became nomadic starting when he sold his house in March 2007.   9:49 Gary shares his own advice on how to overcome the many fears of chasing the Nomadic life dream. Gary speaks to the fear of not being able to speak the language and how it is so much easier to travel the iphone than ever before.  17:50 Gary shares how he created this impressive bucket list.  He shares his journey of how he began this journey. 19:54 Gary discusses over tourism and how most people don't know about the many, many places you can go travel to.  He believes that there are many secret locations and he shares a few of them. 20:28 Gary speaks about the best national park he's ever visited, Nahanni National Park Reserve 21:22 Gary then describes another less visited National Park - Torngat Mountain National Park which has fantastic Fjords.  It is run by the local Inuit community and they said that they caught arctic char. 22:22 Gary speaks about Padua in Italy which is only a 20 minute train ride from Venice.  Everyone skips this beautiful town and they skip it.  24:25 Gary talks about Nevada and the  Great Basin NP  25:55 Gary shares his top challenge which was trying to work while traveling. He then shares how he mitigated that and found his solution.  28:25 Gary shares his most exciting travel story - which is when Gary visited an active war zone in Cambodia on the back of the motorcycle. 33:07 Gary tells us a story of being in the middle of a protest in Bangkok when the protesters were going to try to dump human blood on the prime minister's home.  33:41 Gary also changed a law in Kiribati and he tells us the story of how that happened.  36:53 Micronesia, Palau, and  Marshall islands and the few tourists that live there.  Gary discusses how easy it is to visit.  He shares the tip on how to get there.  39:19 Drea asks how Gary started his successful blog and how it became so huge.  Gary began his blog in 1994 and he discusses the start of his podcast - and touches on his career.  44:28 Gary suggests to never buy a travel guide, but instead buy a history book on that country. Gary discusses the history of the Philippines 47:00 Drea talks to Gary about what she thinks has really made him successful...

Special Guest: Kristy SumnerIn 2014, Dr. Kristy Sumner coupled her passion for travel, history and the paranormal when she formed Soul Sisters Paranormal, an all-female team, made up of Sumner, her two sisters and two friends. The investigators of Soul Sisters Paranormal travel to some of the most historic and, reportedly, haunted locations in the U.S. in an attempt to determine for themselves if spirit activity does exist and to highlight the rich history of each location. Individually, each member of the team is an accomplished professional in her respective field, and each holds a Masters, PhD or JD degree. To date, the team has traveled to and investigated numerous US locations, including: the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (WV), The Lizzie Borden House (MA), the Villisca Ax Murder House (IA), the St. Augustine Lighthouse (FL), Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary (TN) and many others.  Prior to forming Soul Sister Paranormal, Dr. Sumner, who holds a PhD in Public Affairs with an emphasis on Criminal Justice, was a senior director for a Registered Traveler company focused on biometric clearances for the traveling public, she was a senior consultant for a biometric credentialing company, and she was college professor at Metro State College of Denver and the University of Central Florida.  Show Notes: 00:00 Kristy opens the episode with a part of their video when they investigated the grounds of Fort Mifflin.   00:58 Intro to Roaming the Earth and bio of Kristy Sumner, the paranormal investigator who travels the country investigating haunted locations. 3:28 Kristy talks about the excerpt she read and Fort Mifflin. She explains the importance of the fort during the revolutionary war.  6:50 Drea expresses her fear of the paranormal and Kristy tells us about the team's lack of being afraid despite the startling noises, voices and other paranormal experiences that they witness. Kristy explains that they approach every investigation from a scientific approach where they attempt to debunk the claims before deeming it paranormal or unexplainable.  8:28 Drea asks about the Fort MIfflin experience where a shadow figure broke the laser grid on camera. Kristy and her team saw it happen in front of them and successfully capture this remarkable unexplainable experience in front of the camera. Kristy shares the very active experience of staying overnight at Fort Mifflin and the interesting approaches they have in order to speak to these entities.   12:29 Drea asks Kristy the reason why and how “Soul Sisters” started traveling the country for these paranormal investigations. It all started with the idea of going on a girls getaway that turned into a visit to the Moundsville State Penitentiary in West Virginia.  14:40 Drea asks Kristy about the kind of gear they bring on these investigations. 17:40 Kristy shares her favorite haunted location - The old Gilchrist County Jail in Trenton, Florida. She explains the small footprint of the prison built in 1928. She found this location to be very active and she shares some of her stories.They talk even further about the shadow figure that walked across the hallway twice, broke a laser grid that was set up and when asked to cross again, it did. 21:28 Kristy shares more of the things she has seen - Balls Moving, the laser grids moving, k2 meters that measure energy go off. She explains another paranormal experience at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, the former maximum security prison where they once held James Earl Ray, the man who shot Dr. Martin Luther King.    24:00 Drea explains her own experiences with the hauntings happenings in her home after her mom's recent death.   25:02 Kristy tells us her theories of why she believes an entity stays on earth and becomes a poltergeist. She also shares a tip on how to remove them from your home.  27:16 Kristy...

Vitor Rodrigues began taking photographs only three years ago and his photographs will stop you in your tracks. He has an obsession with photography and it shows in his work. He is avid traveler, backpacker and outdoor enthusiast. In this episode, he shares some of his tricks and tips, his camera & backpacking gear, and favorite locations. Show Notes: 00:00 Vitor reads an excerpt he's written when he climbed Mt. Rainer 00:48 Drea introduces Vitor  1:08 Vitor shares why he is passionate about travel.  1:25 Vitor tells us how traveling runs in his family. 4:06 Vitor discusses his love for the outdoors and the beginning of his love for hiking  5:30 The most challenging hike Vitor has ever done was up to Iceberg Lake in the Sierras but he shares his love for the exhaustion 6:46 Vitor shares his favorite tips and tricks for backpackers.  He is a big advocate about planning and Vitor shares his techniques on how he does that.  7:40 Vitor shares his favorite gear that he takes with him when he backpacks  9:02 Vitor shares the kind of camera gear he brings with him on the trails and how he creates the types of photos he has 10:29 We talk about how Vitor got started taking his incredible photographs.  He has only been doing it for 3 years and his instagram is amazing.  12:03 Vitor's biggest tip is shared right here.  If you want to do what he does, he reveals his biggest secret on how he takes his stunning photographs 14:52 Vitor times his photographs according to the place.  He doesn't favor sunsets or sunrises, but favors how the location looks best in certain times of the day 12:52 Vitor's favorite place that he has photographed 13:17 Vitor shares his love for photographs and how he approaches his photos with the intention of his edits.  14:51  Vitor shares one of his first hikes as a novice hiker and the decision to climb Mt. Washington, the tallest peak in the east coast.  17:08 Vitor shares his most fulfilling moment - the top of the mountain.  17:30 Vitor talks about his favorite mountain he's climbed - Temple Crag 19:33 Vitor has a love for Yosemite and he shares his first experience at his favorite park - Tunnel View Viltor also shares the need to watch “Free Solo” the documentary with Alex Honnold, if you ever plan on going to Yosemite  21:31 Tips and Tricks to travel Vitor's favorite spot, Yosemite.  He also shares the importance of picking up your trash 23:01 Drea and Vitor discuss the advantage of limiting the amount of people that can go into the park because of Covid restrictions and  the beauty of winter in Yosemite to avoid the crowds.  24:31 Vitor shares his next destination - North Carolina and the Smoky mountains.  25:25 Vitor shares his one interesting item that he buys - a hoodie  26:25 Vitor's favorite hike - Mount St. Helens 29:05 Vitor Life Advice   29:37 We can find Vitor on instagram on www.instagram.com/V_Outdoors

Anastasia Gorelova is a producer and journalist for Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. She is also a creative producer working in an international media company in Prague. She has worked with Reuters and the BBC. She has covered events such as the Pussy Riot Trials, the World Cup, the Olympics, and the NATO summits to name a few. She has a passion for music and many of her travels has been inspired by covering music events throughout the world. Show Notes00:00 Intro to Anastasia and Short Excerpt that she wrote 1:02 Drea and Anastasia talk about how they met through AirBnb 2:00 Anastasia talks about the excerpt she wrote. It was taken in Alabama Hills days before Coronavirus really hit the world. In the midst of airlines closing flights, Anastasia was traveling through California to get to Lake Tahoe during a snow storm.   7:59 “Travel is Life” Anastasia explains her reasons why she is passionate about traveling 9:30 Anastasia loves traveling in nature. She loved traveling on the 395 in California past Death Valley and the Ancient Bristlecone Forest 13:58 Anastasia shares her preferred way of traveling, via camper van. Anastasia and her fiance went to Iceland and toured the country in a camper van. During their visit, they were able to catch the northern lights twice! She explains what it's like to see the northern lights in person. 16:52 Anastasia's next travel plan- going to Japan and traveling the country via Camper Van. She discusses the interesting roadside stops in Japan. Anastasia also shares that New Zealand is an easy place to travel in a Van because of their loose regulations on being able to park your van anywhere and sleep in it.    19:17 Anastasia's favorite two countries in the world are New Zealand and Japan.    21:10 Tips about traveling to Japan from Anastasia. The advanced toilets in Japan are one of her favorties- The Toto Toilet Gallery.  24:25 Her advice for first time travelers to Japan is not cramming everything in one trip. Focus on a few specific things. She explains some tips and tricks on what to see, transportation tips.  26:15 Anastasia shares one of the best premium dining experiences she's ever had in Japan and the world. She explains the art of sushi in Japan and the dedication it takes to become a sushi chef. She also explains the type of dining experience it is at this special restaurant, Kidoguchi in Omotesando Area in Japan. 31:45 Anastasia shares her tips for New Zealand - New Zealand makes amazing Flat White Coffee.  31:50 Anastasia shares her favorite places in New Zealand - Lake Taupo and Waiotapu 34:03 Anastasia shares why she began to travel. It all began with her parents sending her out to the South of France for educational purposes. It was here where she realized there was a new way of living. But music, and following the band, "30 second to Mars" began her love to follow music shows.  37:10 Anastasia talks about her life as a journalist and the truth about journalism 42:00 Journalism and Music - The Difficulties of finding paid work for the music industry 44:46 Interviewing Aurora, Bastille and other famous musicians  47:06 Anastasia's tips on how to interview  479:27 Anastasia's tips on how to Pitch for an article 50:52 Anastasia shares her most fulfilling moments as a journalist - Seeing her work on the BBC 53:16 Anastasia shares her most interesting person she has ever met during her travels. She also shares an interview she did with an athlete that changed her stereotypes of athletes.   56:25 Anastasia shares some advice to herself.  57:45 Anastasia shares her one item that she brings and purchases when she travels.  58:33 We can find Anastasia on instagram www.instagram.com/iamanastasialova

Alec Sills-Trausch's love for the outdoors stems from his family. At a very young age, he was introduced into the world of adventure. From being dragged kicking and screaming as a kid, to now waking up before sunrise or staying up through the night to snag the perfect shot. He combines adventure travel and photography to inspire others to enjoy mother nature as much as he does. In November of 2018, he was diagnosed with Gray Zone Lymphoma but it did not stop him from enjoying the adventures of the outdoors. Through treatment, he was able to appreciate and enjoy daily activities. In April of 2019, Alec was declared Cancer Free. On July 4th, 2019, he summited Mt. Whitney in a day, he also the Rim to Rim Canyon trek also in one day, explored the backcountry of Wyoming and the adventures continue. At 28, he's only been taking photos for two years but enjoys the perspective it has brought to his life and the ability to document the wonders of the world.  SHOW NOTES:Introduction to Alec - He reads an excerpt from his blog entry in February 2020 post cancer treatment.   1:05 Drea introduces Alec 2:47 Alec tells us about his love for traveling in the United States 2:51 Alec shares with us a little backstory about the excerpt he read out loud in the beginning and his cancer journey, and how shortly after remission he went on to climb Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the lower 48 and the rim to rim of the Grand Canyon and one day 9:27 Alec shares his passion for travel, his love for small towns, and Boise, Idaho. He even thought about moving to Boise because of the proximity to Mt. Rainier and other beautiful locations. 11:50 Idaho and the pristine landscape and milky way filled sky 12:20 Alec loves to go on road trips and he explains his perspective on the importance of being on the road. 13:35 Alec prefers to sleep in a tent and he shares the ease of what it can be once you learn the routine.  16:15 Alec shares a night at Island lake at 12,400 feet where he heard a howl at an elevation where there should be no life  17:40 Alec shares his love for backpacking and why he loves this type of travel. HE shares one of his favorite backpacking trips in Wyoming. 18:48 The Wind River Range and the Titcomb basin is one of Alec's favorite backcountry trails. He shares the some of the difficulties of this “worth it” backpacking trek (i.e. mosquitos) 21:00 Alec shares his hike to the top of Whitney less than 4 months out of the Chemotherapy treatment. Alec summited Mt. Whitney through the infamous chute that people take when they cannot go up the traditional route on the 99 switchbacks due to snowfall. 23:25 Drea shares her difficulty with elevation and how she almost every time gets elevation sickness 24:45 Mt. Whitney after Trail crest - The longest last push up to the summit ever. Both Drea and Alec discuss that last push being the hardest part. Alec tells us how fast he got the permit and the last minute decision to climb the highest mountain in the lower 48 states. 27:10 Alec shares us why he began this type of lifestyle 29:53 Alec tell us the story of how he started to do photography. He bought his camera from Craigslist and it worked out great!   31:00 Alec also has a travel blog and journal in which he shares his adventures as well as his cancer journey. In the very beginning of his online blog, his purpose was to keep his family informed about his life but then it transformed into trying to help others experience the adventures he was having. Alec wanted to create a place where he can share advice to others. The blog started with wanting to share his adventures with his parents and now he gets 2-3000 new visitors to his site per month. ExplorewithAlec.com 32:33 Alec shares his favorite places have been BANFF, CANADA and WYOMING. 33:10 He shares a few tips and tricks for those - Places to stay in Banff, Canada

Charley Radcliffe grew up in London with a family who loved to travel frequently. But it wasn't until he was in university, that he began having the urge to not just visit places, but explore them extensively. For Charley, that came through living somewhere and learning the language. He lived in San Sebastian, in the north of Spain for a few years before moving back to London. He then discovered CLIMBING & ALPINISM. Naturally, the love for the mountains and the lifestyle that comes along with it, brought him to Chamonix, France, a town on the foot of the French Alps. The mountains of Chamonix caught his heart and soul. Six years ago, Charley moved to Chamonix full time to continue to pursue his love for the outdoors and the climb. Show Notes: 00:00 Charley reads us an excerpt from March 26, 2020 - The beginning of Covid and how much he misses the climb.  00:50 Drea introduces Charley Radcliffe 1:35 Charley expands on his March 26, 2020 and strict 8 week lockdown in Chamonix, France. People could not go 1 km from home and 100 meters vertically which needed to be put in place to restrict climbers from going up into the mountains that tower above the town. Drea and Charley talk about how Coronavirus has affected the world.  8:25 Charley shares his love for travel, why he is passionate about it and how it has inspired him. 11:00 Charley shares his journey from London to living permanently in Chamonix, France the town right underneath the French Alps and why he moved to this adventure town 16:58 Charley explains the European style of climbing that he prefers to do - The single push. He also explains the advantages of doing the Single Push.  19:00 Charley shares his love for the outdoors and the the value of working hard for that “view” 22:04 Charley shares his goal to climb 82 peaks over 4000 meters (13123 feet). He has completed 52 because Coronavirus prevented him from climbing faster. He shares a rare winter climb in January above 4000 meters, watching the sunset and realizing that no one else was higher than them in all of Europe.  24:00 He expands more about his attempt to climb the 82 peaks 24:56 Charley shares his introduction into Alpinism and Mountain Climbing - Mt. Blanc 27:45 Charley shares his favorite peaks/climbs - The Matterhorn in 7 hours and 45 minutes 29:13 Charley shares the three types of fun in the outdoors 30:17 Charley shares an iconic climb with ice Axes and is very difficult.  34:08 Charley gives advice on how to find the perfect climbing partner 39:15 One of Charley's most challenging climbs - The monte rosa massif and the linking up 13 out of the 18 peaks 46:22 South Face of Mount Blanc - Poor Quality Rock 48:32 Charley and compartmentalizing - boxing up your fears, learning from your mistakes, and re-evaluating 49:43 Charley shares some close calls - Gears, Crevasses, etc.  50:28 Charley shares how the mountains are falling down and the permafrost is melting. He is seeing Climate Change first hand in the french alps.  53:32 Charley shares how he prepares for his climbs  56:27 Charley shares his climbing heroes 57:49 Charley's shares the amazing feeling of his climbing accomplishments 58:55 Charley shares his tips and tricks for someone who wants to climb and try alpinism 59:49 Charley shares his most meaningful person he has met on his travels/climbs  61:01 Charley shares his favorite climbs, The Matterhorn and Mount Blanc - Tips and Tricks to do those climbs 64:00 Charley shares his one thing he takes with him on his climbs - A happy snacks  65:00 Charley shares a piece of advice for his younger self 66:00 Charley shares some advice on how to get sponsored as a climber and some his favorite brands that he has partnerships  67:00 Charley Radcliffe can be found on Instagram on www.instagram.com/charley.radcliffe 

Tim Stroeks is an avid thru hiker, adventurer, and outdoorsman who currently resides in the Netherlands. He comes from a family of travel enthusiasts who enjoy hiking, climbing and cycling. This wanderlust that runs through his blood, has been a prevalent theme throughout his life. Tim has cycled Southern Sweden, completed the coast to coast walk in England, hiked the King's Trail in the Arctic Circle, Finished the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu, the W trek in Patagonia, to name a few. And finally, in 2019, his long-desired dream to hike the Pacific Crest Trail was fulfilled… Show Notes0:00 Tim Stroek's reads from one of his instagram entries when he climbed the Sierras during his Pacific Crest Trail thru hike in 2019.  1:07 Who is Tim Stroeks? Drea shares his extensive adventure bio with us 2:31 25 years old and 32 countries. Tim shares his love for travel and where he found this passion.  4:41 How did Drea find Tim Stroeks? Instagram! 5:17 Tim shares how much he loves to rough it and how he likes to 8:08 Tim gets his love for travel from his parents and family. He started traveling adventurously very young and that love for the outdoors has stayed with him as an adult 8:17 Tim shares with us his favorite trails and why he chose these trails.  Spoiler Alert - the PCT 8:41 The King's Trail in Sweden - The Arctic Circle and camping under the midnight sun - Tim shares with us some an experience with the locals that give you rides across the many lakes on this trail.   10:35 Tim shares with us what a TRAIL ANGEL is on the PCT - The volunteers who provide their time, food, rides and supplies for hikers along the PCT 14:01 What is the PCT - Tim explains what the Pacific Crest Trail - The whole hike is 2650 but changes from year to year. Tim shares the changes that happens in PCT that may increase the mileage 16:14 Tim shares his Mt Whitney detour off of his PCT hike, the craziness of mountain weather, and what it's like to stand on top of it.  20:41 Drea asks Tim the average mileage of a PCT hiker, the importance of keeping up your mileage to meet your window of hiking, and he shares his highest mileage count - 40! 23:41 Tim discusses the excerpt at the very beginning 28:35 Tim has always challenged himself and the PCT pushed his boundaries. This is what drove him to attempt this trail.  30:51 Drea asks Tim how he prepared for the long journey on the PCT - Permits, Getting a Visa as a foreigner, organizing the gear that works for you, the importance of planning and also not planning, delivering packages to resupply.  38:05 Talking to other hikers to figure out a plan, where to send packages, and planning on the actual trail.  39:20 Tim used a very helpful app - Guthooks, that aided in helping plan where to resupply! Very important 40:42 Tim shares with us some of his fears in hiking the PCT. Tim was really afraid of failing and also getting injured early in the hike.  42:19 Tim tell us why he was unable to complete the PCT. He was only 150 miles short from the Canadian border.  44:37 The dangers on the PCT include some animals - Here is Tim and his rattlesnake story, a Black Bear and her cubs and a mountain lion!  46:50 Tim shares the challenges of crossing the Sierras during the high snow season - Having to break trail, The Snow Bridges, then the Higher River Crossings, etc.  48:20 Meeting people in the Sierras and starting a “Tram”ily  50:00 How you get your Trail Name? Tim was called Davey Jones and he shares the story behind it.  53:08 Tim shares his most fulfilling moment - Conquering the Sierras during a high snow year 54:43 Tim shares his Tips and Tricks for anyone who wants to attempt to do the PCT - Do not over prepare, do not get overwhelmed about how far you have to - take it day by day.   57:28 Tim's BEST DAY was when his friend visited him from the...

SPECIAL GUEST: Carsten ColesNew Zealander Carsten Coles has lived and worked across the world before settling in Sheffield, where he lectures in English and publishes travel mag Run Wild. The magazine was inspired by a course featuring talks by editors of Delayed Gratification and Cereal. ‘That was when I knew I really wanted to do my own magazine,' he says. When asked to describe his magazine in three words, Carseten described it as “Travel. Adventure. And Environmentalism. This was an excerpt from a Magculture interview with Carsten.  SHOW NOTES:Intro: Carsten shares his journey to climb a 12 pitch route to La Taillante (3,185m).  1:09 Drea introduces Carsten Coles 1:57 Carsten continues to share his journey on this route. It was his third rock climb up real rocks up a 200 meter cliff 3:15 Carsten started an Adventure Travel Based Magazine called RUN WILD. He shares why he created RUN WILD and what their mission is.  4:15 Carsten shares his inspiration in starting RUN WILD, his love for paper and dreams of being a writer 7:45 Carsten started the magazine in March 2019 and what it looks like   to begin a travel magazine.  9:05 The importance of following your dreams no matter how big they are.   9:53 Carsten shares the many challenges in starting a travel magazine. Learning to do everything from soup to nuts.  11:26 Carsten shares the most fulfilling moments in starting the magazine, one of which is hiring female writers.  14:00 Carsten shares some tips & tricks to start a magazine.   15:45 Carsten shares the number of countries he had been to and his favorite places he's been to which is Columbia and Svalbard.  Carsten shares with us some Tips & Tricks of Svalbard is the Backpacker's version of Antarctica.   20:23 Columbia Tips & Tricks. (i.e. how to find a cheaper tour, etc) 22:34 More Tips & Tricks for Svalbard  24:57 Carsten shares what travel means to him and why he's passionate about it. Carsten tells us his favorite way to travel.  30:07 Carsten shares the way he likes to travel - Camping & Backpacking 31:16 Carsten just loved traveling and it started when he was young.  37:08 Carsten shares his 8 pitch climb in the Dolomites with his friend 39:03 Carsten shares with us his most interesting travel story in Greenland when he went hiking around the country.  43:00 Carsten shares his exciting experiences in maneuvering in Beijing, China.  45:38 Chatting with inuit reindeer Hunters in Greenland, discussing climate change in the areas, and how it is effecting their food supply 47:47 Carsten shares his favorite item that he brings on his adventurous trips - a Garmin Satellite Communicator.  51:52 Carsten believes in no regrets in life so his advice to himself is to take more risks, don't get tied up with a job. Think about the life you want, and earn enough money to have that life.   52:29 Carsten's favorite trails - The O in Patagonia & The Dusky Trail in New Zealand. He shares in detail about his love for these trails, and a few tips and tricks.  56:04 Carsten's next plan - Hamburg and the issue with flights and covid and the Scottish Highlands! 57:58 Carsten and his work can be found on http://www.runwildmagazine.com/ (www.RUNWILDMAGAZINE.COM) and on IG at http://www.instagram.com/RUNWILDMAG (www.instagram.com/RUNWILDMAG)

Ruslan Sirota is a Grammy award winning pianist, composer and producer. Ruslan has been touring, performing and recording with major artists, such as Stanley Clarke, Black Eyed Peas, the Alicia Keys, Seal, Josh Groban, Ne-Yo, Chick Corea, George Duke, Kamasi Washington and countless others. Show Notes:Intro: The episode opens with an article about Ruslan Sirota and his musical journey written by Adam Renn Olenn called "Finding a Balance" 3:04 Ruslan shares what it's like to share the stage with the Dalai Lama. 10:46 Ruslan discusses finding his calling and the life of travel 17:25 Ruslan shares his early life during Chernobyl & the Gulf War. He goes in depth about the conditions of the Soviet Union and how his family had to escape. Upon reaching Israel, they were greeted with the Gulf War. 25:00 The melting pot culture of Israel and how it is to live there 27:28 Ruslan shares what it's like to travel as Musician and the first time he was on a major tour 33:12 Ruslan shares his mishap on his first tour.   35:14 Ruslan shares his favorite spots in the world, some food experiences and more 1:10 Ruslan's current plans during Covid 1:14 Ruslan's advice to his younger self  Find Ruslan on:  https://www.facebook.com/Ruslanmusic/ (www.instagram.com/ruslanpiano) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruslan_Sirota (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruslan_Sirota) https://www.facebook.com/Ruslanmusic/ (https://www.facebook.com/Ruslanmusic/)

Todd Snyder is the Founder / CEO of Lost Faces of Humanity Foundation, an NGO focusing on the refugee crisis in East Africa. Todd has traveled to over 90 countries as a businessman, trailblazing photographer, and father, whose socially conscious work sheds light on what many choose to ignore. His passion for capturing struggles and triumphs of the human spirit is the foundation of his unique artistic style. Todd leverages his relationships with over 20 years working in the international capital markets and finance to create pathways for significant change to assist the global refugee crisis while using his photography of over 5,000 refugees and thousands of internally displaced persons to create awareness of humanity.  Show Notes:INTRO: Todd opens up with his visit with the Mursi Tribe when he was greeted with tribe members with AK47s 1:10: Drea introduces Todd Snyder 3:44 Drea & Todd discuss his journey to photographic refugees 5:50 The beginning of his foundation focusing on the refugee crisis, “The Lost Faces of Humanity” 7:13 Todd speaks about his daughter entering into the UNHCR camp 8:16 Talking about the forgotten people at the camps and what he witnessed during his visit.   8:49 Todd went home and the first thing he did was start the process to create “Lost faces of Humanity”   11:35 Todd talks about the hierarchy of the camps and the struggle to retrieve water.  12:42 Todd discusses the UN providing education for the children, WHO providing basic health necessities, World Food program providing food, and the place of Lost Faces of Humanity. Lost Faces has the goal of providing education/technology for children at the camps as well as providing education of this refugee crisis for kids in the US. 14:14 Todd and Drea discuss the importance of traveling and how much it teaches you. Todd talks about how his daughter met kids from the camp, and the relationship that was created. He wants to merge the kids from both worlds together. 16:35 Todd discusses the beginning of his love for travel and how he likes to travel.  18:06 Todd tells us what he brings when he travels 18:46 Todd discusses his current plans after Covid and the situation of Quarantine in Ethiopia 19:35 Todd's Favorite person he's photographed - A boy in South Sudan and the homeless people in Los Angeles - Skid Row  21:36 Great guides in Tanzania and having them look after you 22:13 Todd shares with us his favorite way to choose the people he photographs.  24:25 Lions rubbing on the tents at night in the Serengeti 27:22 Todd goes on a sporadic trip to Morocco - Kasbah, Camel Riding, and Music  31:00 Sleeping outside of the tent in the cold Sahara  34:15 Todd gives us advice to his younger self 35:58 The difference between how the media portrays the world and how the world really is. Todd and Drea discuss how amazing a place like Turkey is and how the media portrays it differently 37:00 Tips for traveling with children and the challenges 38:45 Sienna, Italy and the Palo Horse Race - and trusting a Carabinieri with his daughter 40:15 Drea discusses the Kindness of people in the world as she has traveled 40:45 Todd tells us his favorite location that he has traveled to  43:45 Tips and Tricks to traveling to the Serengeti 44:15 Traveling through the migration and the Masai Mara 47:20 Staying safe and registering with the State Department 47:33 Drea and Todd's Bucket list items 48:16 Todd shares his information about Lost faces of Humanity and instagram 

Special Guest: Vitnija SaldavaVitnija (pronounced as Whitney) Saldava is a true world citizen, born in the small Eastern European country of Latvia, but now living and working all over the world. She speaks 6 languages and has lived in 6 different countries, now residing in the UK. For the first half of her career she worked as an international news journalist covering news stories all around the world. At the moment, she works as a communications officer at NATO by day, and as a career adviser and a masters student at Harvard University by night. SHOW NOTES:Introduction 1:10 Whitney shares her family's history with wanderlust 4:55 Whitney shares her first solo trip to Finland at a really young age 7:30 How Whitney chose to go to North Korea 8:35 Whitney shares her experience sneaking around and getting caught in North Korea. 17:55 Whitney shares her FAVORITE places that she has traveled with a few helpful tips on how to make your way over to these special places. 19:30 Whitney shares her tips on traveling to Cambodia 21:00 Solo Traveling and why 29:05 Whitney shares her experience in Albania shooting Kalashnikovs 36:30 How has Covid affected Whitney 39:00 Feeling connected 41:30 Whitney's favorite item to buy when she travels www.instagram.com/whitneytheexplorer

Special Guest: Soyla FlorSoyal was born San Diego, California and raised in Los Angeles. She has traveled to countries, lived in Paris, France to study Art History, and in Rishikesh, India to study Hatha Yoga. After working in the fashion industry and marketing as an entrepreneur, she made a very big career change. In 2015 Soyla was hired as a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines, where she discovered aviation. Since then her love for travel and adventure has married perfectly with aviation. She took my first ‘discovery flight' in November of 201 8, and in February 2020 became a private pilot. Soyla is currently working on her instrument rating and commercial pilot license, and her goal is to become a Certified Flight Instructor and eventually an airplane pilot. SHOW NOTES:Introduction: Soyla shares her experience in Cuba when she decided to give back to the local community 1:50 Soyla Bio 7:10 Soyla tell us about her aviation journey and getting hired for Delta 12:28 The challenges of being a pilot and finding “The 99's” 16:37 Soyla shares her love for india during her spiritual awakening, Hatha yoga training course she attended.   19:09 Tips and Tricks for traveling to India 23:05 An adventurous trip to Honduras and a near death experience on a boat 29:00 Soyla talks about her next adventure, Dubai 31:22 Soyla's favorite items to travel with 32:30 Soyla shares the advice she would give her younger self

Special Guest: Dominique RitchieDominique is a full time vanlifer with her blue heeler, Kaia. She travels the world in her van sharing her stories through her blog and her own podcast, Roaming Roads.   She wanders earth hoping to make a difference by empowering people to live a meaningful life, spreading awareness, kindness and love to each community she connects with. She is focused on sustainability practices and purchases products with an eco-conscious mission. Her goal.... is to spread awareness, kindness, and love with each community she visits. SHOW NOTES:2:13 Drea discusses how she found Dominique when she was searching for a Solo Female Van Lifer.  2:57 Dominique shares her passion for travel and van life living 4:00 Dominique discusses exploring her own country, Canada 4:39 Dominique tells us the life transition that pushed her to move into her van. She speaks about the documentary “Minimalism”  9:27 Dominique discusses some of the terrifying moments of living in a van/car and a few tips on how to stay safe 11:37 Dominique talks about feeling safer with Kaia, her dog by her side 12:30 Some challenges of living in a van. Dominique provides solutions on how to mitigate these challenges 14:12 Free Camping and the importance of keeping the budget low 15:21 Tips and Tricks for how to live in a van and avoiding dangerous situations like bears and people.  18:53 Dominique tells us her recent terrifying moose attack while she was hiking and a tips on how to try to keep safe 27:28 Dominque talks about what she does in order to support herself on the road 30:39 Dominque tells us advice she would give to her younger self 32:03 Dominique shares her favorite trails with us: The three sisters & Pearly Rock in Glacier NP in Canada 34:08 Dominique shares her favorite places that she has traveled to in her Van  The Oregon Coast and The Kootnays 37:14 Dominique tells us her most meaningful person that she has ever met on the road and how this person reignited her love for van life.  41:59 Dominique shares her plans for the Canadian winter after her plans for coming to warmer areas in the US has been derailed due to Covid and the border restrictions 44:45 Tips and Tricks to Dominiques favorite destinations, Kootnays and Oregon Coast The importance of booking ahead in British Columbia  The Okanagan Wineries 47:20 Dominique shares the thing that she purchases when she travels 49:14 Dominque shares with us what her podcast “Roaming Roads” is all about

Special Guest: Amado DehoyosYou don't have to be a rocket scientist to travel the world, but sometimes it helps. Having spent 8 years building a career testing rockets with SpaceX, Amado DeHoyos decided to leave it early in 2015 and spent the last 5 years circling the globe on a seemingly never-ending quest - the desire to see the world. A friend made the fateful decision early in that trip to gift Amado a book called "100 Wonders" and he would sweep the globe, attempting to visit as many of those as he possible could (currently at 97, those last 3 are going to be tricky…). The checklist of 100 Wonders would expand to the checklist of UNESCO world heritage sites and would then expand to just being and living in the moment among the cultures of the world. Show Notes:1:04 Amado discusses the book that changed the course of his life. Dehoyos has traveled to a 117 countries (including Antarctica), alongside 430 UNESCO sites.  5:33 A former engineer for SpaceX, Amado discusses the transition to following his dreams to explore the world. He discusses his travels to Rome and Machu Picchu. Amado discusses the history, culture, nature, and people of Iguazu Falls, Manaus, Ataturk dam and the Amazon river 97 of the 100 wonders and what's left 12:40 Amado shares his secrets to get to Antarctica. Wildlife in Antartica and the Polar Bear Plunge Discusses his love for New Zealand and some tips and tricks 21.15 Find out how to cover the trail while en-route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Discover what it feels like to be connected. Interesting stuff to carry during travel. The desire to travel to Iran and visit the man-made and god-made beauty out there. 

Welcome to the Roaming the Earth podcast. In this short introductory episode, Drea Castro discusses her love for the outdoors, her passion to find other explorers with a similar need to roam the Earth and why she decided to start a podcast that delves into the lives of these nomads. The episode opens with one of her adventures at the Grand Teton National Park.