Soul of Travel: Women's Wisdom and Mindful Travel Christine Winebrenner Irick, presented by JourneyWoman

In this episode of Soul of Travel, Season 5: Women's Wisdom + Mindful Travel, presented by @journeywoman_original, Christine hosts a soulful conversation with Alexis Bowen.
Alexis Bowen is a respected expert in the travel and tourism industry and co-founder of Elsewhere, a travel marketplace connecting travelers with local experts worldwide. She has been featured by top publications such as the New York Times, Vogue, and USA Today, and was chosen as the face of Canva’s ‘Start-up Success Story’ in their prime-time international television campaign. Drawing on her experience working with major industry players, and as a response to the state of the industry, Alexis co-launched Elsewhere in 2021 to shake up the all-too-traditional tourism space with a digital approach, values-driven mission, and direct-to-local model. The company was acquired by Lonely Planet in 2022. When not focused on growing her company, Alexis can be found exploring. She has hitchhiked and couch-surfed her way around the world and is happiest in her simplest state – with only a backpack and a limited schedule. A California native, Alexis spent the last ten years living in Paris before recently relocating back to her home city of San Francisco to begin a new adventure - raising her little girl.
Christine and Alexis discuss:
· Shared passion for getting economic impact direct to local economies and communities
· How to avoid economic leakage in tourism
· How local experts add incredible value to travelers’ experiences
· Roller coaster of the entrepreneurial journey
· Being acquired by Lonely Planet
· Alexis’s solo travel journey to London with a case of wine as her only luggage
Join Christine now for this soulful conversation with Alexis Bowen.
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To read our episode blog post, access a complete transcript, see full show notes, and find resources and links mentioned in this episode, head to the Soul of Travel Website. LOVE these soulful conversations? We rely on listener support to produce our podcast! Make a difference by making a donation to Lotus Sojourns on PayPal.  
Click here to subscribe on Apple Podcasts!
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Discover your next adventure with Elsewhere by Lonely Planet.
Connect with Alexis on LinkedIn. 
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Looking for ways to be a part of the Lotus Sojourns community? Learn more here!
Find Lotus Sojourns on Facebook, or join the Lotus Sojourns Collective, our FB community for like-hearted women. Find solo travel trips for women over 50 on JourneyWoman.
Follow us on Instagram: @journeywoman_original, @lotussojourns and @souloftravelpodcast.
Credits. Christine Winebrenner Irick (Host, creator, editor). Alexis Bowen (Guest). Original music by Clark Adams. Editing, production, and content writing by Carly Oduardo.
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In this episode of Soul of Travel, Season 5: Women's Wisdom + Mindful Travel, presented by @journeywoman_original, Christine hosts a soulful conversation with Allison Boyle.
Allison Boyle is a backpacking educator and life coach. She is the founder of the outdoor blog She Dreams of Alpine and the creator of the outdoor coaching program, Become a Backpacking Badass, where she teaches women how to become safe, confident, and self-sufficient in the outdoors. Allison loves having the chance to talk about hiking and backpacking every day, and has become an inspiring outdoors content creator and entrepreneur.
Christine and Allison discuss:


· How one backpacking trip in Yosemite changed the course of Allison’s life
· Growing confidence on the trail
· How leaving the airport can be the first win of many on a solo international trip
· Going all-in on an identity of travel and outdoor experiences
· How one idea leads to another in entrepreneurship, and the power of following your curiosity
Join Christine now for this soulful conversation with Allison Boyle.
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To read our episode blog post, access a complete transcript, see full show notes, and find resources and links mentioned in this episode, head to the Soul of Travel Website. 

LOVE these soulful conversations? We rely on listener support to produce our podcast! Make a difference by making a donation to Lotus Sojourns on PayPal.  
Are you a Soul of Travel subscriber? Click here to subscribe to Apple Podcasts, so you don’t miss the latest episodes!
Listener reviews help expand our reach and help us rise up the ranks! Rate and review your favorite episodes on Apple Podcasts or your preferred podcast app.
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Get to know Allison and explore the outdoors at She Dreams of Alpine.
​Join the waitlist for the next Backpacking Badass Program.
Connect with Allison on social media: Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest / YouTube
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Looking for ways to be a part of the Lotus Sojourns community? Learn more here!
Find Lotus Sojourns on Facebook, or join the Lotus Sojourns Collective, our FB community for like-hearted women. Find solo travel trips for women over 50 on JourneyWoman.
Follow us on Instagram: @journeywoman_original, @lotussojourns and @souloftravelpodcast.
Credits. Christine Winebrenner Irick (Host, creator, editor). Allison Boyle (Guest). Original music by Clark Adams. Editing, production, and content writing by Carly Oduardo.


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In this episode of Soul of Travel, Season 5: Women's Wisdom + Mindful Travel, presented by @journeywoman_original, Christine hosts a soulful conversation with Maria Baltazzi.
Happiness explorer and travel designer Maria Baltazzi is an Emmy-winning veteran television producer and wellbeing teacher whose extraordinary life has taken her to every corner of the globe. Her remarkable journey across all seven continents, walking over 8,500 miles for charity, summiting Kilimanjaro twice, and trekking to Everest Base camp in search of her own road to happiness, is a testament to her commitment to making a positive impact. With a Ph.D. in Conscious-Centered Living and an MFA in film, Maria is well-equipped to inspire others to embark on their epic treks toward happiness. Maria also offers script consulting services through Stage 32, the premiere writer’s platform with over a million members and going. You can choose to attend Sojourn Wholebeing classes, experience transformative adventures with Sojourn Explorers, or delve into Maria's insightful award-winning book, "Take A Shot at Happiness: How to Write, Direct & Produce the Life You Want,” which, accompanied by an interactive app, offers practical, creative, and inspiring ways to embrace conscious living.
Christine and Maria discuss:
· The inspiration for Maria’s book and how it surfaced during her time as a TV producer
· The intersection between wellbeing and travel
· How we can understand happiness as a state of being and not a destination
· How Maria’s book helps readers develop their own relationship with happiness
Join Christine now for this soulful conversation with Maria Baltazzi.
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To read our episode blog post, access a complete transcript, see full show notes, and find resources and links mentioned in this episode, head to the Soul of Travel Website. 

Support the podcast on PayPal. Click here to subscribe to Apple Podcasts, so you don’t miss the latest episodes!
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Get your copy of Take a Shot at Happiness: How to Write, Direct & Produce the Life You Want.  Visit https://mariabaltazzi.com to learn more about Maria and connect with each of her projects. Book your next solo or small group travel experience with Maria and Sojourn Explorers.
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Looking for ways to be a part of the Lotus Sojourns community? Learn more here!
Find Lotus Sojourns on Facebook, or join the Lotus Sojourns Collective, our FB community for like-hearted women. Find solo travel trips for women over 50 on JourneyWoman. Follow us on Instagram: @journeywoman_original, @lotussojourns and @souloftravelpodcast.
Credits. Christine Winebrenner Irick (Host, creator, editor). Maria Baltazzi (Guest). Original music by Clark Adams. Editing, production, and content writing by Carly Oduardo.
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In this episode of Soul of Travel, Season 5: Women's Wisdom + Mindful Travel, presented by @journeywoman_original, Christine hosts a soulful conversation with Beth Santos. 
Beth is an award-winning changemaker out to change the landscape of travel for women worldwide. She founded Wanderful as a travel blog aimed to explore the diverse and shared experiences of women traveling the world. Today, Wanderful has exploded into an international community and social network with the active membership of over 40,000 women and gender-diverse people of all ages and backgrounds who participate in chapter and community events and trips.
Beth's new book, Wander Woman: How to Reclaim Your Space, Find Your Voice, and Travel the World, Solo, helps women uncover the confidence they need to see the world for themselves, by themselves. 
Christine and Beth discuss:
· Beth’s new book, Wander Woman, which arrives nearly the same as her third child, what that timing has meant in her life
· Authenticity in parenthood and being a community builder and creator
· Creating your own version of work-life balance
· The 85 Percent Podcast, where Beth interviews accomplished women in travel and tourism and tells their stories of success — and their advice for a more inclusive travel industry
· World Herstory, Beth’s travel docuseries highlighting food, culture, and history through the eyes of women around the world
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To read our episode blog post, access a complete transcript, see full show notes, and find resources and links mentioned in this episode, head to the Soul of Travel Website. 
Make a difference by making a donation to Lotus Sojourns on PayPal. Are you a Soul of Travel subscriber? Click here to subscribe to Apple Podcasts, so you don’t miss the latest episodes!
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Get your copy of Wander Woman, now available! 
Learn more about Wanderful and WITS at https://sheswanderful.com/.
Get to know Beth and each of her projects at https://bethsantos.com/.
Listen to 85 Percent: The Podcast.
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Looking for ways to be a part of the Lotus Sojourns community? Learn more here!
Find Lotus Sojourns on Facebook, or join the Lotus Sojourns Collective, our FB community for like-hearted women. Find solo travel trips for women over 50 on JourneyWoman. IG: @journeywoman_original, @lotussojourns, @souloftravelpodcast.
Credits. Christine Winebrenner Irick (Host, creator, editor). Beth Santos (Guest). Original music by Clark Adams. Editing, production, and content writing by Carly Oduardo.
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In this episode of Soul of Travel, Season 5: Women's Wisdom + Mindful Travel, presented by @journeywoman_original, Christine hosts a soulful conversation with Kirsten Gardner.
Passionate about the people, landscapes, and cultures of the Americas and Asia, Kirsten is the Co-Founder of Outlier Journeys, a small tour operator offering thoughtfully crafted private adventures for the modern explorer. She's been lucky to spend her entire career - all 18 years - working in various arms of the tourism and travel industry, and was particularly inspired by her time with Clark Kotula Representation, where she worked closely with independently owned luxury lodges throughout Latin America that were deeply committed to conservation, cultural preservation and supporting local economies. Kirsten is an advocate for slow travel, time in nature, digging into the multiple facets and narratives of a place and of small, under-the-radar hideaways that redefine luxury as something extraordinary and rare as opposed to homogenous and highly repeatable.
Christine and Kirsten discuss:
· How a powerful experience during Kirsten’s Semester at Sea Program changed how she thinks about travel, what it means to be a traveler, and how she can bring that awareness into her work at Outlier Journeys
· Some of the ways she advocates for independent properties
· How she layers impact into multiple facets of her business
· Looking at personal journeys, leading through loss, and developing grace and a workplace culture that honors the broad spectrum of humanity
Join Christine now for this soulful conversation with Kirsten Gardner.
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To read our episode blog post, access a complete transcript, see full show notes, and find resources and links mentioned in this episode, head to the Soul of Travel Website. 
Make a difference by making a donation to Lotus Sojourns on PayPal.  Click here to subscribe to Apple Podcasts.
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Visit Outlier Journeys to book your custom global travel experience.
Connect with Kirsten and Outlier Journeys on your favorite social media network! Facebook / LinkedIn / LinkedIn / Instagram
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Looking for ways to be a part of the Lotus Sojourns community? Learn more here!
Find Lotus Sojourns on Facebook, or join the Lotus Sojourns Collective, our FB community for like-hearted women. Find solo travel trips for women over 50 on JourneyWoman.
Follow us on Instagram: @journeywoman_original, @lotussojourns and @souloftravelpodcast.
Credits. Christine Winebrenner Irick (Host, creator, editor). Kirsten Gardner (Guest). Original music by Clark Adams. Editing, production, and content writing by Carly Oduardo.
Support the show

In this episode of Soul of Travel, Season 5: Women's Wisdom + Mindful Travel, presented by @journeywoman_original, Christine hosts a soulful conversation with community facilitator and creator of WOACA the Camino, Alysa Golden.
Alysa loves empowering women to reach their potential through psychotherapy, coaching, and community development. She has recently added “pilgrim” to her resume as she prepares to solo walk 900km across Spain on the Camino de Santiago this Spring. She created WOACA, the Camino Community, a collective of over 8000 women all over the age of 50 preparing for and walking the Camino. Together, the community wrote and published the book Hearing the Camino's Call: Stories of Inspiration and Celebration from Women 50+ Walking the Camino de Santiago. The group also started The Camino Love Fund, which helps women walk the Camino with more safety and ease through financial support. 
Christine and Alysa discuss:
· Alysa’s own call to walk the Camino and the resistance she experienced, as well as the support she’s received in WOACA
· The need for women over 50 to gather and talk about their experience and to prepare for the Camino in a supportive space
· Hearing the Camino’s Call: Stories of Inspiration and Celebration from Women 50+ Walking the Camino de Santiago
· The Camino Love Fund, which helps women walk the Camino with more safety and ease
Join Christine now for this soulful conversation with Alysa Golden.
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To read our episode blog post, access a complete transcript, see full show notes, and find resources and links mentioned in this episode, head to the Soul of Travel Website. 

LOVE these soulful conversations? We rely on listener support to produce our podcast! Make a difference by making a donation to Lotus Sojourns on PayPal.  
Are you a Soul of Travel subscriber? Click here to subscribe to Apple Podcasts, so you don’t miss the latest episodes!
🌎​​​​​​​​
If there are any women over 50 listening who are hearing the call of the Camino, they are more than welcome in our group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/woacathecamino.
Donate to the Camino Love Fund.
Get your copy of Hearing the Camino's Call: Stories of Inspiration and Celebration from Women 50+ Walking the Camino de Santiago. 
🌎​​​​​​​​
Looking for ways to be a part of the Lotus Sojourns community? Learn more here!
Find Lotus Sojourns on Facebook, or join the Lotus Sojourns Collective, our FB community for like-hearted women. Find solo travel trips for women over 50 on JourneyWoman.
Follow us on Instagram: @journeywoman_original, @lotussojourns and @souloftravelpodcast.
Credits. Christine Winebrenner Irick (Host, creator, editor). Alysa Golden (Guest). Original music by Clark Adams. Editing, production, and content writing by Carly Oduardo.
Support the show