I've been traveling non-stop since 2006, inspiring others to get out and see the unique corners of the world. Check out my newsletters below that are full of travel tips, unique tours, gear recommendations and travel discounts. I focus on outdoor adventure travel for women and will help you get out to see the world in an active way with the best gear. I also run active adventure tours in places like Ireland, Alaska, and El Salvador. Wether you are a newbie to outdoor adventure travel or a seasoned expert - my newsletters are a great way to join my community of other women who are looking to live their best lives.
Uzbekistan, 2027 Ireland tour,and the final days to enter my gear giveaway!
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Hello Reader , Greetings from Samarkand, Uzbekistan! This city is 2,500 years old. Alexander the Great walked here. Genghis Khan roared through here, leveling most of it. Some of the earliest work in astronomy happened on this ground. The United States just threw itself a 250th birthday party, and standing here, 250 feels 'adorable'. My own 20-year travel blogging milestone feels downright tiny. I'll be honest about what it's like, because it isn't easy. They aren't used to European and American tourists yet. The hotels are wildly inconsistent — though the flip side is that there are no chains at all (yay!), and in three weeks I have not seen a single fast food place. There are few menus (or anything) in English. People are excited and confused to see you. The roads are potholed and broken and driving is crazy, making the drives between cities long and rough. Travel like this requires you to be flexible, patient, and forgiving. It's a lesson I'm happy to be reminded of after a long stretch in the US, where we are currently anything but those three things. We cycled the first 9 days of it, through remote villages, on those roads. Yes, it was hard work - but it was also absolutely beautiful to see how other people live and go through their daily lives. My favorite days were when we cycled through villages where everyone stared at us like we were aliens riding spaceships. Biking tourism is very new here - everyone was excited - and bewildered - to see us, which is probably why I loved it so much. There is a cost to being one of the first tourists to show up somewhere — and there is a benefit, and the benefit is that you are not traveling where everyone else is traveling. I see where everyone is going, and then I turn around and go the other way. This is what that looks like in practice: bumpy, unpolished, and completely worth it. A couple of days left for the ancient sites and one more plate of plov (the national rice dish). Then a long trip home, four days on the ground, and my next tour starts. Ireland in 2027 — without meGood news...you can do my County Mayo Ireland tour in 2027! The catch is that I won't be there. Women Travel Tribe, a travel company for women over 50, asked me to add some adventure to their tour lineup. So I handed over my County Mayo hiking itinerary and, more importantly, I handed over my guide Rachel. They're running it in May 2027. I've run this tour four times and it's gotten better every time, almost entirely because of Rachel. She is a local and a friend, and she knows the corners of Mayo that Ireland tours never get near. This is not the Cliffs of Moher with four hundred other people and a gift shop — this is the west of Ireland on foot. I only run Ireland every other year, so if 2027 is your window, then do this one!
Closing Wednesday: my 20-year gear giveawayEleven prizes, eleven separate winners, free to enter, thirty seconds. Closes Wednesday, September 30 at 11:59pm MT. These five aren't brands that sent me a box once. Their gear is in my bag right now, in Uzbekistan! Oboz — Your feet are the whole operation. I've been wearing OBOZ for hiking and travel for years. 2 winners, $200 gift certificate each. Thule — It took me five years of full-time travel to start using packing cubes. Five! Most brands have garbage zippers or skip the compression. These are the best I've used. 2 winners, one compression cube set each. Vim & Vigr — In 2018 I got off a long flight to India with three blood clots in my lungs. I am lucky to be alive. I wear compression socks on every long flight now, and Vim & Vigr socks don't look like medical equipment, which is why you'll actually wear them. 3 winners, one pair each. Royal Robbins — Already an established travel brand name back in 2006 when I started, which I can't say about many brands I work with. Spotless Collection: lightweight, quick-drying, doesn't wrinkle, seriously sustainable. 1 winner, $120, winner picks the piece. TESSAN — One outlet, four things to charge, and a plug that doesn't fit the wall, or is too lose, or falls out once you plug everything in. That's the problem TESSAN solves. Multiple items to charge in dodgy hotel rooms...no problem. 3 winners: two Aero 70 adapters and one Magic Charging Station.
Free to enter · US & Canada · 18+ Travel Talk — Sunday, October 4I'm announcing all eleven winners live on the call. And I've held a few extra prizes back that I'm only giving away to people who are actually there — you can't win those unless you show up. No pitch, no agenda. Travel talk, a conversation about making the big scary decisions in your own life, and a glass raised with people from all over the world. I never had a wedding or a baby shower, so I've never had one of those everyone-gather-round moments. This is mine, and I'm not going to be shy about it. I hope you'll join me to celebrate 20 years of travel - even if it's just for a few minutes!
Happy Travels! Travel NewsNonnaMaxxing: Why Travelers Are Booking Holidays with Grandmas - I've actually done a grandma cooking class in Spain before, and it was a blast! I highly recommend this trend! Seen and HeardAn article I wrote for Experience Plus about their cycling Camino Portuguese tour! Ottsworld ToursNepal Still Has a Few Spots for April 2027A few more people signed up last month, and a few openings remain for April 2027. The Annapurna region is my favorite place in Nepal, the people are the kindest I've met anywhere, and the views hold up their end too. If you want a hiking challenge with a lot of heart, this is it. Other Ottsworld Tours I'm working on for 2027 & 2028:
If you are interested in any of these - reply to this email and I'll put you on the list to contact when they are live! If you've been finding value in these newsletters and the info I've been sharing, please forward this along to any travel-loving friends whom you think might find them useful! Use these helpful links to book and plan your next trip:
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Are you a 40+ woman looking to travel more?
I've been traveling non-stop since 2006, inspiring others to get out and see the unique corners of the world. Check out my newsletters below that are full of travel tips, unique tours, gear recommendations and travel discounts. I focus on outdoor adventure travel for women and will help you get out to see the world in an active way with the best gear. I also run active adventure tours in places like Ireland, Alaska, and El Salvador. Wether you are a newbie to outdoor adventure travel or a seasoned expert - my newsletters are a great way to join my community of other women who are looking to live their best lives.
Hello Reader , After only 4 fast days at home, I'm back on a plane today — and this time I packed up my bike and took it with me! Let's hope I can get it back together when I land in Portland. I've barely had time to process Uzbekistan. I spent my last few days there off the bike, seeing the ancient Silk Road sites — mosques, schools, mausoleums — and they were stunning. In my opinion, even more impressive than the Taj Mahal. And that's not a coincidence; these 2,500-year-old buildings were...
Hello Reader , Twenty years ago, on September 8, 2006, I stood in Penn Station with a one-way ticket to Africa and a plan to travel for one year. I thought I was starting a new chapter. I had no idea I was starting an entire novel. I want to take a minute today, before I send you into the actual celebration, to just say it plainly: thank you. Thank you for reading my travel advice and actually using it. For coming on a tour with me. For telling a friend about that one post that talked you...
Hello Reader , I have been trying to write this newsletter for a month. Every time I sat down to do it, something else won: house guests, a laundry room remodel, two kittens who consider my keyboard a bed, and a pile of Ottsworld Tours work. And, quite frankly, being home in Denver and hanging out with my friends was more fun than writing about it. I tell people I have the best travel newsletter because I hardly ever send it. The downside is that when I finally do, a month's worth of stuff...