Kim Napier

Kim Napierhttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/about/contributors/kim-napierKim Napierhttps://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-plastic-pandemicIn this episode, how the pandemic has affected the fight against single-use plastic and when old school becomes cool.2020-12-23T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-plastic-pandemichttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What's in the episode</h2> 01:12 Opportunities for a global reset 03:42 The waste space 07:06 The fight against single-use plastics continues 08:50 What’s happening around the world with waste 09:16 Changes to the podcast <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “…we've got more and more retailers and businesses trying to use compostable products. However, we don't actually have the composting infrastructure and resources to support that, which means that people may be buying products that are being used, that is still ending up in landfill even though they're trying to do the right thing.” – Dr. Denise Hardesty <a href="https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6092050/world-nomads-travel-podcast-survey?medium=podcast">Podcast Survey.</a> Have your say on what you’d like to hear in the World Nomads Travel Podcast in 2021. <h2>Who's on the show</h2> Dr. Denise Hardesty is a principal research scientist and team leader with CSIRO’s Oceans and Atmosphere. Her current research projects focus on plastic pollution and illegal fishing. For the past several years she has been leading a portfolio of marine debris projects which has resulted in global recognition of Australia’s role in cutting-edge plastics pollution work of high value and impact. She provides an expert opinion on marine debris related matters to the federal government, to non-government organizations, to industry stakeholders and NGOs within Australia and internationally, and to other audiences focused on marine debris impacts at a multitude of spatiotemporal scales. She has also been a key player engaging in national and international workshops with government, industry, fisheries and other stakeholders aiming to reduce the trans-boundary ghostnet issue. <h2>Resources and links</h2> <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/plastic-waste-management-covid19-ppe/">The plastic pandemic is only getting worse during COVID-19</a>. <a href="https://jambeck.engr.uga.edu/landplasticinput">Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean</a>. Jambeck Research Group Get yourself a 10% discount on outdoor accessories with <a href="https://lightmyfire.com/en/blog/light-my-fire-joins-the-adventure-travel-trade-association">Light My Fire</a>, use the code word NOMADS10. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/travel-alerts">The latest travel alerts and warnings</a> from World Nomads. <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your Twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group.</a> If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: There is no denying that single-use plastic has been a lifesaver in the fight against COVID-19, especially for frontline health workers. And it’s helped with social distancing, by enabling home delivery particularly food. And it may have helped to curb transmission, by replacing reusable coffee cups and shopping bags in many places over fears that the virus could stick to them. But the World Economic Forum says, “If we are not careful, short-term thinking during the pandemic could lead to an even larger environmental and public-health calamity in the future.” Of course, the proliferation of plastic waste already was a major concern before the pandemic. So, has COVID-19 pushed back any progress. I checked in with research scientist Dr. Denise Hardesty. Dr.Hardesty: I don't think it's pushed things back. I actually think that there's an opportunity for some really thoughtful, local opportunities and solutions to grow new businesses and industries as we come out of COVID, as we look at post-COVID recovery. Excuse me. And I suppose that's what I'm hopeful about at the moment. At the same time, we have seen and heard reports from around the world that there are more wild animals being observed and coming out. We're seeing cleaner air, cleaner seas, and things like that. As a result, people are associating that with COVID, with a lack of air travel, with people staying closer to home, with people not commuting in cars and not taking as much public transportation. So I would actually view this as a real opportunity for a local, regional, and global reset. And I realize I'm quite an optimist. That would be something I would be pleased to see whether or not it eventuates, time will tell. At the same time, we just had a paper come out last week where we estimated how much microplastic is on the bottom of the seabed floor. And we estimate that there are somewhere between 8 and 14 million tons. And that's just the little tiny stuff, of microplastic, from some work that we did off the Great Australian Bight and 3000 meters in depth and hundreds of kilometers offshore. And people are like, "Wow, that's so much." I'm like, "Yes, it is a lot." That's also equivalent to how much plastic is dumped into the ocean each and every year based upon Jenna Jambeck and colleagues' work with estimates from a decade ago. So you could say it's an awful lot, or you could end up saying, "Wow, it's a drop in the ocean," so to speak. Kim: Pardon the pun. Yeah. The planet certainly has enjoyed us being on pause, but according to earth.org, academia should be aiming to educate manufacturers, rather, and policymakers on how to make more environmentally friendly decisions. Do you know of anything specific that has happened as a result of the pandemic? Dr. Hardesty: Well, I can't say that there's something specific that I know about that's happened as a result of the pandemic, per se. At the same time, there's a lot of innovation, I think, that's happening, and opportunities in the waste space. And I think we also want to be both thoughtful of those opportunities and mindful of unintended consequences. Like right now, we've got more and more retailers and businesses trying to use compostable products. However, we don't actually have the composting infrastructure and resources to support that, which means that people may be buying products that are being used, that is still ending up in landfill even though they're trying to do the right thing. I would also say that the other area of increase in terms of plastic waste during COVID is around single-use takeaway containers as restaurants have been closed, but have still been open for takeaway meals. And so I think there's some great innovation that I had already seen happening pre-COVID that would be great to see happening during and post-COVID if and as it's safe to have those sorts of things. So there are some communities where restaurants participate and consumers who want to participate with these particular restaurants, you pay basically a deposit for your tea for a takeaway container that's reusable. So it may be metal, or it may be a heavy-duty microwave-safe PBA-free plastic container that your food can come in. And when you finish it, you actually return it or it can come with the next Uber driver or similar who's providing that delivery service. So those are some things that I have seen happen. They are not happening, or I am aware of those happening pre-COVID. Although, I know that there are some health and safety concerns for people, and rightly so, around particular types of items that could be used when people are trying to be very mindful of, and to be very cautious about what materials they're using and ensuring that we don't end up with disease transmission. As I'm sure you and your listeners are aware, it has also been noted that plastic is one of the surfaces that COVID is likely to last longer or remain viable for longer on rather than other types of materials. And so while we have seen an increased focus from some industries on we need to be using more single-use plastic, the flip side of that is will plastic may actually not be the best material for COVID safety, given the longevity of the virus on the surface of plastics. Kim: And what do you know of worldwide? Do you have any figures from the US or China, from the World Health Organization on the escalation of disposable PPE production or waste? Dr.Hardesty: I don't have those facts and figures at hand. I haven't gone on WHO to look those up. We are seeing a reported increase, but again, I don't actually have those numbers at hand. Sorry. Kim: That's okay. That's certainly something that we can source, but still, a long way to go in the fight against single-use plastics. Dr.Hardesty: Yeah, I think we've also seen some really good changes happen. It's funny. Cotton swabs are one example where we've seen a change. It's really what... I've been calling it when old school becomes cool. When we've gone back to paper straws in the instances where straws are required. We've gone back to paper, cotton buds, and things like that. And I think we're seeing that return to more reusable, more sustainable types of items, many of which are what we have historically used that were much more in accordance with environmentally friendly practices. It's now commonplace again for people to bring their own bags to the supermarket, to bring their own cups to get a drink. Dr.Hardesty: I think that a lot of those changes are coming about as a result of the increased public awareness and the public request, and then the public demand to see some changes in practices. And I think that's a really positive example of how people can support, require, enable the changes that people in society really want to see. We're seeing the multinationals stop putting plastic microbeads in face products, in toothpaste, and things like that in advance of legislative requirements to do so. And so I think it's worth acknowledging and celebrating the power of the consumer in today's market. And I think that each step that we can make towards increased sustainability is going to be to our betterment as a society and better for the planet as a whole. Kim: In the US, curbside recycling pickup has been suspended in many places. In the United Kingdom, illegal waste disposal has risen by 300%.  And according to the Thailand Environment Institute, plastic waste has increased from 1,500 tons to 6,300 tons per day. There will be links to further reading in show notes. The podcast is taking a break for January as we work on delivering inspiring content for you reflecting the changes in our world. As we move into 2021 it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for our own safety and that of the places we visit. In fact, you can help guide the type of content you’d like to hear by taking part in our podcast survey in show notes. You could win a World Nomads prize pack. Your feedback is important to us. See you soon.       </div> </div> </div>Getty Images/miodrag ignjatovic 11265004202 Volunteers picking up garbage while cleaning public park during covid-19 pandemic

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-rediscovering-the-worldIn this episode, Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2021 recognizing places and people demonstrating a commitment to sustainability, community, and diversity. 2020-12-16T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-rediscovering-the-worldhttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What's in the episode</h2> 01:02 It’s been a year unlike any other 02:18 Travel can be a force for good 03:52 Thinking about our footprint 04:54 Girl in Florence 05:40 Chubby Diaries 06:11 Traveling with a disability 07:03 Trends in travel for 2021 08:18 Next week <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “…rather than recommending a list of destinations to travel to, we want to focus on what matters most. And we think that these three themes of sustainability community and diversity are reflective of the shared values in travel. And we're really delighted to talk about and recognize the people and places and businesses that are making a positive impact around the world.” - Alex <h2>Who's on the show</h2> Alexander Howard is the managing editor of Lonely Planet's US magazine. Prior to joining the magazine team, he was destination editor for Western US and Canada, where he commissioned, edited, and managed 34 guidebooks. <h2>Resources and links</h2> <a href="https://www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel">Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2021</a> Get yourself a 10% discount on outdoor accessories with <a href="https://lightmyfire.com/en/blog/light-my-fire-joins-the-adventure-travel-trade-association">Light My Fire</a>, use the code word NOMADS10. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/lightmyfire_logo.jpg" alt="logo" /></figure> <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/travel-alerts">The latest travel alerts and warnings</a> from World Nomads. <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your Twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Hi it’s Kim with you and thank you for tuning in, it’s certainly been a tough year for the travel industry and Lonely Planet is just one company that in their words needed to reinvent themselves and part of that was making their Best in Travel different, by as mentioned recognizing places and people demonstrating a genuine commitment to sustainability, community, and diversity. So, to explain Best in Travel 2021 I am chatting to lead editor Alex Howard and Alex it’s certainly been a strange year. Alex: Well, it has certainly been a year unlike any other. I kind of went back through my calendar and all the things that happened through this year and just had a moment of reflection to think about all the things that we've been through and how far away, January, February seems right now. But I'd say, in terms of the travel industry, it's been heavily affected by the pandemic. But I think things are well-positioned for a rebound and frankly, it's going to be an exciting time to travel well when we're able to get out again. Kim: So what's going to be exciting about it? Alex: Well, it'll be like we're rediscovering the world all over again. After however many months it's been, kind of locked in, I've been working from home for the good portion of this year, it's going to be like we're learning how to take our first steps. So we're going to be able to go back to the places that we love the most. And we've had plenty of time to think about the places we're excited to go to next. And that's what I'm really looking forward to is really acting on all the chances I've had to kind of dream about traveling. Kim: I would love to hear about the campaign that Lonely Planet launched just a couple of weeks ago. Can you tell me more? Alex: So our annual best in travel list is a list of the best places to travel for the year ahead. And like I said, this year is so different, we wanted to take stock of our guiding philosophy that travel can be a force for good. So rather than recommending a list of destinations to travel to, we want to focus on what matters most. And we think that these three themes of sustainability community and diversity are really reflective of the shared values in travel. And we're really delighted to talk about and recognize the people and places and businesses that are making a positive impact around the world. Starting with community, community tourism, we're well aware of the impact that both positive and in some cases, the negative impact that travel can have on a community. But we think that there are certain things that travelers can think about when they're visiting places that can really help make a community better. Alex: And it's ways to empower local businesses and communities, generate income for locals, and promote a kind of a cross-cultural understanding that I think we can all agree is a great aspect of travel. As far as diversity, we think that diversity and travel matters because diverse perspectives and experiences just make better stories and they make a better understanding and break down barriers. So we thought that now, more than ever before, developing more diverse and inclusive travel can really be transformational for both the traveler and the places that they visit. And so finally, sustainability with travel and air travel and transportation, having such a large impact on the environment, we wanted travelers to think about their footprint, both their carbon footprint, but also the footprint in the communities that they visit and think about ways that they could help lighten that footprint, and so that's why we focused on sustainability as our last theme. Kim: And you've also looked at yourselves as a business and you want to highlight more local and you've used the word diversity, diverse voices. So you've actually said that you needed to reinvent yourself. Alex: Well, and to a certain extent, this has been a reinvention of a lot of what Lonely Planet is focusing on. In the past, the best in travel list was purely a list of destinations, countries, regions, and cities. And that was always great and it was a great way to explore the world, but this really gave us the opportunity to think about ways that travel can be a force for good and ways that a traveler can visit a destination and not only come back with fascinating stories and incredible experiences but make a positive impact on the destinations that they've traveled to. Kim: So is it reasonable for me to ask you for examples under each of those three? If you look on your website at the /best in travel, as an example under community, there's an ex-pat storyteller. And I think the title of that article is, Girl in Florence. So if we click on community, what kind of things do you think are going to be shared with us? Alex: Yeah. Girl in Florence is the blog of Georgette Jupe, and she is a really great blogger because she has the ability to get under the surface of one of Italy's most popular cities. And she's really immersed herself in the community and brought life to a side of Florence that you rarely see when you're just doing the kind of big bucket list experiences. And she does that by interviewing independent artists and artisans and encouraging people to stay longer and dig deeper. So yeah, Girl in Florence is an excellent example. For our diversity list, I really like talking to Jeff Jenkins. Jeff is the writer and runner of a blog called Chubby Diaries, which provides inspiration and information and product recommendations for plus-size people, and really empowering his community to see more of the world through groups, meetups, and kind of a rich mix of photography and video. And it's really been impactful because a lot of tour operators that Jeff has dealt with have now become more accommodating to plus-sized travelers. So he's already really making a big impact. Kim: Also traveling with a disability. Alex: That's right. And we highlighted Wheel the World for our Inclusive Tour Award. Wheel the World is an outfit that really kind of removes those barriers for people with disabilities. Whether it's bucket-list climbs up Machu Picchu or diving off Easter Island, the company kind of merges technology with accessible accommodation and transportation methods to really make those exciting experiences available for everybody. Kim: Look, it was hard for Lonely Planet when this pandemic was first declared. How are you guys looking at 2021, obviously with this campaign, positively? Alex: Yeah, it's been a tough year, but we are excited about all of the opportunities ahead of us. The campaign will kind of continue into next year. We're going to focus on some trends like we're seeing obviously, a lot more people are interested in the digital nomad experience, a lot more people are working remotely. So we're going to cover that a lot more and explore, talk to people that are doing digital nomads. Because we've been finding that a lot of destinations that were previously kind of high tourist destinations, like Thailand, and some islands in the Caribbean are kind of catering to people that are working remotely with new visas and incentives for them to come work in those countries. So it's been a really interesting development in that regard. Alex: It wasn't necessarily called the digital nomad lifestyle back then, but myself, I went to teach English in China for a couple of years in 2006, and it was a fantastic experience. I lived there and got to travel around for two and a half years. So it really is an incredible way to experience a country and really immerse yourself in the culture. Kim: Yeah, absolutely. Well, you are about to go and pick up your child, how's that going to look for you in 2021? Because one of the great things about 2020 and working from home was that connection with family. Will you be able to maintain that next year? Alex: I certainly hope so. Yeah, one of the blessings of being, those early lockdown days was... He's one now, and he was at that time, just learning how to, well, he was kind of moving from crawling to wandering around. So it was a really special time to be home with him. And I think that we're already planning our next family trip and excited to share with the newly open world will look like with him. Kim: Nice. Thank you so much Alex we will have links in show notes to the campaign where you can read more of those stories PLUS details on how to get a discount with Light My Fire, a Swedish company specializing in outdoor accessories. Next week our final episode for 2020 before we take a break and focus on building great listening for you in 2021.   </div> </div> </div>Supplied: Falmouth Bay Antigua 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-traveling-with-childrenIn this episode, the couple exploring the world one country at a time, encouraging their kids to embrace life and create memories.2020-12-09T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-traveling-with-childrenhttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What's in the episode</h2> 00:29 Carving out a way of life 03:20 Finding a project 05:38 Jessica’s fears 09:04 Sunsets and sunrises 12:30 Why its great to travel as a family 16:00 The pros and cons 19:05 Time to confess 23:13 Learning something new 26:44 Travel insurance message <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “The only reason why we're here right now is because of the kids. Now granted we wanted this anyway, but there was no greater spark that ignited this flame other than the kids.” – Will “And part of the reason kind of going out into the world besides like Will said, we did this because of them. We wanted them to learn about the world in the world. We wanted to live more minimalist. We wanted to create memories over buying stuff. We wanted to show them life outside of even our home in Massachusetts.” - Jessica <h2>Who's on the show</h2> Will and Jessica, together with their 2 children, have been traveling the world full-time for 6 years. What originally begun as a way to create a deeper bond as a family, grew into a philosophy and a way of life, all of which they share on their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTEc4Dj4bxn736Vjl4lc1pw">YouTube channel</a>. <a href="https://worldtowning.com/">WorldTowning</a> as a philosophy is the act of taking up temporary residence in foreign places, to experience day-to-day life as a local.  In 2019, WorldTowning also became a family-run travel company, committed to helping people broaden their global experiences through concentrated and immersive exposures to the world’s cultures. The family offers small groups of travelers, the opportunity to embark on shared experiences and adventures, in order to live the world as locals.  However, in March 2020, Covid-19 brought their business to a halt. So, what did this family decide to do? They bought a yacht… Follow their adventure on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/worldtowning/">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/worldtowning/">Instagram</a>. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/worldtowning.jpg" alt="family hugging" /> <figcaption> Will and Jessica have been traveling with their children for six years</figcaption></figure> <h2>Links and resources</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/travel-alerts">The latest travel alerts and warnings</a>. </li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/stories/discovery/initiation-by-indian-railways">Read about Kate’s trip to India with her husband and two teenage daughters</a></li> </ul> <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your Twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode, please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: Hi and thanks for tuning in from wherever you get your favorite pods as we dip our toes into the world of travel with children, some say its impossible others will say it’s hard work but this couple will hopefully change your mind. Will and Jessica, together with their 2 children, have been traveling the world full-time for 6 years. Originally it began as a way to create a deeper bond as a family, but it quickly grew into a way of life and, also a business. Jessica: So Kim, thank you so much for having us today. We are a family of four, two adults and two teenagers. We have a 13-year-old son and a 16 year old daughter. We are Americans. We had lived all over the United States until 2014, and at 2014, we made a decision... well, we made a decision before that. But in 2014, we launched from Boston, Massachusetts to go and live one year in Costa Rica. Jessica: We were telling everyone it was going to be one year, but the plan was for as long as the family and our finances could sustain it. And now we are in 2020 and we are still out here traveling. So that one year plan did manifest into being more and a lifestyle choice. And in the meantime, we have spent a year in Costa Rica, a year in Ecuador, a year in the South of France living as locals, among locals in an apartment. After we were done living in France, we bought an RV and we traveled around Europe for two and a half years in 21 and a half feet, or just under... was it just under six meters, Will? Just under- Will: Around there. Jessica: Just under six meters, with a goal to see Europe on kind of on a more grassroots level, and also to visit every country in Europe. So we accomplished that goal, as well as spent some time in Morocco and some time in the non-European side of Turkey. And after that, we decided we were going to head to Asia for one year and we were going to spend a month in 12 different countries, and each family got to pick the three countries that they wanted to go visit. And that plan was going smashingly well. We went there, we started off in Japan. And then the numbers in COVID kind of started to rise and things got more serious and places started to lock down and we ended up being in Japan for five months. Jessica: And after that, we kind of looked at our life and said, okay, this Asian tour isn't really going to be how we wanted it to be. And we don't really fancy spending five or six months in one country, five or six months in another country, and that being kind of the cumulation of our Asian experience. We wanted something a little deeper and a little more diverse. So as a family, we made a decision that we believed COVID wasn't going to go away overnight and we had to figure out what the next step would be in the process. And we felt that for our family, that it was best that we didn't try to continue and find countries that were open, that we felt that this was serious and we needed to take it serious and we wanted to be safe for ourselves and for others. Jessica: So we decided, our 16 year old daughter said, "Well, we're not going to do so well if we just go sit in an apartment someplace after traveling like this for six years, we need a project." And so Will and I said, "Okay, well let's do this." Will and I in our previous life did a lot of buying and remodeling in real estate, but the kids hadn't had the experience of learning how to do this. So we said let's buy a little house in France, a fixer. We have French long stay visas so we can legally come back and live here. And this will kind of hold us through COVID. And once COVID has done, we'll get back on the road and travel. And that was the plan. When we left Japan, we had appointments to look at three or four houses when we got here in the first week, excuse me. And on my Facebook feed here comes a cute little boat comes across... no, not little, but a cute boat comes across my feed. And I say to Will, "Wow Will, look at this." Jessica: And just a little backstory there, our end game, or our plan after Asia was to get on a boat. That was always one of our dreams and goals. But we hadn't really planned on doing it before Asia because we realized once we got on a boat and started traveling, it's kind of expensive, pull it out of the water and start traveling by land again. So we kind of wanted to finish a lot of the land adventures we had planned. And long story short, that boat, we took a look at it and that boat was a really, really good deal. And it was in France already, and it needed very little work and it came with a six month slip so we could stay at the slip and learn to sail and kind of work our way through COVID. So long story short, here we are, in the South of France, on a boat. We don't know how to sail. And now we've got the boat, but lockdown here in France happened before we could get the lessons so we're not moving any place right now, but we're learning the mechanics of it. Kim: See, what I like about you, Jessica, and obviously you too, Will, because you need to be like-minded people to do this, we, my husband and I love travel, and we also love real estate. And like you have bought and renovated places. And as we traverse Australia, we keep finding these cute little Outback towns and really cheap little sandstone cottages that we can do up and stay- Jessica: Right? Kim: So you say you've got an end game, but before the end game, things just change. And I think that's really cool. Jessica: Yeah. It's interesting because I'm going to be honest, I was the most resistant to getting on a sailboat. It scares the heck out of me. And 2020 has been a lot of me fighting fears. I don't have a lot of fears, but the bigger ones seem to all culminate in 2020 and I had to face them. And I wasn't really into getting on the sailboat yet. I felt like we have a huge learning curve. I felt like we had to read books for years and years and years before we even stepped foot on a sailboat. So it just ended up being that it was the best decision. And I jumped in and I said, "Okay, I'm going to do this." But I'm still a little scared. I'm not going to deny that I'm not scared, but sometimes we just have to take that plunge, right, and jump in before we're fully ready. We're clearly going to get educated and read the books and take the sailing lessons before we take off and obviously do a crossing or something like that. Right Will? Will: Listen, we'd love, like you said, Kim, we love the idea of real estate and we've been sort of trying to sort of amass a portfolio of different properties and then sort of slowly divest it as you sort of more working capital to sort of keep your life the way that you really want it to be. And that's okay because you work for a reason, to actually enjoy the fruits of your labor. Will: But when we decided to make this decision, the other issue was that our children are only going to be around us for so long. And if we just got a house, that'd be great, but we wouldn't have this massive adventure of sort of learning how to sail as a family. And we wouldn't be able to... I guess, because now Jessica and I are not in our thirties anymore. So I feel like we also need them as crew to help us make this [inaudible 00:06:37] work out well. So I don't think that we'll ever sort of stop loving sort of the buying of houses and rehabbing and so forth and so on, but right now, this is the perfect time for us. Jessica: Yeah. I think this is where we need to be right now. And it's funny because I'm the one who shared the boat image with Will and said, "Should we look at this?" So I, as I was saying, was the least on board, but I am the one who kind of put it out there. And I knew once I put it out there, Will would be like, "Hell yeah, let's do it." Now that I look back on it, it was kind of tough. Like, do we buy the house or do we buy the boat? We were toying with both. And now I'm not even thinking about the house. Jessica: I think about what you said, like, "Oh, look at that little cottage and I could do this and that and that sounds really fun and wow, that's a great deal." Because there's tons of great deals in France in these more rural areas. But then I also think about what we would have gained from each one of them. And I think the family unity and learning together, and the intense experiences are far greater on the boat than they would be in the house. I can't say for sure because I've never done a boat before, but we've done a house remodel before and you kind of, you remodel it and then it's done. Right? And the boat, it's just kind of endless. Kim: Yeah. What I like about you guys being on a boat too, as opposed to a house, and this is something that I wrote about today, is that I've seen sunsets, I've seen sunrises obviously. But only if I take myself off my couch to see the sunset or get myself out of bed to see the sunrise. But in the short time that we've been on the road, every sunrise we've captured, it's been different. Every sunset we've captured has been different. And last night there was a sensational light show across South Australia or Adelaide in Pacific... pacifically? Specifically where I am, 100,000 lightning strikes. Now we would never have seen that if we were sitting inside our lounge room. You just wouldn't do it. So you guys on a boat, think of the moons that you're going to see. Some of the fish that will be swimming around, the color of the water, the bio-luminescence, there are going to be so many experiences that you probably couldn't have even listed that you'll feel or see. Did that sound like I was preaching? Will: Yeah, we're so excited about that. Jessica: No, no. Will: No, you're absolutely right. And we also did a van life experience for two and a half years. There were some moments where, you know how it is, you're driving around looking for a place to sort of stop for the night and it's dark. And next thing you know, you don't know what you're going to wake up to. And then when that sunrises you're just like, oh my gosh, look what I just did. And look where I just landed. There were moments when we were in Norway- Jessica: I knew you were going to say Norway. I was like, all that was going through my head is Norway Norway Norway. Will: Which we hear is the most magnificent place to van life in the world [inaudible 00:09:30] New Zealand. We've never done New Zealand, but we've heard great things about New Zealand. But the things that we witnessed and the things that we sort of stopped at and woke up to were just, they blew us away. And there's no way this would be possible unless you just threw caution to the wind and said, "I'm going to do this." And come what may, it doesn't matter. Because at the end of the day, you don't really care about what you have in the grave with you. You care about what's in your heart, in your spirit that you've accumulated along the way. And we're trying to sort of make that happen. And we know that no matter what happens, you come with a good intention, good things will happen. We're just sort of seizing every moment that we can. Jessica: I think it was funny that you're mentioning sunrises and sunsets and moons. We haven't even left the dock and Will will wake me up in the morning and say, "Come look at the fog, look at how the fog is rising." Or we have magnificent sunsets here. And like I said, we haven't left the dock. If this is just scratching the surface of what we're going to see, and we have boats all around us and there's some condos here, what is it going to be like when we're out there and there's crystal clear water and sunsets and sunrises and no one else around? And we're just like... jaw dropping stuff. Like in Norway, just looking up and going, "Wow, look at all the stars." Kim: Yeah. My mind has been blown at the things that I've obviously seen over the years, but to pack them into such a short period of time has been incredible. And by the way, you will love New Zealand and RV-ing there. Jessica and Will, I want to chat about your kids because we aren't traveling with children. Had you not done this experience with them, this is a long-winded way of asking you this, but I think you would be feeling happy that you're influencing the type of adults that they will become based on the experiences that they're having. As opposed to being in a town with a house and a traditional routine as such. Will: Right. That is sort of the impetus of why we did this. The only reason why we're here right now is because of the kids. Now granted we wanted this anyway, but there was no greater spark that ignited this flame other than the kids. And when the kids were... our eldest daughter was in the fourth grade and our son was in first grade. And we started to see certain things occur. We started to see our daughter... Because girls when they reach nine, 10 years old, social norms start becoming a big thing. Before that, kids are just kids and they say what's on their mind and life is grand. But when you start seeing this age occurred, you start seeing cliques occur, you start seeing groupthink occur, you start seeing things that would inhibit someone's natural progress occurring. We said at that moment that if we don't move now, that her personality would not be shaped by who she is, but by who she's around. And the idea of her not being able to naturally explore who she wants to be because she's worried about what someone else might think really, really, really just concerned us. Jessica: That was really scary, very, very scary. And I think to kind of take it in a different direction... Because that, that was something Will really felt passionate about. And I agreed with him, but he was more in shock of it. He grew up, there were three boys and he hadn't seen kind of this behavior before. Boys have a whole other set of kind of conforming to the norms. I was less shocked than that, but that didn't mean I accepted it. And part of the reason kind of going out into the world besides like Will said, we did this because of them. We wanted them to learn about the world in the world. We wanted to live more minimalist. We wanted to create memories over buying stuff. We wanted to show them life outside of even our home in Massachusetts. Life outside of Will was an accountant, I was a graphic designer. We had this house, these are the things we liked. Jessica: Because the idea is not to raise mini mes. The idea is like Will said, to let them find their authentic self and become their authentic self. And if they are only exposed in their entire childhood to Will and I and our families and our circle of friends, they can see how other people live on TV or maybe when they go to a friend's house, but their circle of what is out there and what's available and what they are able to become is very limited. Now, when you open those doors and you start traveling the world, now all of a sudden they're exposed to when we were in Japan, hey, we took scuba lessons. Maybe when I grew up, I want to be a scuba instructor. Or maybe I want to be a tour guide in Berlin. Or wow, we met a physicist on a train once and he told us all about his lifestyle. Jessica: So we've opened up a whole other world for them to kind of identify with and realize that there's many different ways to live a life. And maybe when they grow up, they'll go and live a stationary life someplace. Maybe they'll live in a rural mountain and live off the land, but we wanted to make sure they had these exposures to different types of life and not kind of be indoctrined in is the way you do life. You do this, you go to school for this many years, you buy this house, you buy this dog, you buy this car, and this is what everyone does. Anyone who's been traveling will tell you it's the best thing that ever happened to them. And I really think that it's been great for Will and I as a couple and individually, but it's been mind blowing for the children. And I cannot stress enough how mind blowing it is. Jessica: There are days that are really hard on all levels for Will and I as adults from financial to emotions, to the logistics, but we look at the kids and we look at how much they've grown, how intense and powerful their relationship is with each other, they are best friends, how they see the world, how they approach the world from a humanitarians perspective, and how they truly love traveling. And everything else that goes wrong from day to day is just, you just forget about it. It really has been the best thing we have ever done for their life. And there's some other things that we think, well, nursing was a really great thing. We don't let them watch TV. They watch movies and stuff, but not TV. Wow, that was really great. But traveling, that was whole other level great. And I wouldn't change it for the world. Will: And the fascinating part is that this is now their normal. So they don't look at this like it's a [page 00:16:12]. They look at this as if just another day in their routine, which is life. And when things go wrong, because things go wrong, they don't start to say, "Well, I'm ready to go back home." It's like, okay, how are we going to deal with this? Because they know no other at this point. Kim: I know my question wasn't very articulate, but you both answered exactly what I was hoping that you would say. And I think it's fabulous and a really strong message to people listening who say, "Oh, we can't do it because the kids are settled" or "We'll do it when the kids are older." There's no good time. Just if you want to do it, do it. Are we on the same page? Jessica: And it's really fun. We're not in our thirties anymore, we're 39 and a half. No, I'm just kidding. And we don't have the same energy level. And as we age, we look at things differently. And there are times where I think I have this cool open mind. And then the kid says something and something happens and I go, wow, I'm slugging along here. Let's pick this up. Let's have some fun, let's look at things differently. So it's a whole different way of traveling when you're traveling with these young, energetic teenagers who see the world so differently than people when we're starting the aging process. I mean, we're not like 110 here, but we do, our views and mindset and everything changes. And it keeps us fresh and young and open-minded and experimental, which is really great. Like we're always trying new things because they're the catalyst and saying, "Well, we can do this. Let's do this." And Will and are like, okay, let's do it. Kim: And I like the fact you're referring to your age without saying we're in our forties, because come on, that's exactly... you're in your forties. Let's face it. What I want to hope to achieve by the end of 2020 is to get out of this idea, people, that there are young backpackers and then there are moms and dads and then there are gray nomads. There's no demographic to travel. For me, it's a mindset. So just because I might be a few years older than you, not a lot, by the way, and I'm in a van, doesn't make me a gray nomad. To me, that's telling me that I'm old and on the way out or something. No, I'm adventurous. Will: I'm a recent graduate to the 50 year old club. Kim: Yes! Will: I just heard. Jessica: That's true confessions by Will. Kim: I love it. I've got to... Yeah, same. That's- Will: Besides my parents, you're the first person I've ever told. Kim: I feel so honored, I really do feel so honored. So I love what you guys are doing. I love the fact that you're traveling as a family. You call yourself World Towning and you say that's a philosophy. Jessica: Yep. Kim: So tell me a little bit about that philosophy and then how it became your business? Jessica: So World Towning, we started our World Towning business several years ago. And the main goal with the business was to provide resources, consultation, coaching, whatever you want to call it, to people who thought travel was only for the rich and impossible for them to do. So what we've done is we've walked people through all the logistics to get to full-time travel. The insurance, the wifi, the medical, the visa. If they're traveling with children, how do they navigate that? Local schools, do they want to unschool, local school, language schools? We started the business because that year that we planned for our full-time adventure was horrifying because we were trying to live in one world and plan for another. So we were working like crazy all day and kids activities and social commitments and work stuff. And then at nine o'clock at night, we'd sit down and try and figure out all these logistics. Jessica: And there were so many times where we wanted to say, okay, let's just forget about this. This is ridiculous. What do we think we're doing? Who do we think we are? Because at nine o'clock at night, you're tired. So our plan has always been to help people work their way through the logistics of doing this, presenting them with the good, the bad and the ugly so they can understand what they're getting into. We don't candy coat it at all. And help them through the logistics so they're able to realize this is possible and get out here traveling. And we've done this for three and a half years now with people anywhere from age... our youngest has been 32 and our oldest client has been 70. And we offer private consultations as well as a university 10 week session. Jessica: And it has been incredibly incredibly... Obviously it's a business, we get an income from it. But from a personal level, it has been so incredibly inspiring to see people of all age, all income, all different cultures really take this and say, "I'm going to do this" and then watch them launch. We have clients out all over the world. Right now, even during COVID, we have people that have hunkered down in various countries across the globe and are still doing this, are determined to do this. And World Towning, if we're going to put a tagline on it, is just adventuring and traveling through the world one hometown at a time. So finding your little places along the world and making that your new normal and your new home. Jessica: It's been incredibly rewarding. Obviously during COVID times, it's been also incredibly challenging because no one is traveling now and no one is thinking about learning the logistics of traveling right now because they're just trying to survive. And so another kind of part of our business is a year and a half ago, we launched group trips and we had our fabulous first group trip where we took 16 people with us to Morocco for 12 days. And we traveled all around Morocco, more off the beaten path and more with local experiences than your typical tour. And we had several trips for 2020 which we had to cancel because of COVID, which has been really hard and heartbreaking. Jessica: But like we were talking about before, Kim, before we started taping, that you had mentioned a quote about someone who was saying, "We got to find the good things we can take out of 2020." And for us, it's kind of revamping the trips and launching with more once 2020 is open because we do believe people kind of from 2020, it's been a real eye-opener about life and seizing the moment and going after those big dreams. And at any point, we're realizing how fragile this is and it can be taken away. So let's kind of make those dreams happen, learn something new during COVID and come out and travel, or if you want to start a daycare, if you want to go backpacking or whatever your dream is, a farm, kind of make all that happen in 2020. Kim: But really we're born, we die, and it's what we do in between that matters. Doesn't it? So what would you find final message be? Jessica: It's so true. Kim: Yeah. Will, then Jessica, as we wrap up, your final message to people listening? Jessica: Well I'm going to go back to what you said earlier, Kim, about the age of traveling. I think that's really, really important. If someone's listening to this and they're like 32 and they're like, "Well, I'm going to do this when I retire, but I really want to do it now" or someone's 65 and saying, "Well, I don't know, am I too old?" My message is it's never too late. It's never too early. If it's right for you right now, make it happen. And age should never ever be a deterrent from you doing something you're really passionate about. Jessica: And I think one of our biggest fears, Will and I, we don't have too many, but one of them is regret. And you don't want to get at that point in your life where you're 85 and you're laying in the bed and saying, "Gosh, I should've went at 65, but everyone was telling me I was too old." And it doesn't have to be travel. It can be whatever your dream is. So I guess my one big takeaway is it's never too late and it's never too early. If it works for you and it's something you're passionate about, don't wait. Will: I'd rather be working at a very sort of entry level job when I'm 80 and knowing that I've lived my life when sort of I had the means and the capability to experience the things that I want to. Because I know my energy level is not going to be the same sort of forever. So we're taking advantage now while we can, while things are sort of spectacular in our eyes. Jessica: And I think I just want to add one little thing because we are in COVID times right now. Learn something new right now. Right? Go after that thing that you've been... Whether it's, Will referenced the ukulele, you want to learn how to play the ukulele. We have a friend that's learning artificial intelligence right now. We have another friend that's learning about horticulture. Learn something new, and then when those doors... because I know it's a really tough time for everyone right now and people are getting depressed and sad and feel like this is never going to end. When those doors open, be ready to come out blazing, right? Live that authentic life and go after whatever it is that you want. Kim: Well said. Love you guys, love what you're doing as I said. And the site, people will just be able to get their teeth into and look at the profiles of your children as well as yourselves and be really excited. So thank you so much for sharing your story with me. Jessica: Thank you so much for having us Kim. And I love that you're van lifeing around Australia. That is so, so, so, so very cool. Kim: yeah thanks Jessica I think it’s pretty cool, next move for us is Victoria’s high country and then across to Tasmania which is my home state – so I am very excited for that. Just remember as you start traveling again before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. Next week, Lonely Planet’s latest travel campaign bye.     </div> </div> </div>Supplied 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-trading-ties-for-hiking-bootsIn this episode, we chat to someone who ditched their corporate job to follow their passion for adventure travel, and who is Monsieur Les Gâteaux?2020-11-02T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-trading-ties-for-hiking-bootshttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What's in the episode</h2>  00:42 Who is Richard Campbell 02:07 Turning your passion into a profession 04:11 Building a business during Coronavirus 06:37 What is important to you? 08:48 Travel moving forward 11:51 Traveling with children 14:38 Creating memories 17:00 Next episode <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “Whether I'm lucky or unlucky, probably unlucky, this is the 5th major downturn I've lived or worked through... And so really from the start, our focus was, okay, what can we control? Let's figure out what we want to accomplish during this pandemic.” - Richard <h2>Who's on the show</h2> <a href="https://richard-campbell.com/">Richard Campbell</a> is the founder of <a href="https://www.10adventures.com/">10Adventures</a> an adventure travel platform. It began by building an audience of adventure travelers, by offering free and extensive trail information, GPS coordinates and quality guides on adventure travel in some of the most amazing destinations on earth. “We’ve replaced the traditional guidebook, providing clear, concise route descriptions, digital maps, a standardized difficulty rating system, and all sorts of our favourite hints and tips for everything from trip planning to adventure living on our blog.” <figure><img src=" https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/richard-family-traveling-podcast-1dec2020.jpg " /> <figcaption> Richard and his family in the Rocky Mountains</figcaption></figure> <h2>Resources & links</h2> Check out the latest <a href="https://www.10adventures.com/tours/">10Adventures tours</a>. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/travel-alerts">Latest travel alerts and warnings</a>. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">Which countries have open borders</a>? <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your Twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode, please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Thanks for tuning in to this episode from wherever you get your favorite pods and if you missed the last episode I am riding solo through to the end of the year after Phil left World Nomads for a job where he gets free lunches every Friday – everyone has a price! As for me, I am still on the road working from our van and still based in Broken Hill for one more week as we explore more of the desert in far east New South Wales. Our guest in this episode is Richard Campbell the founder of 10Adventures an adventure travel platform. But prior to forming the company, he was the COO of an oil and gas company so what was the catalyst for the change? Richard: Yeah, so it seems natural, but I know when I did this, everyone was asking me, are you crazy? Why are you giving this up? So, we'd grown an oil and gas company from 18 people to 425 people. It was successful. I'd become the COO. And from the outside, it looked great. And on my 40th birthday, around that time, I went and did a course on leadership, and a big aspect of the course was around are you going to be happy with what you're doing and how you're spending your time when you're 65? And so it just really hit me in that I was working in an industry I wasn't really passionate about. When you've grown a company to that size, I think a lot of the fun is, you've lost a lot of the fun because you don't get to do a lot. You're mostly just overseeing. And so I stepped back and said, boy, I think I'd be unhappy if I spend another 25 years doing this. It would be financially the right decision, but it wouldn't be something where I'd be, oh, I'm really glad about how I spent that time. And I wasn't really sure what to do. But about a year earlier, I'd started working on just this passion project where I was sharing my favorite hikes in the Rocky Mountains in Alberta and down in Montana. And that started doing really well where I get a lot of emails, people saying, hey, we love this site. Thank you for doing this. And so I started to realize, I may have just, in my free time by pursuing a passion project, stumbled upon a really interesting business. And so as I started to allocate more time to that, it became clear what we're doing and what we want to do really is solving a need that isn't there for adventure travelers. And so I gave up this great career in the oil and gas industry to do something that I'm really passionate about. And I haven't looked back once and said, oh, I've made the wrong decision. This is so motivating and interesting. It's just been a great result for me and for my family, just to move into something that is full of people who are so interesting and dynamic and pursuing their dreams as well. It's really a great decision. Kim: So this passion project was basically you sharing your hikes on a website that you launched. Am I correct? So blogs. Richard: Yeah, yeah. I was out in the mountains and I looked around, this is back in 2015, I noticed everyone still had a printed guidebook. And I thought, why is everyone still buying guidebooks at the bookstore? And when I went home and I started looking at it online, I realized what was online was really low-quality information. And so you still needed to buy a guidebook. So my idea was let's just create a guidebook of hiking in the Rocky Mountains that are going to be as good as what you can buy in the store. And so really focused on having high-quality route descriptions and give all the information you might need. And so just used the hikes that I knew well that I'd already done and slowly built that up. And then over time, people at other places said, oh, I found 10Adventures. Can I contribute to my region? And before we knew it, we had 50 different great adventure destinations in North America and Europe and a loyal following. And it really became clear that there was a market or a need for what we were doing. Kim: Okay. Well, you've told us why you decided to build an adventure travel company. But you did this during the pandemic. You've done this in 2020, right? Richard: Yeah. I started this full-time in 2018 and then we launched our new website with where we rebranded as 10Adventures in 2019. So we're fairly young in terms of all the information we have. But yeah, operating in a pandemic has been interesting for us, especially in the travel where most travel companies have seen close to 100% decline in bookings and whatnot. Kim: That's very true, but in a way also the slowing down of the world allowed you the space to get this up and running. Richard: Yeah. Whether I'm lucky or unlucky, probably unlucky, this is the 5th major downturn I've lived or worked through. And so I'm used to, okay, when there's a mass change in your business or what's going on, how do you handle it? And so really from the start, our focus was, okay, what can we control? Let's figure out what we want to accomplish during this pandemic. And as you said, our focus is how can we build our business? And by having a plan, I think it helps everyone in the team that you can add certainty where you can have certainty. So we know what we're trying to accomplish each month or each quarter. We don't know when the pandemic is going to end, but we know what we want to accomplish. And so this has been really valuable because we've been able to scale and grow our business really well in this downturn. And I think part of it's just knowing that eventually, COVID is going to end. And if we use the time wisely, it'll give us a lot of benefits because we're going to have the biggest travel boom of our lifetimes after COVID. Everyone's going to want to travel. And so we want to be prepared for that. Kim: Yeah. Well, we'll get to what that travel may look like. But you mentioned reflecting on your 40th birthday, whether you wanted to be the COO of a company. And I guess also for 2020, often we use those milestone birthdays or milestones in our lives to reflect on what we want moving forward. But 2020's been like that for everyone, whether you're turning 40 or you're turning 23 or you're turning 61, everyone's stopped and been forced to look at the way they want to live moving forward. And that's certainly what we're hearing in the interviews that we're doing and the people that we chat to. Are you picking up on that as well? Richard: Yeah. I think there are lots of people who are learning what's important to them. And so for people who already loved the outdoors, they've rediscovered an increasing passion for the outdoors. We've seen a lot of people who haven't done an outdoor trip or a hike or a bike ride in their lives or in the last 10, 20, 30 years that are getting back into the outdoors. And so there's been a huge boom in people who can't do their regular trip, a cruise or a trip down to Mexico or a wine tasting tour in France. And so they've started to do hikes and bikes locally. And they've just discovered a love for it. I have a friend who, I don't think he's ever done anything active and all of a sudden he's going on his e-bike every weekend. And I think lots of people are discovering, hey, the outdoors are actually really incredible. And there are all the health benefits associated with doing stuff outdoors, but there are also lots of mental health benefits with all the stress of what's going on in the US with elections and pandemic around the world, being able just to go and go for a bike ride or go for a hike, and with your family typically is just a really nice way to de-stress and take the edge off in these trying times. Kim: I love the fact that your mate's got out and he's exercising but on an e-bike. Richard: If you knew him when he told me I couldn't believe it. Now, he still has to pedal somewhat, but just like that, I just couldn't believe it. But I also, I've met people who own Pelotons, those indoor cycling, and they don't even own an outdoor bike, but they love the technology. And so I think there's something about the technology on a bike that makes these people more interested. But actually this friend, he's been talking to me about going on an e-bike tour in Italy. Kim: Oh, wow. Richard: And so here's a guy who's only ever done cruises who's now like, "I'd like to go and do an e-bike around Italy, where there are not too many hills." And so there are people, this is changing what they thought they knew, and they're learning more about themselves and learning just that, hey, it's great to be outside and to be able to spend time with ones you love without all this mental and physical traffic around you. Kim: Yeah. So how then will travel look in the future? What have been the takeaways from 2020 for you? And you talk about post-COVID, a lot of people talk about there not being a post-COVID, that there'll be this new normal. How do you think travel will change? Richard: Yeah, so I think the first thing is adventure travel was one of the fastest-growing segments pre-COVID. So it was growing at 17% per year. There was a massive change as people were moving away from bus tours into private, smaller groups of their friends and families spending a lot of time outdoors and soft adventures or hard adventures. That's going to accelerate. Every study is showing that as COVID dissipates, people are going to want to go on trips where they stay in smaller centers, they stay with their own cohort of friends or family, and they want to spend a lot of time outdoors. So we're going to see a rapid increase in adventure travel coming out of COVID. What we're seeing that's interesting is multi-generational families looking for trips that grandkids, parents, and grandparents can do. And so again, like my friend, looking to replace may be going on a cruise as a family, or going down on an all-inclusive holiday in a hot destination and trying to find something that's going to be easy enough for the grandkids and the grandparents to do, but provide some interesting aspects whether or not it's learning how to make pizza or learn how to make paella or wine tastings. But allow multi-generational families to now do soft adventure holidays. So I think that's one big change is more and more people are going to do adventure style or outdoor holidays. I think you're also going to see a lot of tour operators change their business model somewhat. There's a lot of companies that we've talked to where they were really focused on one type of tour or one destination or one type of guests where they've realized if they were only focusing on bringing guests from Asia to Europe that basically stopped throughout the pandemic. And they realized that they have to look at having different business models. So it might be adding new revenue streams, adding new tour types, focusing on different geographies. A lot of our partners are looking at having a way to focus more on local audiences. There's a whole group of people that live in and around where our partners are located that they've never really marketed to before. Whereas now that's a way for them to continue their business and help people explore more locally. And so I think those are the two big aspects are companies trying to do more different things and then people continuing to give adventure and outdoor travel more of a chance. Kim: Yeah. Well, we've got an episode coming up next week on traveling as a family. You've touched on it, getting your kids into family adventures. What do you guys do? Because you've got three children? Richard: Yeah. So we have three kids. We had them all within 39 months. Kim: What? Richard: Yeah. So initially this adventure travel, being outside is a really big part of my life. I think it's really valuable. We live next to the Rocky Mountains. So we have this great opportunity. When we first had kids, I'd look at photos on Facebook and then Instagram, and you'd see these great photos and then go, "That's what I want." But the truth is it's really, really hard to start. And so we had five years of trialing and failing. We couldn't get it right. And it was really tough because you think I want to go on a backpacking trip or let's go hiking, but it just never ended up being that rewarding. And then finally in 2019, it started to work. And it was just fantastic. And what we realized is, kids, get ready for outdoor family adventures at a different age. You can't push them before they're ready. And so for our kids, they weren't ready and we tried to do it too early. The second thing is how to motivate them. And so there are lots of different things. Some parents I talked to, use candy or they use screen time. For our kids, they just like to talk about their toys. Or if things get really bad, I have a series of characters I've developed that I just make up stories with those characters. And they'll walk forever as long as I'm telling a story. And then the third thing is we also had to train them up a bit. If you initially go straight to the mountains and say, "Let's go for a hike," it's tough. You're going from up to higher elevation. You have a lot more elevation gain and loss. And so we started using a lot of our time in town to really get the family used to do like what's it like to go on a three-hour hike in parks in Calgary? And when the kids can do that, then going to do that in the mountains is not nearly as hard. And that leads to this idea of having realistic expectations. When I first started, I thought, oh well, of course, the kids can do this hike. But you realize kids are different. And so we found our kids can go long at relatively flat distances, but if you start to go uphill, they get tired and worn out really quickly. So that changes and influences what type of hikes we do. So we do a lot of hikes along rivers and valley bottoms. And if we want to do a hike that's up in the Alpine, for example, we'll try and find hikes where the road is already at elevation, so we don't have huge elevation gains. But it's really easy to get de-motivated. And I've talked to a lot of parents where they've tried it a few times and it hasn't worked. And really the focus is just to keep trying. Eventually, it will work. And at least for our family, and for myself as well as a kid, all my great memories are doing these great family adventures. And so we're really focused as a family to have our memories being these fun family adventures. This past year, they've all been close to home in the Rocky Mountains. But in other years they've been abroad. And part of what we're doing at 10Adventures is we're actually adding a section to really focus on family adventures, because it's a great way to engage kids to learn about different cultures, languages, customs, history, food, and really allow them to rapidly grow their knowledge. And I've seen with my children, they get really engaged learning about these totally different way things are done in different parts of the world. Kim: Well, you've answered my final question. Were you adding that to 10Adventures? But you mentioned your characters. Tell us one that you'll use to get the kids through a tough hike. Richard: Oh. So we go through waves. So the current favorite is one called Booger McFarland, who is a guy who can't keep a job because he does really silly things. And he likes to eat a lot of hot dogs and candy. So that's a favorite one. We have a detective inspector, oh, I forget his name. I just told, he was yesterday. We have a Monsieur Le Gateau who's a famous explorer. We have the detective brothers, which are the three of them, which go and solve capers. So, yeah. So it's just if it's really getting tough for the kids, I'll just talk. And we've come back from one backpacking trip, and I'd actually lost my voice because it was pouring rain and we were all wet, and we had about a three-hour hike out. And so I just had to talk nonstop to keep the kids going because they were ready to shut down. Kim: That's great. Richard: But yeah, it's fun just to see these kids that can, they're almost on the ground and then you start a story and they're up and they're running ahead and that just energizes them so much. Kim: That's so cool. That really is cool. Well, thank you so much for your sharing 10Adventures with us and how you arrived at it. It sounds so much more interesting than gas and oil if I can say that. So congratulations. Richard: Thank you very much, Kim. And thanks for having me on the podcast. I really like being on here and talking a little bit about something I'm so passionate about. My pleasure Richard, we are big fans here at world nomads of turning your passion into a profession, so again well done. We will have links to 10Adventures in show notes. Don’t forget to rate, share and subscribe to the World Nomads Travel Podcast and let me know what you are up to by emailing <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a> Next week families on the move across the world. Bye </div> </div> </div>Supplied: Richard Campbell 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-chasing-your-travel-dreamsIn this episode, how to face your fears and overcome them by traveling and what was this TV host’s greatest obstacle?2020-11-25T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-chasing-your-travel-dreamshttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What's in the episode</h2> 01:19 What was this TV travel host scared of 04:15 Managing anxiety 09:01 Traveling through COVID-19 14:10 The difference between fearless and reckless 19:29 What’s Mike doing now? 23:24 Dancing with risk – what does he mean? 24:53 Get in touch <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2>  "I guess there are lots of quotes, but there are a few about the fear that I really enjoy. And one of them is by Joseph Campbell. And it's, "The cave you fear to enter hides the treasure that you seek." And that is I think a beautiful quote about fear, and about my story and about anybody who has overcome a difficulty in their life and then been able to live the best version of their life. Is that the darkest crevice in your life that you're scared of, if you decide with shaking hands and a beating heart and sweat on your brow to hold a lantern up into there and just explore it and get it out and do the thing you're scared of, and unearth whether it be a problem in your life, something you're avoiding, it's always a solution, right?" - Mike <h2>Who's on the show</h2> Mike Corey, the host of the BBC's <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/5HH2VXCksbThj137SndDzWD/mike-corey">The Travel Show</a> and star of the YouTube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_DmOS_FBvO4H27U7X0OtRg">'Fearless and Far</a>', is breaking the mold. He is traveling the world and filming things never filmed before, to inspire people to chase their fears, lean into discomfort, and find the opportunities hidden in the struggle.  Mike believes that when we face our fears and overcome them, we become better versions of ourselves. He also hopes that by experiencing and sharing the unique, weird, and unusual aspects of a country, we can begin to understand that our fears are often unfounded. “More often, it's our lack of understanding that makes us afraid”. Mike aims to show people that the world is inherently good, ultimately allowing us to embrace new cultures, rituals, and practices.  <h2>Resources & links</h2> This is Socotra where Mike and his girlfriend were when the pandemic was declared. <iframe width="600" height="450" style="border: 0;" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d997156.8299405542!2d53.359368564019526!3d12.506621759161307!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x3db6a3302ac94bf1%3A0x850a7ddff0ac426b!2sSocotra!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sau!4v1606184329761!5m2!1sen!2sau" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" aria-hidden="false" tabindex="0"></iframe> <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/travel-alerts">Latest travel alerts and warnings</a>. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">Which countries have open borders</a>? <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your Twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: Mike Corey is the host of the BBC's ‘The Travel Show’ and star of the YouTube channel 'Fearless and Far', and he is breaking the mould, traveling the world and filming things never filmed before, in an effort to inspire people to chase their fears, lean into discomfort and find the opportunities hidden in the struggle. So, what is it he is frightened of? Mike: And that's such a good question, because the channel is called Fearless and Far, and that is my alias. It actually used to be called Kick the Grind, and I changed that a few years ago to Fearless and Far because I am truly fearless. No, that's actually the opposite. I am fearful. I'm a recovering scaredy-cat. And I learned a while ago that fear was something that was controlling my life completely. And so right now I have a YouTube channel, obviously, I'm a social media, I mentioned, travel influencer, I have a television show on BBC, I do public speaking circuits. My life is public speaking. But what you don't see on the surface is I had a phobia of public speaking. I was blackout terrified to speak publicly for most of my life. And then through travel and through life just whipping coconuts at my head and making me make hard decisions, I was able to become, I feel, the best version of myself. And that was only through tackling these giant fears in my life head-on. And for myself, I guess I never was given the tools to know how to deal with that. We all have these traumatic experiences when we're younger, these develop up into fears, and then we just kind of deal with it. And we assume they're part of who we are. but I am the living breathing definition that if you choose to head-charge these fears, you can level up in ways you'd never imagined. So I'm not fearless at all, but I do really, really enjoy fighting them, and I do really, really enjoy encouraging other people to do the same. Kim: Yeah. We've got a couple of interviews coming up, actually, with people that have to conquer anxiety, for example, have headed off and walked 3000 kilometers over from the North Island of New Zealand to the South Island. That takes real guts, doesn't it? And as someone with anxiety, when you are crippled with fear, to put yourself out there it takes guts, doesn't it? But are you saying it's worth it? Mike: Yeah. Well, the thing is it does take guts, but I guess I realized that I was so paralyzed by fear because I didn't understand it. I didn't know what was happening. And there's that old cliche saying that there's nothing to fear but fear itself. And you kind of just brush off these sayings like you've heard them before, but really if you think about it, that's kind of what anxiety is. I used to have anxiety attacks as well when it came to speaking in class and things during grade school. And I realized after that I would have this feeling, this physical reaction, my heart would start beating, my palms would start sweating, I'd start shaking. And then I'd be like, "Oh no, it's happening." And then I was scared of being scared. So they would just burn up in this giant spinning wheel of fire and take me off a cliff basically. And so if you... And what I started doing on the channel and my message, is trying to disassociate the reaction of fear to fear. And when you do feel this feeling, it's not an, "Oh my God, I'm so scared. What am I going to do? Oh my God. I'm getting scared again." It's, "Cool. Okay. Hi, we're back old friend. I know you're trying here to save me, but listen, we can walk along this path together, but I'm not going to listen to you." And so approaching this feeling that wells up inside of you this way changes your whole relationship with the feeling. Because at the end of the day, it is a relationship. And it's something that's as human as breathing to us. And especially, when these people who have anxiety as I did, it's like if you can disassociate this thing you're afraid of and also this feeling, I think that's step one. Number two is understanding, learning about it. Let's say you have a fear of spiders. Do you think someone who grew up in a household where their dad had a pet tarantula and every weekend they went and they lovingly fed it crickets and they learned about how interesting spiders are? No, that's not the case. Someone threw a spider on you when you were six or chased around the house, your brother or your sister, whatever it was. And then you developed this phobia. Or maybe you just watched a bunch of scary spider movies. And so you just don't understand how spiders work, you don't understand any interesting thing about. The only data points you have in your head are these horror movies basically, horror situations. And I think the same thing applies to travel. And a lot of these locations that people call tourist unfriendly. Where the only data points we have of the Middle East or whatever it be, are these negative things we see in the news and the media. They're not our experiences. They're not the experiences of a friend or a family member, they're just all of these random data points thrown at us like darts. And they stick in, and that's what we remember. And I think with some of these phobias, like my public speaking, for example, I wasn't born with a public speaking phobia. I was in grade four, and I had a hamster that died, and I was brought up in front of the class by the teacher to explain to the class why I was looking sullen. And so she made me, and I was in French immersion, and she forced me in my first year of French immersion to explain why I was sad in front of 30 people when my hamster just died. And she kept on pushing and pushing and pushing, I didn't know how to explain, "Excuse me, my hamster just died." You learn how to say, "Where is the mailbox, sir? Excuse me, how do I find the bathroom?" You don't learn the vocabulary of how to explain a dead hamster. Kim: She was expecting you to do this in French? Mike: Yes. And so I was like, "My hamster is..." And like, "[foreign language 00:05:18]." " [foreign language 00:05:22]." Anyway, it was just... and there were a couple of instances during that year that I was... This was my introduction to public speaking. So like any, I think, malleable ball of clay at that age, you carry some baggage after that. Do you know what I mean? And so it was because I had three or four of my first data points of being in front of a crowd. Because how much public speaking are you doing at that age? Basically none. Maybe you answer a couple of math questions in a line, but yeah. So I carry that with me, and after a while it kind of just balloons and festers like a wound and gets bigger and bigger and bigger until it becomes a giant elephant in the back of your head. Kim: Yeah. Well, we tend to, with minds like this, catastrophize things. Mike: Yeah, exactly. And I think we grew up as kids with monsters under our bed. And after a while, I realized, "Hey, monsters aren't real." But those are just fears, right? That's the fear you have when you're five or six, monsters, you see them on TV. And then as we grow up, those fears grow up too. The things that are even more scary, like fear of commitment or fear of public speaking, or fear of [inaudible 00:06:20]. But the fear still comes along with us, it just changes forms as well. Kim: Let's talk about, and you mentioned the elephant in the room, this time we're talking about coronavirus and fear. And you know that in March when the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic, the world went into lockdown. And it's slowly recovering in some areas. Certainly not here in Australia, I can report, at the time of our recording there are only four reasons why we can leave our country. We are also a Federation, but we've got hard closed borders. So it's just crazy. So why are you continuing to travel despite the pandemic? And how are you doing it? Mike: Yeah, great question. So let's rewind a few months. Before coronavirus took the world by surprise, I guess let's say early March when things started to close down. I had already been to 11 countries this year. So my lifestyle is I travel 11 out of the 12 months of the year. I split time between my hometown on the East Coast of Canada, a small province called New Brunswick where my family's from, and I was living in Mexico City at the time. So I kind of bounce around those if I want to settle down, but for the most part, I'm on the road 11 months of the year. And so before March, I had already been to 11 countries. Which was Mauritania, Bangladesh, Oman, and all these other places that generally aren't on the normal tourist path. And so when coronavirus hit, I was with my girlfriend and we were actually camping on the Island of Socotra in Yemen. So not exactly the easiest and most accessible place, probably one of the most remote places on the planet actually. Socotra is like Madagascar, or it's like the Galapagos. This Island Juul in the middle of the ocean, where most of the animals are endemic, they're only found there. The most iconic one is the dragon blood tree, which is a strange upside-down cactus baobab type thing that if you cut the bark it bleeds red Sap, like dragon blood. It is an alien landscape. A beautiful place, but very remote and very little cell reception. Kim: These are the types of places you like to visit, right? Mike: Yeah, exactly. I still think there are places we can truly explore and be one of the first there. And that was one of those places. Anyway. And so we were there and I got a scratch at the tent at like 3:00 AM, and it was our guide saying, "Hey, a guy just came on a motorbike saying that flight you were supposed to take in two weeks actually is leaving in three hours. And if you're not on it, you're going to be stuck there." And I had just broken my laptop, and I had lost my wallet, and I was there with my girlfriend. And actually, she ended up staying there for four months, because that was the next opportunity to leave the Island. And I actually went back to Canada, and it was in lockdown for the coronavirus. So she had this really amazing desert island fantasy getaway. Well, amazing. I mean, you sleep in a tent the entire time and it's not much, but that's what she likes to do. Kim: So why did she do that and not go with you? Mike: Because she couldn't come to Canada, number one. We had closed our borders and to anyone but non-residents. Sorry, anyone but residents. I couldn't go to Poland. And she doesn't really... She's from Poland, but she used to live in the UK, and her home is on the road. And so for her home was staying in Socotra. And she has her own story, maybe for another day, but it was quite incredible staying there for four months. And it's all on YouTube as well, if you type in... Her name's Eva Zu Beck. Anyway. So I went home and I spent those three, four months on the East coast of Canada. And like the rest of us, just trying to understand the world. And it was difficult. And then in early July, the EU opened up to Canadians. And so again, being Canadian was a bit of a blessing because Americans still can't leave their country for the most part. And so then the debate happened in my head where it's like, "What is essential travel, and what does non-essential travel?" So for someone who gets employment through travel and has a travel YouTube channel, or maybe has a blog or whatever, their income is by traveling. That's kind of deemed... No, it is deemed non-essential. Or someone who has a relationship that is across borders, whether I'm dating someone from Poland or the United States, is maintaining a relationship like that essential? Well maybe if you're boyfriend and girlfriend, maybe not. But what if you're fiance? It starts to get a bit fuzzy with what essentially is. Coffee's not essential in the morning, but it's damn nice. So anyway, the opportunity came to leave Canada on the 2nd of July, and so I did. And I think I had two ways to approach it. I could be kind of do it secretly, or I could do it in an unapologetic way. And so that's what I did. I made a video about why I'm choosing to go to Europe as a tourist, so non-essential, and also a guide and showing the experience and some difference along the way. And so I really tried to embody that, knowing that it was going to have some controversy. And I'm sure there are listeners now who would think that's okay, or maybe not think that's okay. Maybe think it was a reckless thing. But at the end of the day, I thought about what are the most important things? And one of them is if I am choosing to travel because I deem it essential, making sure I'm not tracking dirty feet around the world. Making sure that I'm not being a potential carrier, bringing it into small communities, making sure I'm following the rules. I came to Europe, I quarantined for two weeks even though I didn't have to, it wasn't required for Canadians to do so. But I thought, "Hey, you know what? It's not a bad idea. Plus I've got some work to do as well." And so I went above and beyond what I was required to do. And so far here, I've been to seven countries since I left in early July. So it's been still a slower pace, and I've changed my travel style a little bit. I'm not visiting indigenous tribes in the forest anymore, but you can still see some sites. And you have to wear a mask, and there are some other things you have to keep in mind as well, but for the most part, the world is continuing to click. And no one's come after me with pitchforks yet, so it's been going pretty well. Kim: Well during the height of the pandemic we were sharing stories of people, much like your girlfriend who I'd loved to hear her story about, and I will go to YouTube. We were sharing stories about travelers that had been stuck and had to get home, industry experts, company directors, all those that have been affected by the pandemic. But now we're switching our conversation to actually, well okay, we're going to live with this for a bit and how do we travel through it? So you've done that, even though... We say you're fearless, you're obviously not reckless. What tips would you give to people listening to this on how to do this right so that you're not being reckless? Mike: Yeah. And I think the number one thing is if you do decide to travel, that is a great thing that you can do, but at the end of the day, if you want to choose to take a small risk with your life, I think it's a bit of a small risk than we're blowing it up to be, but if you're choosing to take that risk, don't put that risk on other people. Do you know what I mean? So again, being cautious and above and beyond, and knowing that if you're a foreigner in a place, at some point people might not... There's only really one situation we were in, in a country in Europe where we were in a small town, we show up with a license plate that wasn't from there, both speaking English, and they were not so happy to see us. We tried to get to a restaurant. And so for the most part locals have been very accepting, but sometimes cautious. But again, if you're from a small little community and a car rolls in from far away, I don't blame people for being a little bit cautious. So just keep that in mind. And realizing by going a bit above and beyond, even if you don't agree with it all, it doesn't really matter. Agree with the fact that you are an ambassador for your country, and this is just travel advice all of the time, not necessarily during corona. You're an ambassador for your country. You're an ambassador for your language, your skin color. People make an impression when they see you. So this is a very important thing now. As far as traveling with coronavirus, honestly, I thought it was going to be more inconvenient. I did a blog series, what it was like to travel as one of the very first tourists from Canada to the EU. And I document the whole thing., The differences along the way. You would think it would be a little bit more stringent, but with the temperature checks and some questionnaires, it really hasn't been that bad. And even traveling to seven countries since being able to get into the EU, there are not really many borders in between, so you can travel freely. When I flew to the UK, I have a BBC television show as well called The Travel Show, and I had to fill out a form, also had to wear a mask basically in any enclosed space, which is the same here in Europe as well. And again, be a little bit conscious of people. I've given so many elbow bumps since I've been here, it's kind of wild. But the hardest thing, I think, with travel is I didn't realize how much I relied on my facial expressions to communicate when I can't speak the language. And it feels a bit soulless at times. I'm in Romania now, and you're meeting people who don't speak English or French or Spanish or any language you speak, and you have to try to smile and make an impression. I realize I rely on my smile a lot to make an impression. And I guess you can kind of see if someone's smiling with their eyes, but it's not exactly the same thing. And it's really hard, it's even harder to communicate when you can't see someone's mouth. So even if they're trying to speak English, or you're trying to speak Romanian or French, it's harder to understand. And so it has a little bit inconvenient in that way. But for the most part, it's been pretty much business as usual, like a masked business as usual. Again, and I always try to be a bit more cautious than the average person only because knowing people know that I'm not from here. Kim: Okay. So you've had experiences living with remote tribes, you said since the virus you're unlikely to go into an indigenous community. What aspects of travel, or what aspects of the world stopping have you enjoyed seeing that you hadn't thought of before March? Mike: I guess I think there's a really interesting opportunity now for the next year or two, or who knows how long, to see some of these places that were previously so clogged with tourism be almost empty. And maybe see how they should be seen or originally seen 100 years ago. I mean it's very unprecedented, and I guess for worse, not better the world has changed, but imagine seeing Machu Picchu with very few people there. Before the coronavirus, there were 2,500 people a day on this mountaintop, and a small little sacred site, right? So I think in certain parts of the world, I haven't been to Paris to see the Eiffel tower or Italy to see the Trevi fountain or anything. But I would imagine it's a once in a lifetime opportunity now to see some of these world attractions, even if it's the cathedral in some unknown town in Europe, these places aren't going to be clogged with tourists. It's going to be locals and maybe some local tourists. But I think there's a really interesting opportunity there if people do choose to think about traveling at this time. Kim: What are you planning to do next? Mike: Yeah. Well for me, as I said, I've really enjoyed in the past visiting some of these communities that were relatively untouched by tourism and finding strange shamans and people in the forest or in the mountains. And that's going to go on hold for a while. I think there's still room to be able to do that. So for example, I'm getting a coronavirus test tomorrow, and I think as long as I keep myself tested and wear a mask and I can prove to myself and others that I am COVID free, then I think there is space at some point to be able to consider doing the [inaudible] stuff again. Right now, I'm fine finding some other things. For example, a couple of weeks ago we did some survival training in Poland, and I think in the future it'll be a bit more of that coming up. So I know I had visited some abandoned castles and palaces here in Europe, visiting some incredible ones scattered across Germany and Poland and Romania. And the abandoned exploration urbex is pretty COVID friendly for the most part. As well as wilderness survival training and doing some treks. So right now we've been planning some more adventures like that. Until we can kind of find where the world is and where we are in this COVID travel situation. Kim: We've got a previous episode we did on urbex, so that's one for the show notes as well. So just two final questions. Do you have a travel quote or mantra that you subscribe to? Mike: Yeah. I guess there are lots of quotes, but there are a few about the fear that I really enjoy. And one of them is by Joseph Campbell. And it's, "The cave you fear to enter hides the treasure that you seek." And that is I think a beautiful quote about fear, and about my story and about anybody who has overcome a difficulty in their life and then been able to live the best version of their life. Is that the darkest crevice in your life that you're scared of, if you decide with shaking hands and a beating heart and sweat on your brow to hold a lantern up into there and just explore it and get it out and do the thing you're scared of, and unearth whether it be a problem in your life, something you're avoiding, it's always a solution, right? Procrastination or something you've been dreading to do. You know if you just go in there and do it then, Oh my God, wild things can happen. And so that's where that quote comes from. And I mean whether it was a dragon in there or your deepest, darkest fear, it's kind of the same thing. It's this monster you're afraid to face. But we all know that facing it is the key. Well maybe we don't all know that, but I'm here, I'm living proof that it is. And there's so many stories and great quotes similar to that, that if you go in there and find that dark place and illuminate it, that the world is your oyster after that. Kim: Well, you are lucky to be alive, some of the stuff that I've seen you do. But that's another story. Mike: But you said it earlier, there's a line between reckless and scary, right? So dangling your feet off a bridge with no safety harness could be considered reckless, right? And there's a lot of things. Driving drunk is reckless. But there are things that if you train your body, train your mind and you learn about them... Like I wouldn't say someone who's got done 500 skydives and goes out and does a skydive is as reckless as someone who just jumps off a cliff with a parachute, right? There's training that goes involved, that's involved with a lot of these things. And traveling to... Pick a country that's maybe not as... We were in Mauritania. Okay? So Mauritania is not a destination, it's a small Saharan... Well, it's actually a big Saharan country in West Africa. Not really tourist-friendly. The people there are so friendly, but you kind of have to know how to navigate a cultural situation, right? Again, if you don't do that, you can probably end up in a little bit of trouble there. But again, having traveled for all these years now, almost a decade, I feel like these countries that people would disregard can be quite beautiful, safe, enjoyable, travel experiences. And it's all just knowing how to behave. Don't walk around in a bikini, for example. And don't shove a camera in a police officer's face, things you might do in our home countries that could get you in a lot of trouble there, right? And so I kind of approach it the same way. If you want to understand the situation through experience, through knowledge, through research, then reckless can turn into... You're not going to get rid of the risk completely, but life always has risks. Life is a dance with risks. Sitting on your couch your entire life still has a lot of inherent risk to it, right? So I think that's how you have to approach it. If you spend time, over-prepare for these situations, learn about them, then you can dance with risk in a very beautiful way. I mean, God. Drivings a risk. We never talk about how we're putting the lives, our life into the hands of everybody else we cross on the highway. It's crazy that driving is... I think in 50 years we're going to look back now and say this. "How did we ever trust all of these people, and trust ourselves to drive on the freeway?" It's going to be one of those things that just seems so ridiculous in 50 years. Kim: Well I don't want to scratch any wounds, but what was the name of the hamster? Mike: Oh, I think it was Marty. Kim: We'll release this episode in his honor. Mike: Okay. RIP Marty. Hope you're doing well in hamster Heaven. Kim: Yeah. Well if it wasn't for him, you may not have overcome this fear. Mike: He was a martyr, I guess, in a certain way, wasn't he? Kim: Marty the martyr, I love it. Mike: I love it. Kim: Mike, thank you so much. Really enjoyed talking about chasing your fears with you. And yeah, keep doing what you're doing. It's great. Mike: Thanks. I had a great time. </div> </div> </div>YouTube 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/central-america/costa-rica/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-road-to-recoveryIn this episode, we chat with the owner of a surf company and hear his story of riding out the height of COVID-19 while stranded miles from home.2020-11-11T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/central-america/costa-rica/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-road-to-recoveryhttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What's in the episode</h2> 00:25 Thunder and lightening 02:30 The industries hit hard by COVID-19 05:38 Greg’s surf injury 08:04 Being separated from your pets 11:47 The future of surf camps 14:40 The story of Karma 16:29 Next episode <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> "A lot of times I was getting depressed too because it was winter in Virginia, and I had just come from surfing every day in Costa Rica. Luckily I had a wetsuit there and a longboard, so I was able to surf because Virginia did not have the beaches closed. There were very few surfers, so it was easy to stay socially distance. And I just woke up each morning and said to myself to look at life as a cup half full, look at the benefits I had of being there, being with my parents who were in their 70s, so I was able to get quality time with both of them. I was able to get outside a lot just going on runs or biking or surfing or stand up paddleboarding, and that really made all the difference in my outlook over those last few months. - Greg <h2>Who's on the show</h2> Greg Gordon is the owner of <a href="https://crsurf.com/">CR Surf Travel Company</a>. Greg grew up surfing the East Coast of the United States. Greg made his first trip to Costa Rica in 1996 and has planned hundreds of trips for clients and friends, written surf travel articles for Surfline, The Inertia, and The Tico Times. When he is not surfing, writing, or helping clients, he is helping at beach cleanups, playing guitar, “and just enjoying and appreciating the natural beauty” around him. Follow his adventures on Instagram <a href="http://instagram.com/crsurf">@crsurf</a> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/karma_cat.jpg" /> <figcaption>At aged 17, Greg’s cat Karma had a rough start in life</figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/adelaide_storm.jpg" /> <figcaption>About 100,000 lightning strikes jolted South Australia where Kim is currently camping</figcaption></figure> <h2>Resources & links</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.phocuswire.com/Coronavirus-impact-travel-industry">Coronavirus and the travel industry - impact and recovery.</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/travel-alerts">Latest travel alerts and warnings</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">Which countries have open borders</a>?</li> </ul> <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your Twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group.</a> If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: Greg Gordon runs a surf travel company in Costa Rica, maintains a cup half full approach…he’ll tell us about that and how COVID-19 has not only affected his business but challenged him personally. Greg: The name of the company is CR Surf Travel Company. And, I am an expert on planning surf trips to Costa Rica, and as a licensed travel consultant in the United States, I also help clients all over the world plan trips to anywhere they want to go. Kim: Do your parents say, "Is that a real job?" You're an expert in planning surf trips? That sounds awesome. Greg: Yes, they do. For 12 years, I was a public school teacher teaching everything from 3rd grade, all the way up to 12th-grade web design and technology classes. And for a long time, I was running the site part-time and then teaching full-time. But in 2009, I earned my travel agent license and have been running it full-time since. Kim: So you're living the dream, but, Greg, how has the pandemic affected your business, if at all? Greg: Well, it's severely affected my business. At the beginning of March, I had about 20 clients that were expecting to make trips in the month of March and April. And by the middle of March, I was down to zero and was actually helping clients finding ways to leave the country that was in the middle of their trip. So, and then since April, for the next five months, I had a couple of requests who... surfers wanting to go visit Mexico because flights to Mexico were still open. But besides that in the last six months, I had no reservations. Only starting last month, I started to get more travel requests for Costa Rica now that their borders are going to be open to all US states on November 1st, and now I'm back up to about six clients that plan to travel within the next three months. Kim: So how have you survived this period? Greg: Interestingly enough, I was planning a trip, a surf trip to Morocco right as the pandemic was starting to close borders and due to a surfing injury, I had 15 stitches in my knee and another 5 in my foot. I had to cancel that trip due to the injury, but then Morocco shut down, and I was stuck in Virginia. I had flown to Virginia to visit my family and see my parents and because I could not get back to Costa Rica or go on that trip, I ended up at my parents' house. And so, that cut my expenses nearly down to zero. As an independent contractor in Virginia, I was allowed to file for unemployment. So I was able to go to get on unemployment benefits. And in those two ways, I was able to survive. I also received an assistance loan from the US Small Business Administration, and that helped me pay off all my credit card debt and gave me a very low payment that I don't have to start making 'til next year. So financially, I've come out better since I've been able to pay off all my debt. And just that time at home, I was able to just focus on my website and my marketing and my social media presence and also just find some balance in working and time with my family. Kim: But it must've been a whirlwind, a whole lot of pain there all at once: your business, you can't go on your trip, your injury, back living at home, the worries about finances. You must be feeling very relieved. Greg: Yes, very much so. So at the time, I guess I was depressed. I had booked flights back to Costa Rica in April that was canceled in June that was canceled in August that was canceled. And luckily the airlines had that policy where you can use that cancellation flight as a credit for a future flight. But it was very frustrating, not really knowing when I'd be able to come back. Added to that, I rent a property in Costa Rica. I have a cat that lives in Costa Rica, and I also own a small piece of land close by that I had to maintain. So, I had to worry about if my cat was going to survive. She's 17 years old. I still had to pay rent on my property here because the cat was living in it, and I paid a friend to help come over each day and feed the cat and take care of it. But it was very traumatic. A lot of times I was getting depressed too because it was winter in Virginia, and I had just come from surfing every day in Costa Rica. Luckily I had a wetsuit there and a longboard, so I was able to surf because Virginia did not have the beaches closed. There were very few surfers, so it was easy to stay socially distance. And I just woke up each morning and said to myself to look at life as a cup half full, look at the benefits I had of being there, being with my parents who were in their 70s, so I was able to get quality time with both of them. I was able to get outside a lot just going on runs or biking or surfing or stand up paddleboarding, and that really made all the difference in my outlook over those last few months. Kim: You touched on something there that is going to be in your favor after this horrid year that has been 2020. You mentioned surfing, so you'd be able to socially distance. From all the reading that we've done, all the interviews, chats, and so forth, people are looking for those experiences now. So, a surf camp would be right up there on someone's radar. Are you hearing that too or seeing that in bookings? Greg: I am starting to see that in bookings. There are many benefits, physically and mentally, to surfing and just being out there on the water, it really clears my head. The saltwater kind of flushes me out of possible toxins I may have. Physical exercise helps build my immune system. And in general, I try to live healthier so I'm able to surf more, either by eating correctly, doing yoga and stretching, working, surfing more, just so I get better at it, that kept my mind busy and my body occupied. So, what I'm hearing from travelers is that one, they've been stuck at home for a really long time, and they're aching to travel somewhere. Two, that the airlines are doing a better job on protecting travelers, requiring them to wear a mask, making sure, in the case of Costa Rica, that they have a negative COVID test before traveling, and also offering low fares and offering a chance to rebook the flight if something should come up. So, now people are getting an opportunity to start traveling, and it's also getting colder in the United States and many places in the Northern hemisphere. So now they're thinking, "Okay, where can I go travel that has warm water, that doesn't have a large population along the coast, and that will give me a chance to catch a bunch of waves without a bunch of other surfers in the water." Kim: So are you putting any COVID safety regulations in place alongside of what you've got there naturally? Greg: Well, the surf camps that I work with, they've all been vetted. I know either the managers or the owners of these camps, and it starts out with the prevention of people that are coming in with COVID-19 that they have to have that negative test result. A lot of hotels that I've... and surf camps, they have what's called a touch-less check-in where everything's done over the phone or online. And then they also have more rigorous cleaning procedures in the room where everything is just infected. They're giving out personal soaps and shampoos rather than having to share it. So then that way that a new guest that comes into a room feels like that room is clean and disinfected. I've also seen surf camps that have a lower number of groups that they take out for a lesson. It used to be maybe up to four or six surfers, and now the maximum is two or three. Luckily, we're surfing. Once you're out in the water, generally the length of your board is going to dictate how far you are away from another person, so that's going to allow for natural distancing as well. So in those ways, the surf camps are better prepared to prevent anyone from getting sick while they're in Costa Rica. Kim: Okay, so as we wrap up, how would you put 2020 into words? Greg: I would call it a catalyst for change. I think that people are going to be more selective in the future where they want to go on a vacation and how they want to spend their time. And they don't want to waste money or time going to someplace without doing the research or arrive at a place and find out that they have to travel a long distance to be able to experience the natural beauty and the culture of a country they go to visit. So, I believe that as a surf travel consultant, I'm in a good position to educate my clients on the best places to go, the best times to visit, and how to maximize their time and their dollar while they're there visiting. So, I don't want to be negative and say, "It was horrible and traveling will never be as good as it was." I really think though that now people are just going to think more about their time when they travel and then look more carefully in the suppliers that are out there. Kim: Well said. Well before we go, what's the name of your cat, and do you take her or him surfing? Greg: Her name is Karma with a K. Kim: Nice. Greg: And, the story behind her, just really fast, is that she stowed away under my truck as I was doing a cross country trip from California to Cocoa Beach, Florida. And about five hours from my house, she crawled underneath my truck at a gas station when she was seven weeks old and rode in the spare tire wheel well all the way to Cocoa Beach, about five hours on the highway. So that's how she got the name, and then since then, she's been with me in Miami, Florida in Oakland, California, and now in Costa Rica. Kim: Oh, how gorgeous. Well, give Karma a squeeze from us, and thanks for the chat, Greg. Greg: Thank you very much, Kim, for offering me this opportunity to share my business with you, and I look forward to maybe visiting Australia one day soon. Kim: Well, we've got some good surf here, so yeah, get over. Greg: I know, I know. I can't wait. Kim: We will have a cute photo of Karma in show notes. Phil: Please remember to rate share and subscribe to the World Nomads Travel Podcast from wherever you get your favorite pods and reach out to us with your story by emailing <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a> Kim: Next week a couple of big announcements and a chat with Mike Corey, host of the BBC's ‘The Travel Show’ and star of the YouTube channel 'Fearless and Far'  Bye </div> </div> </div>Supplied: Surfing the Caribbean 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-women-supporting-travelIn this episode, press trips for travel companies are back on, the ex-pats flying during COVID and the entrepreneur inspiring women to explore the world.2020-11-04T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-women-supporting-travelhttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What's in the episode</h2> 01:13 The van has clocked up some miles 03:03 Discovering the World Nomads Travel Podcast 06:39 Arriving in Namibia 08:37 Traveling within a group 11:40 Going home after lockdown 16:50 Visiting friends during COVID-19 18:34 Katy is back doing press trips 27:00 A new travel app 31:00 Travel Plug <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “We were able to go see and visit the Himba tribal village for an afternoon. And all of the villages, even in the far reaches of Namibia have been contacted either by, I think it was the UN or WHO so that they're aware of COVID. They all had masks. And even in these villages, they had a foot pump that was attached to a rope that would drip sanitizer on your hands…”  - Andrea “I'm an au pair here in Spain, and so when I first started to mention to the family my desire to travel home, they were for sure way more concerned than I was.” - Cloe “Because people are a lot more open to exploring the U.S. since their European holiday got canceled, it's helped me professionally. I've been able to establish myself as a Midwest expert because I grew up here, and really know it well.” - Katy “…the idea is basically that you get to retain the independence and the autonomy that you get when you're traveling alone while being able to dip into a network to share one-off experiences.” - Heeral <h2>Who's on the show</h2> Andrea Rip is an American ex-pat who recently traveled for the first time since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, visiting Namibia with <a href="https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/trekkup/">Trekkup Dubai</a>. Andrea also runs the blog <a href="https://www.theearthink.com/">The Earth Ink</a>, representing “her creative talents and excitement for travel, photography, design, and communication.” Follow Andrea on Instagram @theearthink <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/nov4th2020/trekkup_tour.jpg" /> <figcaption> Andrea felt completely safe on her trip with Trekkup Dubai</figcaption></figure> Cloe Zarifian is an American au pair living in Spain. She recently flew from Madrid to LA via Miami and shares the experience with us in this episode. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/nov4th2020/cloe (2).jpg" /> <figcaption>Cloe spent a lot of time outside with friends on her trip home</figcaption></figure> Katy Spratte Joyce is a journalist using her love of writing to share travel experiences and the restaurants she seeks out along the way. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/opinion/coronavirus-nebraska-social-distancing.html">Read Katy’s story featured in the New York Times</a> about living in Nebraska during COVID-19. You can also follow Katy on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/katysjoyce/?hl=en">Instagram</a>. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/nov4th2020/katy_spratt.jpg" /> <figcaption>Safety is at the forefront of all Katy’s press trips</figcaption></figure> With a quarter of women afraid to travel alone but still aspire to do so, 22-year-old Londoner, Heeral Pattni has come up with a solution to make solo travel more accessible than ever. The <a href="https://www.amicaapp.com/">Amica App</a> provides women with a new way to make friends and connections while on the move. Through this online community, women can meet, explore, and adventure with fellow like-minded travelers. Heeral is also the co-founder of the <a href="https://thetravelplug.mobilize.io/network-groups">Travel Plug</a>. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/nov4th2020/kim_seacliff.jpg" /> <figcaption>Kim has clocked up over 4 weeks on the road</figcaption></figure> <iframe width="600" height="450" style="border: 0;" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d13067.721106038345!2d138.51160343453242!3d-35.033474135604315!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x6ab0d981d21175c3%3A0x5033654628ec010!2sSeacliff%20SA%205049!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sau!4v1604453478983!5m2!1sen!2sau" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" aria-hidden="false" tabindex="0"></iframe> <h2>Resources & links</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/travel-alerts">Latest travel alerts and warnings</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">Which countries have open borders</a>?</li> </ul> <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your Twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: So this episode is a bit of a bumper in which as mentioned we catch up with a couple of ex-pats, an entrepreneur, and a travel journalist. Andrea lives in Abu Dhabi and her recent trip to Namibia was the first time she traveled more than 15 kilometers, that’s around 9 miles from her apartment since the 9th of March. As an avid explorer, Andrea only recently discovered the World Nomads Podcast. Andrea: Well, actually the group I travel with the most always recommends World Nomads Insurance. I had a connection with the website. I think even previous to that when I was traveling on my own. And then just kind of Dabble on the website and found the podcast and started listening in. I'm always attracted to good travel content to give me ideas for next trips or whatnot. Kim: Nice one. Will you have defied the odds I guess, although the world is starting to engage, you've actually lived ... You are in Abu Dhabi, right? Andrea: Yep. I am in Abu Dhabi. Kim: And you left there to go to Namibia, now what was the reasoning? Andrea: Well a lot of my friends who live in the United Arab Emirates love to travel and there's a group of us who like to travel to very unusual places. This was maybe not quite as unusual as some that we've been to, but it was one of the first countries that opened up. And so there were a lot of trips listed through this one to a group and we just signed up for a few of them, kind of hoping that one of them would go ahead towards the end of the year, and then maybe it was that one. Kim: What was the time, the length of time between your last trip and this one? Andrea: I got back from a trip to Bulgaria and Macedonia on the 9th of March and we took off for this trip on the 6th of October. Kim: Yeah. So you were willing, truly ready for travel and adventure? Andrea: It changed a bit. I actually only left my house to go about 13 or 14 kilometers over the course of seven months. So it was about time. Kim: What was the preparation like once you'd been accepted. I'm using inverted commas, you were able to go to Namibia. What plan of attack did you put in place? Andrea: Well, on this trip I started packing about five weeks ahead of time because I'm sad. I was really out of practice. I didn't realize that was a skill you could lose and I still ended up over-packed, but there were a lot of COVID concerns, obviously. And as you are probably aware the targets for COVID change almost daily in different countries and different regions. And so it was constantly monitoring what was going on. The group checkup that I went with was very, very good at kind of following along the COVID requirements, both for leading the United Arab Emirates and for getting to Namibia. We had to book a COVID appointment in the United Arab Emirates before we left within 72 hours to take off in order to go to Namibia and land there. And then they had little kiosks set up in the airport there to check all the documents, to make sure that they could contact us during the trip to make sure we were able to be tested for our return and just do our due diligence on our itinerary when we were in the country. And then we had to get a test when we came or before we came back within 96 hours of coming back to Dubai airport. And then when we reached Dubai, they also tested us there. And then in Abu Dhabi, there's a whole other set of requirements, so I have to undertake a mandatory quarantine for two weeks and then get tested on day 12 again. It's a little bit off-topic for the preparation, but I think all the COVID thinking had to be done ahead of time as well. Kim: Yeah, absolutely. Andrea: First thing that you encounter when you get to the airport in Windhoek is the sanitizers and they everywhere in Namibia. They have a foot pump sanitizer. You don't have to use hands, it's touchless, you press the foot pump and it sprays in the grocery stores, the airport, cafes, restaurants. You have to sign in everywhere you go with a contact number in case they need to trace you back. They're very active in that. We were able to go see and visit the Himba tribal village for an afternoon. And all of the villages, even in the far reaches of Namibia have been contacted either by, I think it was the UN or WHO so that they're aware of COVID. They all had masks. That was really interesting to see. And even in these villages, they had a foot pump that was attached to a rope that would drip sanitizer on your hands, set up not quite as fancy as the spray bottles in the airport, but that was really interesting to see that they're very aware and cautious of COVID. The thing I think I admire about them the most are, and I extra admired this when I came home was that the Himba tribe it's lived so simply, and yet they still have so much fun and happiness together. The women were just joking around and laughing and I'm sure they were laughing at us sometimes, but it doesn't take all the things that we have at home and in order to make us happy. And when I came back home, I was like, "Man my apartment such a mess. Why do I have all of this stuff?" Kim: Time to start googling, becoming a minimalist. Andrea: I think so. I think so. Kim: Engaging with them was lovely. How did you engage with some of the other fellow travelers, was that all fairly normal? Andrea: Yeah, I think we all have different levels of familiarity or maybe familiarity is not the right word, but comfort with COVID and how we want to be with other people or not. And so when we started the trip, everyone was super cautious about getting sick and wearing masks and using sanitizer and wet wipes, and kind of by the end of the trip especially after we had tested negative in maybe other six days later, we were a little less concerned about that. And also the cases in Namibia are very low. And so there was a little bit of freedom, I guess we found from traveling and everything while we were there that we still did our due diligence and we're responsible travelers, but I think it gave us a little bit of a break from the outbreak in general. Kim: How cool that you went to a country that you probably would not have had on your radar? Andrea: Yeah, like I said I travel with a lot of these people kind of regularly, so I knew three of the women before, and there were two other women who joined us. And we were all six women between the ages of 35 and 45. And the kind of we all went on this trip more or less because it was the one that was available. Kim: You shared with me when you reached out a blog called the earthinc.com/blog, we'll share it in show notes where some of your past stories and experiences sit. What is it that you actually do? Andrea: Yeah, it used to be a freelance travel writer and do some content development for different travel companies. And now I'm actually doing marketing and communication for a major engineering firm for the Middle East. I've shifted a bit, but I still keep my blog open. And when I have time, I like to put my thoughts out there on the internet and share some of my experiences. One of the reasons I enjoy living in the UAE is because there're so many opportunities for travel, and I think I can help some friends and family and people who have been around the world understand how similar we are as humans. I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about who other people are and that gets us scared. And so I'd rather look at the positives and tell some of those stories via my blog when I can. Kim: Yes! Look at the positives. Thanks, Andrea. Phil: Cloe is an American living in Spain, and at the end of June flew from Madrid to Miami to Los Angeles, and back, staying in the US for a little over 6 weeks and says, “it sure was an experience”. Kim: Cloe, great to meet you. Cloe: Hi, I'm doing well. How are you? It's nice to meet you, Kim. Kim: Cloe, Lovely to meet you as well, and thank you for reaching out. Cloe: Absolutely. Yeah, I've been following World Nomads for a couple of years now, when I first sparked my desire in travel and then reading about COVID travel, I was like, "Oh, I got to hop on this." So, I'm glad I had that opportunity. Thanks for reaching out to your listeners and asking to hear back from us, so thanks. Kim: It's an absolute pleasure. I mean, you guys are the experts. You're out there doing it. It's now time, would you agree, Cloe, that we start to travel through COVID as opposed to thinking about travel post-COVID? Cloe: Yeah, I think that traveling through COVID is going to, I mean, for me, it's not only been necessarily, but it's taught me a few lessons in terms of how to take care of myself, and again, in a different environment, a new environment, but it's also been, to be honest, much more inexpensive, which for me, I've always been a budget traveler, so finding the COVID prices, at least for now, have been really helpful towards my being able to go to more places longer and do even more things. Just in terms of money, not necessarily being near a bunch of people, but my opportunities have definitely widened. For example, I'm here in Spain right now. I'm from Los Angeles. My family lives in Los Angeles. So I was able to fly from Madrid out to the US but actually stopped in Miami, which is where one of my best friends lives. And so I've never been there before, and the ticket was cheaper to stop in Miami versus going direct or even to have a more, I guess, a shorter layover in maybe Dallas or New York City. So being able to go to Miami and spend time with my friend was more inexpensive versus my general flight home, which is why I flew home because it was cheaper. Kim: Were you concerned about, well, obviously you were concerned about your safety, but how did you go about it? Cloe: So, yeah, when I first started to, I'm an au pair here in Spain, and so when I first started to mention to the family my desire to travel home, they were for sure way more concerned than I was. I was concerned, but I was still very prioritizing wanting to be with family, seeing my friends that I haven't seen in a long time, especially going through the whole quarantining that was March and April. So safety for me meant first talking with them, the family that I live with. And so they helped me. The first thing that I wanted to make sure that was clear was that I was going to, number one, wear a mask at all times, wipes or tissues to sanitize my area, along with packing my own lunch. Also brought a change of clothes, which is something that when I did arrive in Miami and when I did arrive in LA, I always changed my clothes, just to take that extra step. Other than that, when I'm on the plane, I'm not particularly trying to get up. I'm not trying to talk to anyone. My international flights, so Madrid to Miami, both ways was super empty. There was no one near me. Only coming back did someone I think was set, like was assigned a seat next to me, which at that point I did ask the gentleman to if he could sit in a different seat or I could sit in a different seat, and it was very easy to do that since the plane was empty. And yeah, I think that the general, what I've done in research is the mask, sanitizer alcohol, and the cleaning of the area, but they do a pretty good job, the airlines. When you arrive in Miami, you have to go through some sort of screening, which is very simple. You fill out a form and you answer questions. Are you sick? No. Were you near anyone sick? Who was sick? No. Are you having any symptoms, anything like that? And I'm also very transparent. Excuse me. There is no requirement to, for like a 14-day quarantine. It's recommended, they suggest it, but there's no required, nor are they following you after your flight, which is something I was afraid of. Because I was flying into Miami and eventually heading to Los Angeles, I didn't want to have any issues there, so I was very concerned once I got there, but there's no mandatory quarantine in the United States right now, as far as I know. Going to Los Angeles, I did stay in a separate apartment than I usually. I usually go stay with either my mother, my father, but this time around, I decided to stay in a separate apartment where I didn't have to share any very close spaces for long periods of time. When I did go see my parents, it was more at a distance. When we were indoors, we did wear masks and when we were outdoors, we didn't. It was just more keeping that six feet apart or one and a half meters. When it came to visiting friends and I, like I said, being very transparent with them, I was clear that I just got off a plane. I was clear that I was going to be visiting other people, but that I am carrying hand sanitizer, washing my hands very often, making sure I don't have any symptoms. I think that's something that you have to really be honest with yourself. You have to wake up and say, "Okay, so I feel good today?" If I don't, then I just should just take the day to myself to just not put anyone else at risk. Luckily, I didn't have any day that I felt under the weather. I didn't go to any parties. I did hang out within small groups at parks, but I feel like I didn't do anything that was putting myself or others at risk in terms of COVID, especially. That might be different from other people. Everyone has their opinions right now, and some people think that on the basis of traveling alone, that you're crossing lines. But I think as long as you're honest with people, some people will be interested in seeing you and spending time with you and some people won't. And I faced both of that while I was out at home. It all worked out. Everyone was always very happy to come together, and there was a situation for everybody. Some people would love to come over and maybe have a lunch meal or something, and some people much rather just be outside at a park and have lunch at the park. Both work for me. I was very flexible. Kim: Thanks, Cloe. We met Katy in an early on in our episodes featuring COVID-19 and Travel News. Phil: Katy is a journalist who in the past few months has taken a few press trips (carefully chosen for safety) with Travel+Leisure, Thrillist, Conde Nast, and Departures. Kim: Well last time I spoke to you it was April, and you were in Nebraska. What's happened since? Katy: Well. Since then, Nebraska was one of the only States in the U.S. that refused to shut down, and refuse to have a mask mandate statewide. So, I'm lucky to be from Minnesota, which has been a little bit more aggressive in its handling of the pandemic. And I was able to shelter in place up at our cabin in Northern Minnesota, for a couple of months, since I spoke with you. Kim: At the time that we spoke, did you think at the time of recording we're in October, that this thing would still be going? Katy: Well from everything I'd been reading at that time, I kind of thought it would wane in the summer months. But where I am, I'm back in Nebraska. I just watched a press conference today, that our hospitals are at a higher capacity than they were in the spring. So I would say, "I definitely thought that the cases would be way lower and that people would have been responding with compassion and wearing masks." But that hasn't really been the case everywhere, which is kind of disappointing. So I definitely didn't think we'd still be in the deep throws of the pandemic. I thought that it would hopefully have tapered off at least a little bit so. Kim: Since April as a travel writer, you've been on a couple of press trips. Tell me about that. Katy: Sure. Yeah, so I've been on actually five press trips. So I only go on them with a set response, which I came up with beforehand when I started getting invitations, which was about June timeframe. So I've been on five trips just in the States. And if the PR or DMO rep could answer my safety questions, if they had a mask mandate? If it was a group of journalists that were numbered about four or less? And then if most of the dining was outside and it was more outside activities? That's the trips that I agree to go on. Kim: Okay. So you were very specific? Katy: Yes. So my dad is sick, so I have taken the pandemic very seriously because it can very easily affect my dad. So I've actually been tested eight times. I get tested before and after my trips. And then I make sure that I have some buffer zone of two weeks to isolate, before and after just so I'm not spreading anything. And so seven of my tests have been the PCR, which are the nasal swabs, which feels like your brain is getting stabbed kind of, it's quite uncomfortable. Kim: Okay [crosstalk 00:02:56]. Katy: Yeah. Yeah, and sometimes they do one nostril and sometimes they do two, I don't know why. I don't know when that switched. And then one of my tests was from one of the destinations I went to, and they gave us like a mail-in kit, where we swabbed our throats, and mailed it in and we got the results right away. But those ones are less, are considered less, they're not as good as the PCR tests. Kim: So once they were able to tick the boxes for you in terms of safety, what were the trips about? Katy: Well, the first one that I went on was actually to Alaska, which is a favorite destination of mine. Because it, it feels like a big international trip, but it's still within the United States. And it's a destination that's really perfect, for social distancing because of how it has such a small population and it's so spread out. So I actually went fishing with three other women, and I knew all of them, and they all had been very careful. So I felt even more comfortable going. When you land in Alaska, you had to produce a negative test result within 72 hours. Like when you landed you had to show them where you had to go quarantine. So fishing in Alaska was obviously a really easy example of a social distancing trip. Because our group was by ourselves in the dining room, we are separated from other guests. We are on a private Island, so there was no one around. We did temperature checks every morning. And they just did a really nice job of making the guests feel comfortable during... It was the first weekend that the fishing lodges were open, in early July. So I was traveling before some of my other colleagues. Kim: So in your opinion then, and we know that we will be traveling safely as we move forward. Things like fishing, cycling, camping, having from your Intel, is that the type of travel that's attracting people? Katy: Yeah, that seems to be a huge trend moving forward, and especially like in the U.S. in terms of our outdoors. The national parks have really been having a moment, where people are really taking the time to explore their own backyard. And obviously naturally being outside is just safer than being in confined spaces. So one of my other trips was hiking focused, and I really, really enjoyed that. That was in Michigan. So yeah, I think that's an easy way to travel more safely, just the way your itinerary is structured. And with such a huge country, there's just so much to offer in so many different things to do. Kim: Yeah. I think that's the advantage, is in all the positive that's come from COVID. Australia like the U.S. is a big country, and I've been overseas before. I visited some of the places here in Australia, so this is a really good opportunity to make sure I've ticked off, all the places in my own country before I start exploring the world again. Katy: Oh yeah. I completely agree, and I will say from a professional standpoint. I'm based in the Midwest, which is not a traditional travel hotspot. I believe Nebraska where I live part-time, is actually like the State that gets the least amount of tourism's expenditure. But because people are a lot more open to exploring the U.S., since their European holiday got canceled, it's helped me professionally. I've been able to establish myself as a Midwest expert because I grew up here, and really know it well. And there aren't a lot of travel media based in this area, from what I've seen. I know of one other travel writer in my city, and she does mostly travel trade. The reason I broke into travel and leisure, and departures, and Thrillist, were all for Midwestern features. Kim: So this has been a good time for you on reflection, even though you're making sure that you're healthy and your parents, particularly your dad is healthy? Katy: Yeah. With the pandemic and everything's slowing down, it's kind of a good thing to have time to reflect. And I kind of refocused how I thought about my business of freelance writing, and decided to focus on two niches. And I'm married to a pilot actually. So I write about private aviation. And I also, as I said, have been able to cultivate the Midwestern expert moniker, which is great. So even though it's hard to see the bad happening from all of this, personally and professionally, it has actually really helped me to thrive. Kim: Thanks once again, Katy. Always great to catch up. Gayle wanted to get in touch after listening to the World Nomads podcast, which she says has helped her through lockdown, to tell us about her client. Phil: With a quarter of women afraid to travel alone but still aspire to do so, 22-year-old Londoner, Heeral Pattni has come up with a solution to make solo travel more accessible than ever. Kim: Introducing the Amica App, designed to bring confidence and inspire women around the world to travel. And during this pandemic, the design, development, and investment have taken a hugely positive step with the App now ready to launch. Heeral: So it's really funny because we were actually meant to launch our app this year in May. So obviously that didn't happen but it's okay because it got us more time and we got to really know what problem we were solving and what our solution was to that problem. So we're refining the product and we're really building our community. And I think that's the amazing thing about this time is that we put out the importance of community and I see that everywhere like there are so many digital communities at the moment that are thriving and we recently founded a community called the Travel Plug where women can sign up and receive kind of firsthand information. We curate almost wonder lasting aqua destination diaries every week. Someone from the community shares her favorite places in any sort of destination and things like that. So when people register, we ask them kind of what they're looking for so that we know what that is to provide. And so many people say that they really want a travel community like they want people to talk to about traveling during this time. They want people to talk to about how to travel in the future and that sense of community is so strong at the moment. And I think that's also as a result of the pandemic, people are leaning into other people more than they ever would have otherwise, I think. Kim: Yeah. So that's what the app is, it's about a digital community. Heeral: Yeah. I mean, I hope that our users from the Travel Plug will find value in the app but the app itself. So the Travel Plug is more of that digital community that we're trying to provide during this time. We just created it during COVID because we saw that there was definitely a need for it. But the app itself it's to meet like-minded women in any area in the world. And it's for people traveling for business, leisure, permanently moving somewhere and you don't know anyone and you don't know what causes you to join to try to get to know people. You go onto the app and you enter a couple of different preferences and a few categories such as fudge drink, culture, activities and then you are shown people in your area with those same interests. So you're being very intentional from the beginning with who you kind of are open to meeting, I guess because I think as you get older you're more intentional with your friendships anyway. So that's something that we wanted to narrow. But yeah, the idea is basically that you get to retain the independence and the autonomy that you get when you're traveling alone while being able to dip into a network to share one-off experiences, as in when you choose to. So if you want to try out a new restaurant with someone you don't want to do that alone, you can find someone in the app who loves the same cuisine or your favorite band is playing in a city and you want to go with someone, maybe even just to feel safer you can find someone who likes the same music. And that's what it's for, it's for those one-off experiences. Kim: There will be a link to the app in shownotes, but we’d love to hear what you have achieved so far during 2020, using the time in lockdown and with travel restricted to create something or pivot into something entirely different. Phil: email <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a> and please remember to rate, share, and subscribe from wherever you get your favorite pods. Bye     </div> </div> </div>Andrea Rip at Dead Vlei in Namibia with Trekkup Dubai 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/south-america/peru-what-travelers-can-expect-during-covid-19In this episode, what you need to know about traveling to Peru during COVID, including the new rules for visiting Machu Picchu.2020-10-28T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/south-america/peru-what-travelers-can-expect-during-covid-19https://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What's in the episode</h2> 00:19 Where is Kim 03:58 Traveling to Peru during COVID 05:51 Having your gap year in Peru 10:07 Japanese festivals 12:25 Surfing secrets 16:20 Is Hawaii really the home of surfing? 19:30 Hiking the Inca Trail 26:00 Next week <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “…it's a beautiful place. I checked some fairly normal boxes, going down to Cusco. Did the Inca trail and stuff but they're popular for a reason?” Matt “We've been coming to and from Peru, we're from Canada, for about I don't know seven/eight years now. And surfing lots of different waves up and down the coast. And we really fell in love with Huanchaco. Partially because of this long old surfing tradition which is still very much alive. But because the wave is accessible to all levels of surfers.” – Amy “Vilcabamba is getting quite popular. On the way, you can see a mountain called Veronica 5,700 meters in front of you, snow-capped. You arrive at 4,300 meters, the highest point all the way down to the cloud forest to enjoy coffee, tea, chocolates, banana, mango, orange, mandarins.” - Efrain <h2>Who's on the show</h2> Actor Matt Lacey is also is known as Orlando from the YouTube comedy sketch Gap Yah. Amy Schwartz from <a href="https://www.unleashsurf.com/locations/huanchaco-peru/">Unleash Surf</a> - pack your laptop and work while you surf. <a href="http://efrain_perutrek@hotmail.com/">Efrain Valles Morales</a> is a guide who knows all the top spots to trek in Peru and those you may not have heard about. <h2>Resources & links</h2> <ul> <li>Get the World Nomads Insider's Guide to Peru by <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/guides/peru-insiders-guide">clicking this</a>, or by filling in the form on the right-hand side of this page.</li> <li>Orlando’s Gap Yah on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFjWR7X5dU">YouTube</a></li> <li>Facebook live footage of Japan’s Hadaka Matsuri Festival also known as the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/worldnomads/videos/10154327224540994/">Naked Man Festival.</a></li> <li>Want to more about festivals in Japan, read our World Nomads <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/eastern-asia/japan/japanese-festivals">articles</a> or watch our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4Bz_kTFwPQ&index=2&list=PLpXPo3FsodmVR5KXS-7wvdSgvJcCD1KuI">video series</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/travel-alerts">Latest travel alerts and warnings</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">Which countries have open borders</a>?</li> </ul> <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your Twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/kim_storm.jpg" alt="woman driving" /> <figcaption> Kim trying to outrun the rain in Broken Hill, Australia</figcaption></figure> <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Phil: Hey it’s Phil and Kim and before we get into chatting about Peru, Kim is still on the road – where this time? Kim: I have left the outback for now and traded it for a seaside getaway on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. Known for its fishing, boating, surfing, swimming, camping, and bushwalking. We are in our van right by the beach, so doing some snorkeling and visiting the odd microbrewery.  Essentially, I am 13 thousand 810 kilometers or over 8 and a half thousand miles from Cusco in Peru – a long way to swim! And that’s the only way I’d be able to get in because Australia has still banned non-essential international travel Phil: Yep, so depending on where you are from and what kind of travel is allowed international flights into Peru are running and all major sites around the Cusco area are currently open for free, hoping to spark national tourism. At the time of recording in October 2020, Machu Picchu is only open to locals but will home to international travelers next month. Once open, only 675 visitors will be permitted to enter the site per day, in groups of no more than 8 (including the guide). All the standard rules and regulations for COVID are in place and a negative molecular test, taken within 72 hours of arrival is still required to enter the country. Kim: So, we have recut our episode on Peru updating you with what you need to know traveling there (thanks Phil) but also to whet your appetite for travel to this incredible destination. Our first guest is Matt Lacey. Matt is a British actor and comedian and he's best known for his role as Ben in the BBC TV series Cuckoo. And Orlando in Gap Yar, it's a comedy sketch and it went viral around the world. In fact, his pronunciation of Peru became a global catchphrase. Let's just have a little listen in case you haven't heard it before Matt Lacey: That really reminds me of this time in my gap year. I was in South America in Peru, Peru. No Peru darling Peru. Peru, okay oh yeah Peru Peru yeah, wonderful country. You know beautiful people. Yeah. Yeah no we were trekking in the Andes and the sun was just rising and glinting off the snow creating this sort of ethereal haze. And I really got a sense of the awesome power of nature and the insignificance of man. You know then I just chundered everywhere. I was like all over the snow. I was like have that nature, one-nil. Kim: I do love that, Peru darling Peru. Matt thanks for being part of the show. That youtube clip by the way has had six million views. Matt Lacey: Wow is it six million? Phil: No pressure. Matt Lacey: It's funny hearing it back. I haven't heard it for a while. No, I didn't, and to be honest, I think if I had known I would have put it on my own YouTube channel and not the guys who filmed it. Kim: What was the motivation behind it? Matt Lacey: Oh it's all written from life. I met a lot of people at university that sort of spent the year vomiting all over the developing world. Was very keen to tell everyone about it. And I mean there's several that sort of sort of self-parody. I don't live in Fulham but I did actually go on a gap year. And I went to Peru, you can ask about that. Kim: So look at Peru, Peru darling. What did you think of Peru? Matt Lacey: Yeah it's a beautiful place. I checked some fairly normal boxes, going down to Cusco. Did the Inca trail and stuff but they're popular for a reason. Kim: Did you chunder anywhere? Matt Lacey: I don't think so. I managed to keep the deep-fried guinea pig down as far as I could remember. Phil: I couldn't go there, I tried that there. I couldn't go there. You didn't do you? Matt Lacey: Yeah I did. It's a cliché but it tasted like chicken. Sort of the brown meat of chicken. Kim: Where else have you been around the world? Matt Lacey: Lot's of different places. So after the gap year, I'd been broke. The Telegraph serialized my book. By the way that's still on sale. Look for that, the hardcore fans. And yeah after they serialized they sent me to South Africa to live on a lion preserve. I wrote a fantastic puff piece about it. So that was fun. Most recently I've been going to Europe a lot, just because it's quite easy. So most recently I've sort of ... My most interesting trips have been based around weird festivals. And in Europe, there is an absolute plethora. So I recently went to one in the Bath Country where they string a goose cadaver on a wire and then loaded boats go past it. And the locals try to jump onto the goose cadaver as it gets flipped up and down into the air. If they fall off they lose, but if they manage to hold on and thus decapitate the goose, they win. Generally is you scratch the surface in Spain and the Basque Country, every small town will have some sort of weird festival that you can go to. You know some of them to replace their goose with a rubber goose. I think for animal rights reasons. Phil: In the more ethically sound towns of the Basque country. Matt Lacey: Yeah. Phil: I reckon you should go to the one in Japan. We've got a film where we covered it at World Nomads. It's the naked man festival in Japan. Kim: Yeah it's on there. Phil: No men only. Matt Lacey: They go off to that island and all get naked. Phil: Yeah well there's- Matt Lacey: I think I read about that. Phil: Yeah there's this really strange ... And there are thousands of men just wearing loincloths basically inside this temple. And the priest lobs a stick into the crowd and then they all fight for it. And then the person who picks it up and puts it into a receptacle gets, I don't know good luck for a year. So it's like this thronging mass of you know a thousand fifteen hundred semi-naked blokes. It's amazing. Matt Lacey: When I went to Japan, I particularly remember the Onsen, the hot baths which are amazing. That some of them really don't have the capacity for the naked men that want to kill each other. I was nearly sort of, to put it bluntly, had bits slung against by an elderly Japanese man. Tried to get into the plunge pool. So I guess that's probably good training for the naked man festival. Kim: Thanks so much for having a chat. It's a real pleasure particularly as a fan of Orlando. Matt thank you very much. Phil:  Thanks, Matt. Matt Lacey: No worries. Kim: We'll have that clip in our show notes for you to see in full plus links to where you can buy Matt's book, The Gap Year Planner. Phil when you mentioned we were doing a podcast on Peru, and then you said "Hey I wanna follow up with a chat on surfing." I was thinking "Is he mad? Peru and surfing." But they go hand in hand. Phil: A massive coastline there as well. And nothing between Peru and Asia basically. Kim: I know but I just didn't think. And hence we got in touch with Amy and she's going to educate me and perhaps everyone else that's listening that wasn't aware of this fantastic surf culture in Peru. Hi, how are you going? Amy: Good how are you? Kim: Well I'm well but I'm feeling a little, not underwhelmed but undereducated. Phil's right you know there's a massive coastline. Tell us about this surfing culture. Amy: Sure. So it's one of these places that are not necessarily on every bodies kind of surfing travel journey map. But in terms of like South America or the kind of Western Hemisphere, it's probably like the Indonesia of Latin America or North and South America. Because it does have this long coastline and it's broken up by a fair number of point breaks. Which means that the swell comes in and kind of breaks gradually along with a point. Which for a surfer is generally kind of the ideal setup for a wave. Not all surfers will say that but most of us I think would. So Peru is really sort of well designed. Most of Peru gets waves literally every day of the year. It is a very very rare day when it's flat. So it's pretty special in that sense. Phil: And what sort of quality surf are we talking about? Are we talking about big waves that you get there or is it always smaller or varies? Amy: Yeah great question. Again it depends. It's usually ... I don't want to make it seem like the land of the perfect wave but it's often kind of the perfect size. So I'm not sure what you use in Australia but in Canada we usually use feet. So it's usually between like three and six feet on most days. And where we are right now, which is Huanchaco which is just eight hours North of Lima. So it's sort of in North Peru but not super North. It's got, it generally has like a good size swell that's good for almost any level of surfer from kind of beginner to intermediate. But then if it does get really big, there are other spots that you can go to that kind of hold a bigger swell. Huanchaco became a world surf reserve partially because of its history, which again has this kind of culture. Which is actually a fishing culture. So they build these big old boards out of what's called Totora reed. So it's just a reed that they cut in the swamp. And they use them kind of like a stand-up paddleboard. But they've been using them for at least 3500 years. So that's part of this kind of original or this very old ancient history. But several civilizations have used, kind of make it very significant around the world as the origin of surfing. So that was part of the reason why it was considered significant enough to become a world surf reserve. And it's got a real sort of alive surf culture in the sense that you had this traditional surfing or fishing craft that is considered the first surfboard or the original surfboard that you see going in and out of kind of the surf break every day. And then you have surfers surfing around this kind of very traditional ancient surfing craft. So it's a pretty special atmosphere. There's nowhere else I've even been that has this kind of living history along with kind of modern surfing. Phil: Alright amazing but I've got about a dozen questions to ask you then. I'm just gonna backtrack a long way, 3500-year-old surfboard. The history from that and what does a Peruvian surfboard, that's the reed thing that you're talking about. Is that right? Amy: Yup it's called Caballito de Totora. Which means basically like seahorse of the reed. So the reed is Totora. Phil: Peruvians claiming surfing, is that what you're saying? Amy: Yeah and it's interesting because there's a long ... I would say the modern history of surfing has really held onto this idea that you know modern surfing came from Hawaii. Which and don't quote me on this, but in the eighties when the first ISA World Champion Felipe Pomar, who now lives in Hawaii actually but he's Peruvian kind of brought evidence of this to Surfer Magazine and did a big article on it in Surfer Magazine. And stirred up the pot about where did surfing really originate? And if you have evidence of this civilization using this kind of a board 3500 years ago. Well, it definitely shows it's older than the Hawaiian tradition. Amy: We've been coming to and from Peru, we're from Canada, for about I don't know seven/eight years now. And surfing lots of different waves up and down the coast. And we really fell in love with this place I mentioned already, Huanchaco. Partially because of this long old surfing tradition which is still very much alive. But because the wave is really accessible to all levels of surfers. So two years ago we were here and my partner was working remotely. He has a web design business. And we were just kind of thinking about what's next in life and we were thinking about "We would love to take other people who can work remotely to a place like Huanchaco where you can have really great Wifi. You can surf literally every single day of the year. And if it gets too big here then you can take people to Chicama, which is the longest left in the world." It's about an hour from here so when it gets really big here it works really well there in Chicama. So you've got lots of options for waves in the region and we thought "Well-" ... And also the other thing about Huanchaco is you can walk to everything. So we were like "This is the perfect place to kind of just hanging out for a month, get your work done, but also every day before you work to go out and surf." And then at lunchtime, you can go out and surf and in the evening you can go and surf. You can surf your face off all day but still get your work done. So we decided that we would start a business where we basically take people who can work remotely but wanna have kind of a more wholesome surf lifestyle and bring them here. We set them up with everything that they need. So we get them a private apartment rather than kind of a hotel room. We want them to feel like they're really living here. So we get them a private apartment, surf lessons or surf coaching, Spanish lessons, yoga, and then we do either surf tours or other kinds of trips and tours on the weekends. And so we provide that for people either for two weeks or for a month. Or for two months or three months so that they can really basically live their dream surfing lifestyle. Phil the Inca trail is being overrun and there have to be some worthwhile tricks in the area that are an alternative. This guy apparently knows them. Now I'm hoping that I pronounce your first name correctly, it's Efrain? Efrain: Efrain Morales Phil: I knew we'd get it right. Kim: Us Australians are so bad at putting the, just that little twist to make everything sound sexy. Efrain: Ephie, you can call me Ephie, will be easy. But my name is Efrain Bardies. Kim: Okay so it's true the Inca Trail is getting overrun Ephie? Efrain: Actually yes, there are 500 people a day starting almost altogether. There are some ways to [inaudible 00:20:56] in, but most of the people they like to do the Inca trail in four days. So all of them start together, they camp in one place altogether. They walk almost altogether. Of course, the landscape is amazing, the biology, nature in that area is amazing but after four days of hiking with many people, it's like you were not really in the place that you were thinking you would be. We as a guide and myself as a guide, we are upset about it and we are trying to find some type of solution for this, or perhaps look at for options or alternatives. Phil: Well this is what we wanted to talk to you about because I had heard about Choquequirao, which is very similar to Machu Picchu and not that far away, is that right? Efrain: Choquequirao is very well known as the sacred sister of Machu Picchu. It was abandoned for quite a long time, the Government doesn't put attention much to that place. But recently the mayor from the different communities around, they are trying to talk and restore the area with the help of the Government. [inaudible 00:22:08] was also helping there. They are trying to build a cable car but it still is in a project. But the hike is amazing, the sight is an unbelievable place with a lot of [inaudible 00:22:19]. With amazing platforms, houses, temples, waterfalls. I really like more that place than Machu Picchu. Much is amazing, the land, the surrounding the mountains, of course, it's one of the new seven wonders. But it's the only place where I have seen a Condor, like three meters right in front of me. Right at the point of Choquequirao, right at the platform. Where else in the world you're gonna see the Condor three meters right in front of you? Phil: No absolutely. Kim: Not sure if I want to see the Condor three meters in front of me. So Ephie tell us then about some of those other worthwhile treks in the area that ideally have some of those amazing ruins at the end like Machu Picchu? Efrain: You can go to Choquequirao then you can connect to Vil Cabamba through Vitcos. Vil Cabamba was the last shelter, the last capital of the Inca empire. Fans were here in 1533. Phil: Can I just ask you about Choquequirao again. Kim: You just wanted to say it. Phil: I just wanted to say the word because I think I've got it right. So because ... I mean you're going up and down a fair height a few times there. So how many people, you say you've got 7,000 today at Machu Picchu. How many people are you getting at Choquequirao? Efrain: Okay I was there so many times and sometimes I was there along with my group. Kim: Wow. Efrain: Okay I found sometimes a couple of groups. Sometimes you can see fifty people. Sometimes sixty, but I don't think so more than that. I haven't seen never ever in that area more than sixty people in a day. Phil: Can I ask you two more questions alright? Just two more. One of them is the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. Some people do a two/three-day trek. How fast can you do it? What's the fastest you've ever done it? Efrain: Okay. You really wanna hear that? Phil: Yes. Efrain: Okay the first time, the four days Inca trail, you could now do in three days. Phil: Four days. Efrain: The rules are, you buy your tickets for four days or for five days. But the fastest I did, the first time was six hours with a runner from Scotland. The second time I did it was in three hours and forty fives minutes. Kim: Oh come on. Efrain: Sorry, sorry. Four hours and twenty minutes. But the record is three hours and forty-five minutes by professional runners. Phil: My final question for you Ephie- Efrain: No problem. Ask as much as you want. Phil: Machu Picchu, Choquequirao have you got another one? Is there another one you're not telling us about? Efrain: Vilcabamba. It's getting quite popular. On the way, you can see a mountain called Veronica 5,700 meters in front of you, snow-capped. You arrive to 4,300 meters, the highest point all the way down to the cloud forest to enjoy coffee, tea, chocolates, banana, mango, orange, mandarins. All the foods, pineapple, papayas, all the way down to the jungle where we produce Coca leaf as well. We produce all the fruits we have in Cusco come from that area. You see the landscapes also amazing. The rivers, you can do rocking, biking, lots of activities. Then you go to Vilcabamba, the last capital of the Inca Empire, the last shelter of the Inca Empire where the last Incan was killed. In a day you can see no one or somebody but not many groups, less than Choquequirao. Then we have another called Lares. Lares is an amazing hike, people who still speak Quechua our native language, Inca language. Who still live over 4,000 meters producing potatoes, Limas and Alpacas up in the mountains. Worked in extreme temperatures wearing typical clothes living without any money in the area. But they still do the sharing, "Give me corn, I'll give you potatoes. You give me this I'll give you that." The landscape, the mountains. And they wear typical clothes made by them, textiles. Beautiful, beautiful, the trek is called Lares. Kim: Thanks Efrain and if you would like him to be your guide trekking through Peru, we will show you where you can get hold of him in our show notes alongside travel alerts and detailed information on travel to Peru – do your OWN research. Phil: Get in touch and share your story at <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a> … also a reminder to rate share and subscribe from wherever you get your favorite pods. Kim: Next episode the women who have been traveling for either business or pleasure during COVID and the launch of a new app for solo female travelers. </div> </div> </div>Getty Images/Gonzalo Azumendi 0455188433 Train from Cuzco to Machu Picchu.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-rise-of-the-digital-nomadIn this episode, the company designing stays for digital nomads, making it easier for people to explore and discover more of the planet while building a career.2020-10-21T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-rise-of-the-digital-nomadhttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What’s in the episode</h2> 00:28 Where is Kim? 01:10 The rise of the digital nomad <o:p></o:p> 02:25 The challenges 04:28 Find a problem and create a solution<o:p></o:p> 06:05 Catering for the adventurous nomad<o:p></o:p> 07:17 How Nomads Stays works<o:p></o:p> 09:03 Being a digital nomad in Montenegro<o:p></o:p> 10:25 Shopping locally<o:p></o:p> 11:24 Why Kim’s husband had reservations<o:p></o:p> 13:16 The things we need to work<o:p></o:p> 14:19 Next episode<o:p></o:p> <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “We have designed this company to be for people who are a lot more adventurous than the average digital nomad who would go to Berlin or London. But we want the people who are off the beaten track people who really would like to experience and explore the world more.” - Linda If you're a digital nomad and don’t have health insurance coverage abroad, travel insurance can help with unexpected illness and injury. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/usa/travel-insurance/whats-covered/digital-nomads">Click here for more information and a quote</a>. <h2>Who is in the episode</h2> Linda McCall is the co-founder of Nomads Stays. Together with her husband Mark and dog Dakar they went fully nomad in 2015 after packing up their home near Noosa, Australia. Selling most of their possessions and packing the van & motorbike for a trip around Australia. “As digital nomads for over 5 years now our inspiration for Nomad Stays comes from the desire to overcome the constant hassles of finding affordable, comfortable, digital nomad-friendly places to stay. Somewhere we can stop for a while, enjoy, get some work done. <ul> <li>Without costing a fortune</li> <li>Without wasting our lives endlessly negotiating</li> </ul>  “Our mission became to make it easier for people to explore and discover more of the planet while building a career. To discover the forgotten, to uncover the unknown, to expect the unexpected. To meet new and interesting people from all walks of life.” Oh, and we must not forget Nomad Stays other team member featured in the photo, Virtual Assistant & Chief Happiness Officer, Dakar an Australian rescue dog, and Nomad. Since being saved by a dog rescue center in Gympie, Queensland Dakar has circumnavigated Australia (in chauffeured 4X4 luxury) and been to 10 other countries. Arguably the most traveled dingo on the planet.  You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @dakardingo <figure><img src=" https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/Linda_Shownotes.jpg" alt="woman near a lake" /> <figcaption> Linda, after finishing a lap around Australia on her bike.</figcaption></figure> <figure><img src=" https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/kim_andy.jpg" alt="woman near a lake" /> <figcaption> It took Kim a few months to convince Andrew to work on the road.</figcaption></figure> <iframe width="600" height="450" style="border: 0;" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d862854.230054274!2d141.0666870962882!3d-32.35147694448775!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x6aef3360de52c2cd%3A0x40609b490440170!2sBroken%20Hill%20NSW%202880!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sau!4v1603155105032!5m2!1sen!2sau" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" aria-hidden="false" tabindex="0"></iframe> <h2>Resources & links</h2> <ul> <li>Create an amazing life with <a href="https://www.nomadstays.co/">Nomad Stays</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/sep/25/the-rise-of-the-half-tourist-who-combines-work-with-a-change-of-scene">The rise of the 'half-tourist' who combines work with a change of scene</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.total-croatia-news.com/digital-nomads-in-croatia/47446-croatia-digital-nomad-destination?fbclid=IwAR2sFBHNCWvFTTzeipk1bXd3-qb9tKrXT05XIfX729hLsW2OS6k5h0QQSUs">Is Croatia the next digital nomad hotspot?</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/travel-alerts">Latest travel alerts and warnings</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">Which countries have open borders</a>?</li> </ul> <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your Twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Phil: Hey it’s Phil and Kim with you and Kim, you are still on the road, where are you recording from this time? Kim: I am recording in Broken Hill near the South Australian border. It’s Australia’s first heritage-listed city and considered the gateway to the outback. A great place to be a digital nomad for a few weeks. Phil, take a guess - and these figures are from 2018 – how many digital nomads were working independently around the world at the time? Phil: Kim: 4.8 million and how many aspire to be location independent? Phil: Kim: A further 17 million! And digital nomad services are helping this sector increase because there is so much information to access. Phil: Also, since COVID-19 companies have grown more comfortable with a remote workforce, no matter where the location. Kim: Linda and her husband Mark are the co-founders of Nomad Stays, launched earlier this year in France, and due to COVID they are operating from France. Phil: It’s a site that makes it easier for everyone to work while exploring the world. They have quickly grown to over 100 properties in over 35 countries. Kim: As I said, their mission is to make it easier for people to explore and discover more of the planet while building a career. I reckon it was great timing for a business with everyone who has been working from home, realizing you can work from anywhere, and what timing… Linda: Oh well, thank you very much. It's actually an idea... We've been on the road for five years so this is something that is the lifestyle that we've chosen. So we lived in Noosa, Queensland, and I said... We used to go camping all the time. And I said to Mark, "Wouldn't this be really cool if we can do this all the time, as full time?" And he said, "Yeah, yeah." And a year later, we sold everything up, and off we went. So we took a four-wheel drive, a motorbike, our dog and off we went. And as we traveled around Australia... Because as I've said, I've lived and worked in other countries before. And I said, "Before I leave the country again, I want to travel around my own country and see what's going on there," so we did that and connected with a lot of people. But on our travels, we found that we couldn't find a place to stay for longer stays, and that was difficult for us. So we are basically solving our own problem. Kim: I love it, and you're playing right into the hands of the pandemic. Linda: Yes. And we are so lucky because... In the fact that we turned up in France at the beginning of COVID and we found this amazing little gîte that is one of our stays now because it's magnificent. The pandemic has actually caused a need. People were very comfortable before, but now it's caused a need for this longer stay because there are more remote workers and everybody's going, "You know what? I think I could go and I can run my business or I can start a new business from anywhere in the world." So it's becoming a bit of a... There's definitely a need for longer stays now, for sure. Everybody's realizing how easy it really can be done. And beforehand, five years ago, people would say, "These are nomads. Is that thing? Is that real?" We had a four-wheel drive and a rooftop tent because we love to camp. And we did that specifically so we were self-contained and we could go off the beaten track a lot. Linda: With Nomad Stays, we have designed this company to be for people who are a lot more adventurous than the average digital nomad who would go to Berlin or London. But we want the people who are off the beaten track people who really would like to experience and explore the world more. And also, there are these awesome towns like [inaudible 00:03:01], which is very close to us, which is a regional town that has these amazing little stays and nobody knows about them. And the adventure... I mean, my goodness this place is just an adventure playground. There's kayaking, there's a hiking, there's climbing. This place is really well known for climbing and paragliding as well. So, it's an adventure playground. And most off the beaten track places, as in regional communities, are just waiting for adventure. Kim: You said you solved your own problem as a digital nomad and you came up with Nomad Stays. How does it work? I know that you guarantee a 100% wifi, which is important if you're working. How does it work? Linda: For the nomad, it's an instant booking. So if you go to Airbnb, you will sometimes have to wait for a confirmation whereas ours is instant bookings. We have personally chosen these stays that we have on our books for digital nomads because as we've been traveling, what we found is very important is community. And we like to put you in touch with the coworking spaces and the places who have community. And we also make sure that there's an adventure playground there. So it's basically longer stays, so the minimum stay is one week to three months if you want to, but it's usually a month at a time, just month by month. Yeah, it's instant booking so you don't have to wait for confirmation. Linda: You don't have to do the negotiation because we've done the negotiation for you, and it's affordable stays as well. So most of the places that we were looking at were very, very expensive for a month and we would have to get to know the owner and do the negotiation and building relationships. So it took maybe three weeks, maybe sometimes even a month to say, "Hey, this is what we're doing," because it wasn't very normal when we first started I guess. Kim: Looking at your site, and I don't have it up in front of me, but there was one place I was interested in it and it was 395 Euro as an example. What would I get for that? Linda: It's for the whole month. So it may be... Yeah, I know. And so that is in maybe Bulgaria or Montenegro, which is one of the most amazing places. Kim: It was Montenegro. Linda: Montenegro, okay. Kim: I said to Andrew, "This is where we're going." Linda: Okay, yeah definitely because I can't wait to go there. I haven't been there myself, but we've built a lovely relationship with the owners. There are two stays there, but so what you would get is basically the accommodation. So your accommodation is sorted, all you have to do is get yourself there. Kim: That's for your accommodation. All you have to do is pay for your flight? Linda: Yep. So all you do... When you book on Nomad Stays, you'll only be charged a booking fee. And when you get to Montenegro to your stay, you pay them in whatever currency they'd like. If it's Bitcoin... He might want to be paid in local cash or he might want to be paid by credit card, whatever. So you choose with him so that he gets the full payment. Kim: So your only other overheads would be your shopping and your wine. Linda: That's the best part because when you go to these places, you find all the local markets and they are just stunning. The food is just incredible. In Bulgaria, you can get cow's milk straight from the cow at the markets. And it's just so raw and so beautiful. And teas from the mountains, like natural teas that are picked from the mountains that local people go out and they pick these beautiful teas, wild tea leaves, and they sell it at the market. It's just... And they make their own wine, like the most incredibly yummy wine. And you buy it in little containers. You couldn't do this in Australia, but you buy it in little plastic containers or Coke bottles or whatever, and it's magnificent. It's all homemade. Kim: As you heard Phil, Linda has sold me! A link to Nomad Stays in show notes. And as an adventurous couple, Linda and Mark have a motorcycle in Bulgaria that was stuck in snow last year. So, once they know they’re okay to move again, they’ll head towards Bulgaria to get the motorbike and then probably go somewhere warmer. Phil: You can get in touch and share your story at <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a> … also a reminder to rate share and subscribe from wherever you get your favorite pods. Kim: Next episode we revisit Peru who has just opened their borders again and we will tell you what you need to know. Bye       </div> </div> </div>Mark, Linda and Dakar from Nomads Stays 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/central-america/guatemala/the-world-nomads-podcast-travel-to-guatemala-during-covid-19In this episode, we revisit Guatemala sharing what you need to know for visiting this destination during COVID-19, including specific information for children.2020-10-14T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/central-america/guatemala/the-world-nomads-podcast-travel-to-guatemala-during-covid-19https://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. In March 2020, Guatemala closed its borders but in October 2020 reopened to travelers.  Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What’s in the episode</h2> 00:22 Where is Kim? 01:54 COVID-19 restrictions in outback Australia 04:11 A Little Adrift 06:30 The great Guatemalan drug bust 10:11 Why Shannon loves Guatemala 12:52 What AirTreks is all about 15:36 Pack your hiking boots 18:26 Shark and ray conservation in Belize 24:18 The discovery of a new species 27:48 Next week <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> "...for people who travel with a want to understand the culture and to understand any different culture, it's right there in your face, and it's very different than the main Hispanic culture that's sort of across the region." -  Shannon<o:p></o:p> "Picaya is quite close to Guatemala City. I think it's one of the most visited volcanos in Guatemala because it is easy to get to."-  Sarah "But the biggest threats to sharks and rays in our region is actually fisheries. And that's what we're really trying to work against and mitigate the threat from by encouraging people to take part in this incredible, broad, citizen science research." -  Dr. Rachel G. <h2>Who is in the episode</h2> In 2013 National Geographic named Shannon O’Donnell Traveler of the Year for her work in responsible tourism. Check out her website <a href="https://alittleadrift.com/about/">A Little Adrift</a>, a resource point to motivate and encourage other travelers through stories, advice, and photography. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/Podcast/Guatemala/Guatemala-shoes.jpg" /><figcaption>Photo supplied by Shannon showing the damage caused to her trekking partner’s rubber-soled shoes while climbing a volcano.</figcaption></figure> Our Footprints Network is currently funding 10 projects including <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/responsible-travel/footprints/projects/196/protect-sharks-and-rays-in-belize">shark and ray conservation</a> in Belize. Dr. Rachel Graham takes us through the background and provides an overview of the project funded by micro-donations. Rachel is also the Founder and Executive Director of MarAlliance, whose team recently discovered <a href="https://maralliance.org/2018/03/02/new-shark-species-discovered/">a new shark species</a> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/Podcast/Guatemala/shark2.jpg" /><figcaption>The newly discovered and newly named Atlantic sixgill shark </figcaption></figure> Sara Tiffany is the Director of Projects for <a href="https://tripplanner.airtreks.com/">AirTreks</a>, a leader in multi-stop international travel, especially complex routes. AirTreks is also one of the few companies to accept cryptocurrency. Read <a href="https://tripplanner.airtreks.com/specials/DXB-IST-ATH-ROM-PRG-000-BER-BCN-000-SVQ-AMS-CHI">how they helped Simon plan his trip using bitcoin</a>. Kim and her husband Andy have hit the road in their converted van for an adventure or adVANture during COVID-19. At the time this episode was recut they were in Bourke camping by the banks of the Darling River, or Barka as First Nations people refer to it. Bourke was the home of Afghani camel traders, part of Australia's pioneering and early transport history. <figure><img src=" https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/darling_river.jpg" alt="woman near a lake" /> <figcaption> The Darling River is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring 1,472 kilometers or 914 miles. </figcaption></figure> <iframe width="600" height="450" style="border: 0;" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d7039443.755733312!2d146.73966514166943!3d-30.514580166348292!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x6b00671dd4029055%3A0x40609b4904403e0!2sBourke%20NSW%202840!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sau!4v1602558884294!5m2!1sen!2sau" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" aria-hidden="false" tabindex="0"></iframe> <h2>Resources & Links</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/warning/coronavirus-guatemala">COVID-19 in Guatemala</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/central-america/guatemala-travel-alerts">Guatemala Travel Alerts and Warnings</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/about/contributors/kamran-ali">Kamran Ali</a> is a photographer who quit his job as a software developer in Germany and set out to explore the world by bicycle. Take a look at his pics of Guatemala in this <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/stories/discovery/following-my-luck">photo essay</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/central-america/guatemala-travel-alerts">Travel safety Guatemala </a></li> <li>You can now find the World Nomad’s Travel Podcast on Eavesdrop! A free iOS app that makes podcasts searchable by users.<a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1529935618">Download here</a><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/central-america/guatemala-travel-alerts">.</a></li> </ul> <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating (it really helps), review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: Hi Kim and Phil with you and yes, I am still on the road this time recording from Bourke, an outback town in New South Wales here in Australia on the Darling River, or Barka as it's known by First Nations peoples. It's rich in Aboriginal culture with 21 recognized indigenous language groups. In fact, head to the World Nomads Facebook Group to follow updates on my travels, a link in show notes. Speaking of updates, Guatemala has reopened its international airport for travelers and is keen to revive its tourism sector and this is what we know. Phil: PCR tests are required except for children under 10. The test must be negative and take no longer than 72 hours prior to your flight. Antigen tests are also permitted if PCR is not possible. It’s been reported if you don’t have a test you have to adhere to a 14-day quarantine or be tested in a health center under the leadership of the ministry of public health. Kim: There’s also a health pass form that arrivals must fill in and we will have a link to that in show notes. Phil: A national curfew is still in effect from 9 pm to 4 am and you will be fined if you don’t adhere to social distancing rules and the use of masks in public. Otherwise, if you can fly and are healthy you are good to go. Kim: Well let’s revisit some parts of our previous episode featuring Guatemala. In 2013, Shannon O'Donnell was named National Geographic's Traveler of the year for her work in responsible tourism. She started traveling in 2008 and is here to tell us about A Little Adrift, which is how we came to find her. Shannon O.: It started in 2008. It's really hard to remember what it was like to try to find travel information on the internet. But there wasn't a lot about planning around the world trip, and so when ... I was a solo female, figuring out what it was going to be like to be on the road for an entire year. At the time I thought it going to be just a year. But there wasn't information. So, A Little Adrift started as this way to document what you needed to know to travel better. To travel around the world. All the information that not just a solo person would need to know. And I already had a service focus in my life, and so, I had planned on volunteering and supporting community-led projects, and that led to a shift in A Little Adrift over the years. Once there was a lot of information out there on my blog and others, I started showing people how you could travel with a focus on helping. Like, travel as a force for good. And that's what A Little Adrift is today. Kim: We'll share the site, obviously, in show notes, but it has a comprehensive list of resources there, from responsible travel to planning your travel, digital nomads, and bloggers. But we, specifically, not only did we not want to [inaudible 00:03:16] A Little Adrift, wanted to chat with you about Guatemala. Shannon O.: Yes, which is one of my favorite countries in the world. It's such a beautiful place. Phil: Why? What's so good about it? Shannon O.: You know, it's very different than the culture that you find elsewhere. So, I had traveled overland from Mexico and Belize, and Guatemala felt like a warm hug. The Mayan culture is right there and evident, and so, for people who travel with a want to understand the culture and to understand any different culture, it's right there in your face, and it's very different than the main Hispanic culture that's sort of across the region. You really get to feel like there are opportunities to learn more, and help support the Mayan communities, and hike through ... it's just beautiful, too. So, you get to hike through the Highlands, and it's an absolutely stunning country. Kim: We'll get to its beauty, but one of your blogs gets a lot of "Thank you, Shannons. Thank you for sharing this story." It was when you were out, and one of the waiters came up and said, "If you have drugs, flush in the toilet now. Police do drug raids next door. Do now." Take us through that story. Shannon O.: Oh, so, that's really funny, and there is a drug culture around Lake Atitlán, especially, and so, this is what a lot of people know Central America for. But some backpackers go for, you know, some fun, to the lake area. There was a movie night, so I was there sitting at an English movie night at one of the coffee shops. A couple of people stayed, but there was this massive sweep, actually, it was a drug sweep. Although, they didn't find a lot of drugs, because there was this message that went through the backpacker area first. They started taking anybody who didn't have their passport on them and taking them into police custody until they could find their passport. The moment I heard that something was going around, I was like, "Yeah, I'm out. Why would I sit here? Like, the movie is really good and all, but why would I sit here?" And so- Phil: What was the movie? I want to know what's the movie that you go to when you, where it's enhanced by a backpacker experience? Shannon O.: You know, I don't remember, and then I see the drug [crosstalk 00:05:16]- Phil: Oh, and so the drugs were good, then. Kim: Shannon would never do such a thing, would you? Phil: No, no. Shannon O.: No, no, never. But- Kim: She didn't run because she had drugs on her. Phil: She had her personal ... okay, I'm with it now. Right on. We go to it. Kim: No passport. Shannon O.: Because, apparently, you're supposed to carry your passport. This was the first time, so this was 2010, I had never heard before. I had already been on the road two years. I'd never heard that you're supposed to have your passport on you in a lot of foreign countries. Phil: Yeah. Yep, yeah. Even like France, I think. Even places like that. So, my travel insurance safety tip of the day. If you've got a copy of your passport, then if you get pickpocketed, you don't lose your passport. But if you've got the information page inside the passport as a photocopy, that usually satisfies the local police. Kim: Well, that's one of Shannon's tips- Phil: Oh, good. Kim: ... just to make sure that you always carry at least a photocopy of your passport. And I think in that particular blog you wrote that there were around 40 backpackers that were put into jail? Shannon O.: And one of them was my roommate. So, I went home, and I didn't really know what was happening. Right? I just sort of .. I'm not big, you know, I'm not going to take a stand. I don't know. I'm in a foreign country. I hear that something's going around. I just walked out of the back door, and I walked home. And everyone who didn't, basically, went to Guatemalan jail, and my roommate was one of those. I didn't know her. I was at a hostel, and we just had a two-bedded dorm. And so, in the middle of the night, maybe 3:00, 4:00 a.m., somebody came and knocked on my door, and said, "Your roommate wants you to go through," because I wouldn't let them in, obviously. And they said, "Your roommate wants you to go through her backpack." And they named the pocket where her passport was, which sort of like gave me a hint that they were who they were. And so, I went through and gave them her passport, and she got out. Phil: So, is that because of corruption? Was it a shakedown? Was it, you know, an unofficial fine that you had to pay to get away, or were they genuinely enforcing the law? Shannon O.: Oh, I mean, it was both. Genuinely, a lot of backpackers in this town do have drugs on them, and so, legitimately, they're enforcing a lot of ... But it was absolutely a shakedown where you ... If you're taking backpackers who are watching a movie because they don't have their passport, I don't feel like that's ... She did have to pay a fine. Once that happened, I left. Two days later I was like, "Oh, I think I'm done with Lake Atitlán." And I went north, and this is in the Guatemalan Highlands, and this is not as pretty of a town as Antigua, so I'm not selling you at this point. Right? It's like it's the beautiful Highlands, but it's a real sort of, and this would be terrible to say, but it is a little bit more grungy town. It's a very grittier town. But it also has a lot of integration with the indigenous communities, and it's from here that you can organize treks into the Highlands, and I did some service projects. All of the language schools have a real focus on programs that support the indigenous communities with their money. All of the drug culture that we just talked about, all of that is gone at that point, and you are just in this city that's really welcoming for tourists. Kim: So, if we have scared anyone off, you can actually avoid being part of that drug culture. Shannon O.: Absolutely. And there are so many other areas I know we're going to talk about, I just love it. Like I'm saying, I'm fangirling all over it. Phil: Yeah. What does it most look like? Shannon O.: It's very green. And because Guatemala has many volcanos, the volcanos are closer to Lake Atitlán and that sort of thing, but there are some peaks that you can reach around. So, just think really, really green mountains, not so cold that you want to die inside. So, you can go camping, you can be in these rural, indigenous villages if you take a guide and a trek out there. But I find it more enjoyable. So, I've done the Nepal trek, and you know, sitting in my tiny teahouse wishing that I had 10 more blankets, and it's not that. Kim: Now you mentioned volcanos, and in June, and we reported in the podcast in our travel news that there was a volcano eruption that killed a lot of the locals. But if you google Guatemala and things to do, one of the top things is to actually roast a marshmallow over a volcano. Is this something that you've done, and would you recommend it? Shannon O.: I have done it, but my Central America travels, a lot of it, I was two years in, and in hindsight, I realized a lot of it is quite risky. So, one of those being roasting a marshmallow on a volcano. There is an element of risk. When we got down the side of the mountain, one of my friends who I had met on the trek, on this trek up the side of the mountain, she was wearing trainers, just like regular sneakers, and I was wearing hiking boots. And so, something I had not noticed is just how hot the rocks were. Like, you could feel the heat. We did see some lava. It was a little bit further up than some people. Like, we were not close enough to poke it with a stick, but we were able to roast some marshmallows in the crevices. So, you knew there was a lot of heat coming up. But when she got down the side of the mountain, she only narrowly missed like massive blisters on her feet because she had, all the rubber was gone. I could see her socks. She was walking down that barefoot. Kim: Ouch. Memo to self, Phil? Phil: Yeah. Kim: Don't climb a volcano with rubber-soled shoes. Phil: Or have very thick socks on, as well, then. Kim: But there's a peek of the shoes, or what's left of them. Phil: I know. Kim: She's shown us. Phil: I know, it's pretty amazing. It's like, that must have hurt. It must have. Kim: Yeah, with her pretty hot pink socks. I reckon they would have been hot pink. Red or pink. That is in show notes. So, when you're planning an itinerary, what you really want to be doing is chatting to somebody who knows what they're talking about. This is why we're catching up with Sarah from AirTreks because they plan itineraries, but they're all travelers. Am I right there, Sarah? Sarah: Yeah, that's absolutely right. All of our travel planners are experts because they've actually done it. Well, what we do is we customize every trip based on what each particular person, or family, or couple wants to get out of their experience. So, we listen, we talk with people, we meet with them. They talk with one of our travel planners. They tell all about the things that they want to hit on their trip, and you know, kind of how they want to have their experience. Some people want to do it really bare bones. They want to stay with the locals. They want to travel for as long as possible, so they're really working on a budget. And then you have other people who maybe have less time, maybe have some kind of situation where they need to be in a place that's more comfortable, maybe they're traveling for work. So, we customize every itinerary based exactly on what you specifically want to do. Kim: One of the examples you gave to me was if you're planning a trip from the U.S. to Peru to walk the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, which we've said in previous episodes is almost been loved to death. Why not plan a stopover in Guatemala, and hike Pacaya? Sarah: Yeah, that's exactly right. So, I think a lot of people, when they're thinking about traveling to South American, they think, "Well, I just want to get where I'm going and do my trek there, a couple of popular ones." Machu Picchu is popular, also Ciudad Perdida in Colombia is really popular. And Guatemala is a great stopover on your way down to either one of those treks. Because Guatemala is a country that's really great to see by land. It's actually when we talk about people going to that region of Central America, a lot of the time we'll tell them don't fly into the one place you want to see. Fly into one city and fly out of another, because there are so many remote and beautiful places in Guatemala that you can't get to by air. So, it's nice to say, start in southern Mexico, travel around Chiapas. Go by land through Guatemala to El Salvador, and then fly from there. So, not only could you stopover in Guatemala City on your way down to Peru or Colombia, but you could get three additional countries in there. Kim: You don't have to spend a lot of money to have a fantastic experience. Sarah: Well, that's exactly right. I was looking at trips when I knew that I was going to be talking with you guys, I was looking at some trips that included Guatemala, and one of the sample trips we have up on our site right now is, it's seven cities in South America, including Guatemala City. So, Guatemala City; Bogota, Colombia; Santiago, Chile; Buenos Aires, and Lima, and that's starting and ending in Miami. And it's between $1,600 and $1,700. So, you've got seven cities for $1,700. It's pretty affordable. Phil: But tell us about Pacaya, then. You're comparing it to Machu Picchu. Tell me about it. Sarah: Well, obviously, they're totally different. But if you have your hiking boots in your bag. Right? Pacaya is a volcano. I think it's actually one of several active volcanos in Guatemala. I'm not an expert on Guatemalan volcanos. Kim: There are a lot, and there are a few that are- Phil: There are a lot, and they keep going off. Kim: Yes. Phil: Anyway. Sarah: So, that's one way to dust off your hiking boots. Hopefully, you've broken them in before your trip down. It's actually quite close to Guatemala City. I think it's one of the most visited volcanos in Guatemala because it is easy to get to. Kim: One of the things I love about your site is it's very thorough, Phil. There's five great around the world itineraries. There's how much does traveling the world really costs per day? But in the blog section, there are some really great stories. Like the single mother who took her family around the world. And this one took my attention. The first AirTrek ever booked with Bitcoin. Sarah: That's- Kim: How does that work? Sarah: Well, just like buying anything else with Bitcoin. It's really funny, I would like to put a PSA out, "If you would like to buy travel with Bitcoin, you can come and talk with us." Because it's actually hard. There's not a lot of companies out there that do accept Bitcoin for travel purchases. And for us, being part of the blockchain movement was really important. We like to think about ourselves as a really modern travel agency. We like to be up on all of the different travel technology, and all of the best technology available to build these complicated itineraries. So, when we realized, "Oh, there's a way that people want to pay for these trips that we're not fulfilling." We changed that right away. So, we've sold a few trips with Bitcoin. I think the one that you're speaking of that's on our blog, we can just look. I think he had five to 10 stops all around the world, so- Kim: He did. This is Simon. Sarah: ... it's a great way to spend that money. Kim: Well, Sarah, thank you so much for chatting with us. We'll have the AirTreks link in our show notes, and as I've kept saying, there's trip planner, there are specials, there are planning tips, and there is that blog with all those interesting stories. So, cheers to that. Phil: And thanks for choosing World Nomads to partner with. We appreciate it. Sarah: Thank you. Kim: Absolutely. Phil, our Footprints Network has just celebrated over $4 million- Phil: $4 million, I know. Kim: ... in micro-donations. Phil: I know. Unbelievable. Kim: So, do you want to explain the Footprints Network? Phil: Okay. It actually started after the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the founders of World Nomads said, "Well, what can we do? It's all very well and good donating money, but what can we do it in an ongoing way that's going to help community-based projects?" So, it started it's where every time when you go to make a purchase of a World Nomads travel insurance policy, you can add two bucks, or five bucks, or ten bucks to that, and it goes to this community-based project here. This one right here that I can see the picture of on the page. Kim: Well, we- Phil: So you know where your money's going. Kim: We're actually funding 10 projects. We'll include a link in our show notes, including shark and ray conservation in Belize, which is about a seven-hour drive from Guatemala. Phil: Okay. Kim: So, we have Dr. Rachel Graham, who is going to take us through the background and provide us an overview of the project that she's part of which is funded by micro-donations. The Footprints Network. Hello. Dr. Rachel G.: Hello. And first of all, congratulations on passing that $4 million goal. That's absolutely impressive. It just goes to show the power of a very, very large community globally to make things happen for good. It's brilliant. Phil: Yeah. It is. It's quite an amazing thing. Kim: Well, to helping you out, you are part of this shark and ray conservation in Belize. Firstly, why did you choose Belize for this project? Dr. Rachel G.: So, you know, I've been living in Belize for 21 years now, and I've done a lot of work with sharks and rays, and even some other large megafauna, turtles and big finfish. All of these share very similar life histories that are very vulnerable to overexploitation, such as fishing, targeted fishing. They also inspire a lot of people. That's what people really come to scuba and snorkel with, and more. And why I really wanted this project to be focused on Belize is we have the second largest barrier reef in the world, after your own in Australia. And our reef extends throughout the Mesoamerican region of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. Almost 1,000 kilometers. Kim: You mentioned Honduras, and in one of our earlier podcasts, we actually chatted to one of the scientists that had been part of capturing that photograph that went viral of the huge, what do you call it? What's the technical name? Phil: Oh, I can't remember. That sort of massive- Kim: Was it the giant- Dr. Rachel G.: Plastics? Kim: Yes. Phil: That's it. That's the one. Kim: Yes. Phil: All that plastic. Kim: Yeah, it's so- Dr. Rachel G.: Yeah, plastic. So, what's happening there, it's really interesting, because you have the large current that's coming through from the Atlantic into the Caribbean. That's what's bringing all kinds of aspects like Sargassum and more, and you're seeing animals using that current, as well, in their migrations. But when it hits northern Honduras, and that Gulf of Honduras beach, and between Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, it creates this gyre. It's like a counter gyre. And what that does is that just concentrates a lot of the debris that's coming out of a lot of rivers in this particular area from southern Belize, Guatemala, and northwestern Honduras. And so, what that lady came across was just this confluence of both current, gyre activity, and a lot of debris and plastics coming out of many of those rivers. And you know, those plastics actually have an impact on the marine wildlife that we work with, especially the sharks and rays. We have found plastics in these animals, and we're concerned about that. But the biggest threats to sharks and rays in our region is actually fisheries. And that's what we're really trying to work against and mitigate the threat from by encouraging people to take part in this incredible, broad, citizen science research. Kim: Yeah, explain the Citizen Science Project. Phil: Yeah. Dr. Rachel G.: So, you know, a lot of folks have these wonderful bird counts. Everybody goes out for the Christmas bird count, or, for example, Fiji has kind of laid the path with their shark count in Fiji, and everybody at a certain time of the year goes out and counts the sharks or counts the rays. And we thought, here we still have considerable shark fisheries ongoing, and now they're including rays, as well. And you know, at the same time, these animals are bringing in absolutely millions in tourism. In fact, we did the survey, and one of the things that we're trying to do is, with this particular funding from World Nomads, we're hoping that we'll be able to do this large-scale, deep analysis of this incredible survey that we've done with so many visitors in Belize about their perceptions on sharks and more. And so, what we're hoping to do is galvanize the tour operators, the guides, all the tourists, many of the thousands of students that we ever worked within Belize, and get them out there counting the sharks and the rays, and feeding in the data. And gaining a better understanding of hot spots for these animals, and really showing their interest, their care, and ultimately, their support for their survival. Kim: So, you're the founder and executive director of the MarAlliance. Can you tell us about that? Dr. Rachel G.: MarAlliance, I created in 2014 to be a nimble, and proactive international organization that would help to kind of define opportunities to help conserve large marine wildlife. So, sharks, rays, turtles, big finfish, like groupers, and other recreational, important recreational fish, many because they have the same life histories, are very vulnerable to targeted fishing, and they're also very important to the tourism industry. So, really, now we've grown from four people in 2014, we're now 18. We are based in four countries, so, Belize, Honduras, Panama, and West Africa, Cape Verde. And it's been an incredible ride since 2014. We continue to grow, and you know, we're logging quite a few successes in terms of our research, in terms of our conservation work, and more. And one of our most recent successes, actually, is the discovery of a brand new shark species. The Atlantic sixgill shark. And this is just par for the course for the work that we do in MarAlliance. Phil: Okay. A big shark? Small shark? Dr. Rachel G.: It's actually an incredibly cute little, big wide-eyed ... We can send you the picture of a shark. Phil: Yes, please. Kim: Yes. Dr. Rachel G.: Yes? And, you know, I really want to give a big shout out to our technical coordinator, Ivy Baremore, who's running our deep sea and deep shark project, because she's the one who hauled it up, and tagged it, and really helped discover this animal. Kim: So, is it fair to say then, that our Footprints Network has been responsible for uncovering a new species of shark? Dr. Rachel G.: It can't be- Phil: [inaudible]. Kim: Just wanted to get it right. Dr. Rachel G.: [crosstalk]. Phil: And dunk him. Dr. Rachel G.: I would love to be able to give you that credit, but I'm not [inaudible 00:34:59]. Kim: [inaudible] right. Phil: The World Nomad shark. Kim: Yeah, the World Nomad ... [inaudible 00:35:03] because he hasn't got a name. We could have named it, exactly. But the Footprints Networks has been, will you tell us how important to this particular project? Dr. Rachel G.: So, we're just starting out with this project with the Footprints and World Nomads, and we're absolutely excited. We have not reached our target funding yet. And because we don't like to raise expectations with the communities and the people we work with, we're waiting to reach our target funding, and then we can kickstart this project. We're absolutely excited because, as I said, we are finding new species, we are discovering new behaviors, and everything, and I tell you, you never know what we're going to find, and what we might actually be able to ascribe or credit to World Nomads. Phil: If somebody's traveling through the region, are they able to come and give a hand, or do you need people to come, like travelers to come and help you out in any way? Dr. Rachel G.: Absolutely. So, basically, anybody who comes to Belize and is going to go and encounter sharks, they can go to the Hol Chan Shark Ray Alley. They can go to Lighthouse Reef Atoll or off Gladden Spit. Like, any of the areas where diving, snorkeling takes place. They can help in this large effort. I really am very proud of being Belizean. I'm very proud of our country, and I'm really, really excited to get everybody else excited about sharks and rays, here. Kim: Beautifully said. On that note, we will share a link to MarAlliance and also this particular project with her, which has a bit of a tick over, Phil, of how much the project is going to cost, and how you can help, and basically, how you can contribute is a micro-donation off your World Nomads insurance. Dr. Rachel G.: It's been an absolute pleasure, and I'm very grateful to everybody who goes and visits the World Nomads site and chooses our project to fund. So, thank you. Kim: The world is starting to engage again Phil but before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. Phil: Also, don’t forget to rate, share, and subscribe to the World Nomads Travel Podcast from wherever you get your favorite pods. Kim: Next week, there has never been a better time to take advantage of working from home to hit the road and work remotely. I chatted with Linda the co-founder of Nomads Stays. Bye </div> </div> </div>Getty Images/hbrizard 1516411639 Getty Images Semuc Champey natural swimming pools, Guatemala.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-rise-of-sustainable-brandsIn this episode, Intrepid has created a guide to help business’ decarbonize as travelers increasingly choose companies that align with their personal values.2020-07-10T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-rise-of-sustainable-brandshttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19 </h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What’s in the episode</h2> 00:19 Where is Phil? 00:54 Intrepid’s free resource 03:10 Tips for being carbon neutral 04:43 A Holiday should be a holiday 06:04 What travelers want 08:09 The Ten Step Guide 10:50 Kim’s great question 12:21 Where does James want to travel to? <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “…more and more people now want to choose brands that align with their personal values and that doesn't only apply in travel, but we can see the rise of sustainable brands in other industries too, thinking of industries like fashion, or food, or cosmetics.” - James <h2>Who is in the episode</h2> James Thornton is the first non-founding Chief Executive Officer of the <a href="https://www.intrepidtravel.com/au">Intrepid Group</a>, a portfolio of leading travel brands that are globally recognized as a leader in responsible travel. Taking over 250,000 travelers to more than 100 countries on all seven continents, the Intrepid Group is the world’s largest provider of adventure travel experiences and the only vertically integrated business in the fast-growing adventure travel sector. <figure><img src=" https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/jamesintrepid/jamesthornton_shownotes.jpg" alt="woman near a lake" /> <figcaption> James Thornton with Sana Jinah, one of Intrepid's first female tour leaders in India </figcaption></figure> <figure><img src=" https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/kim_lightening_ridge.jpg" alt="woman near a lake" /> <figcaption> An early start for Kim at Lightning Ridge in outback Australia.</figcaption></figure> Kim and her husband are loosely following The Great Artesian Basin and its springs along the Barka (Darling River) in Australia. The basin is the biggest and deepest in the world. The water temperature in the various springs dotted along the route average 40 degrees and is raised by heat radiating from Earth’s molten core. It’s claimed the springs have therapeutic and healing properties. <iframe width="600" height="450" style="border: 0;" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d890462.3413554895!2d147.43466903118306!3d-29.330193803230625!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x6ba8946996e62aa3%3A0x40609b4904404f0!2sLightning%20Ridge%20NSW%202834!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sau!4v1602036963803!5m2!1sen!2sau" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" aria-hidden="false" tabindex="0"></iframe> <h2>Resources & links</h2> Download <a href="https://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/carbon-management">A 10-Step Quick Start Guide to Decarbonise Your Travel Business. </a>Intrepid’s recent <a href="https://intrepidgroup.bynder.com/web/50cb325bd092942f/daintree-retreat/">Daintree Retreat</a>. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/guides/responsible-travel-guide">Download World Nomads free guide and learn how to be a more responsible travele</a>r. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">Travel safety alerts.</a> You can get in touch with us by emailing <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a>. <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: Hi it’s Kim with you flying solo this episode with Phil on a break. Although while I am not on holiday I am working on the road with my husband from our van and recording this episode in Lightning Ridge, a small outback town in north-western New South Wales, in Australia and I am going to be catching up via Zoom with James Thornton, the CEO of responsible tour operator Intrepid Travel. Intrepid has been a carbon-neutral business since 2010 and has created a 10-Step Quick Start Guide to Decarbonise Your Travel Business. It’s a free resource providing an easy-to-follow action plan on reduction and offsetting for tourism businesses, to encourage the industry to rebuild more sustainably amid the pandemic. And that is something travelers want to support moving through coronavirus. James: ... I think so. Yeah. I mean, we've got this unique opportunity whereby the world has been kept at home and had to stand still. And we've got this opportunity to try and rebuild more responsibly. And the brutal reality in a pre-COVID environment was, unfortunately, some of our travel actions were having a negative impact on the thing that we ultimately treasure so much, which is the world. And if we continue to head in that direction, then we were facing irreversible climate change. And would ultimately face an even worse disaster for the travel industry in 20 to 30 years' time. So, we do now have this unique opportunity where we've been kept at home to try and rebuild more responsibly and to make sure that our future travel plans can benefit, local communities, the environment, travelers, all stakeholders as much as possible. But it does require us to change and adapt the way in which we travel moving forward. Kim: Well, Intrepid is in a really good position to not preach, but you guys are carbon neutral and had worked towards that for a few years. So, what are some tips that you could give companies, or travelers? James: Yeah. So, Intrepid has been a carbon-neutral business since 2010, that journey started for us in 2005. Our founders encourage our leadership team to read Tim Flannery's book, The Weather Makers, a few of us did Al Gore's climate change training. And so being a carbon neutral business has been fantastic. But, for us a company, it's probably no longer enough to just neutralize the impacts of the carbon that we omit, we actually have to take active steps to reduce the carbon that we omit. So, Intrepid is on the verge of committing to science-based targets to reduce its overall emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. In terms of what other companies can do? The key thing is just to start small, you don't go from being ... Intrepid's been a responsible travel leader for 31 years. And we've been on our climate journey for 15 years. So, it's very hard to replicate 15 years of work in a few months. So start small, start with something you're passionate about. Intrepid has just released its 10 step quick start guide to decarbonizing your travel business, which is a free guide. You can go and download from our website, was created by our own environmental impact specialist. And it's a low barrier way for other travel companies to get started on their carbon journey, by offering straightforward steps. So, that's what I encourage companies to do, is by starting small. For individuals, I think it's just by really carefully researching the type of travel you do. When you're traveling to a destination, try not to take multiple different flights in the destination, trying to use more local transport than privately chartered transport, try and support local hotels rather than chain hotels, trying to eat the local food, again rather than eating in chain restaurants. So, I think they're all steps that both companies and individuals can take. Kim: We'll put a link to those 10 steps in show notes, but I've interviewed Darrell Wade, one of the co-founders of Intrepid who said that "When it boils down, our travelers are going on a holiday, they don't want to be burdened with guilt, or burdened with worthy acts." So, I think he summed it up with, "You don't want to be hit on the head with all these rules that you have to abide by." James: That's right. Yeah. Kim: How do you achieve a balance? James: Yeah, absolutely. It's absolutely true. The holiday should be a holiday, but more and more people now want to choose brands that align with their personal values and that doesn't only apply in travel, but we can see the rise of sustainable brands in other industries too, thinking of industries like fashion, or food, or cosmetics. And so traveling with a sustainable tour operator, for me, I think it means feeling good about your purchase and knowing that your holiday isn't causing detrimental harm to local people, or the environment. So, on an Intrepid trip, you'll expect to eat in local restaurants, to take public transport, to meet with local people. And we believe it's a style to travel that's not only better for the world, but it also helps create authentic real-life experiences for our travelers. So, I think there's a way of ultimately doing it where you can meet everyone's objectives without sounding too preachy. Kim: Yeah. So it's that balance, isn't it? So, how are consumers making more conscious travel choices when it comes to not only safety, which is going to be really the way forward, isn't it? To think not only sustainably, but how to travel safely? What thoughts do you have on that? James: So, safety is absolutely going to be a primary concern for travelers. We are seeing that the travelers are all sending customer surveys that we're doing at the moment ... Customers have real intention to travel again, but they want to make sure that it's safe and secure to be able to do. So, cleanliness standards are going to have to be increased. One of the things Intrepid has done is to spend time working with the World Travel and Tourism Council and adopting their Safe Travel mark. So, WTTC has outlined a series of steps that travel companies need to be taking in order to get their Safe Travel mark. And that's what Intrepid has gone and adopted. So, we've already operated three trips in a post-COVID environment. Three doesn't sound too many, given that we would have been operating hundreds of trips a week in a pre-COVID environment. But post-COVID, we've operated three trips and those trips have taken a lot of energy and time of both our people to design them and make sure that they're safe and secure and the touchpoints that have to happen on the trips, in terms of the dealings with the hotels and the transport companies, and even going through immigrations and the like are much more intensive than they were. But ultimately our travelers have told us that they felt safe and secure, that they're still able to have some fantastic experiences, and are keen to spread the word and start to come back. So, it is going to be very different when travel starts to return on a more material level, but ultimately safety is going to be a number one concern initially. Kim: Yeah. I'm doing some research on a travel writer that I'm going to be chatting to, Laura Waters, who's written the book Bewildered, which was incredible. But I noticed as part of that research, I think she went on one of the Intrepid trips in Northern Territory, am I right? James: Yeah. It's up in the Daintree. Yes, in the Daintree. Kim: So, I haven't got to reading that article yet, but will look forward to doing that and also sharing it in show notes, James. James: Yes. Fantastic. Kim: With the 10 steps guide, how does that aim to future-proof the industry? If we can just pull that apart a little more and how the sector can rebound stronger than it was before if it rebuilds in that more responsible way? James: Yeah. So the 10 step guide, as I said, it was created by our environmental impact specialist and she did it to create a low barrier way for other travel companies to get started. I don't know about you, but when I think of things like AI, I think goodness how would we even start, getting AI into the Intrepid business? And I think for many travel companies, they think of that when it comes to climate, their intention is that they want to do good, but they're just not quite sure how to do it. So, we have created some straightforward steps for companies to understand for example, how that climate change is impacting their business, to actually fully developing a climate management strategy. And what we've tried to do is use real-world examples from Intrepid to show how other companies can go and implement similar strategies within their own organization. So, we've done it not just with carbon. We've also released a similar one, an animal welfare policy toolkit too. So, just ultimately we're trying to ... If we're going to talk about rebuilding responsibly, we feel that we've actually got to take a leadership position in helping support others be able to do that. And that's why we've gone ahead and released these two quick start guides. I think that travel is no longer a ... It's not a right anymore. It's a privilege. And I think customers will take a more thoughtful approach to travel, moving forward. And I think there'll be a focus on the outdoors, on active holidays, on iconic bucket list trips with sustainability at the fronts of mind. We are seeing demand for bookings into 2021 with people wanting to fulfill that once a lifetime trips. And we are seeing a shift towards growth in sustainable travel and customers wanting to book travel companies that are ultimately doing the right thing for the planet and its communities. It is no coincidence that Intrepid over the course of the last four years has doubled its revenue. We are seeing this transformational shift of people moving away from more traditional tour operators on some more sustainable travel experiences. So, companies like Intrepid, we are able to provide these kinds of fantastic experiences. The transformational events is canals and sea turtles thriving in Thailand. And the worldwide shut down from the pandemic has really shone a light on tourism impacts when it's at full force. And people wanting to be sure that their future travel decisions are responsible and hopefully don't bring any more harm to the places that they're ultimately going to visit. Kim: We're going to live with this. How, and when do we start moving forward through COVID, there's not going to be a post-COVID. How do we travel through this? James: Yeah. Look it's a great question, Kim. And if you think down here in Australia at the moment, Melbourne is rightly, kind of extremity. I suppose it's a response in terms of ... I think our government is saying that they are trying to suppress the virus, really the strategy that's being put in place, is to try and eliminate it. Our borders have up until recently been pretty locked internationally and locked domestically. And what we have to do is to encourage our politicians to move beyond politics, which is very difficult for them to do and to actually think in the best interests of all stakeholders again like we're trying to do Intrepid is certified, B Corp. And try and get movement happening between borders, where it is contained or suppression of the virus. And start to get people moving and then to respond to isolated cases quickly through strong contract tracing. And proof that we can find a way. We have seen Brits and Europeans doing its travel over the last few months and there are concerns now that some of that's led to a second wave. But then you see other positive cases, don't you, in a country like Iceland, where you went to the country, you do a COVID test, five days in isolation, do a second COVID test, and then you're released and you good to go. So, we do live in a globalized world and that will have to return at some point. Kim: You've had a lot of time to think, where's the first place you want to visit James? James: Oh, goodness me, at the moment I'd go to the Mornington Peninsula, Kim to be honest. But no, look I'm English, and I've been very fortunate over my 13 years at Intrepid living in Australia that I can get home and see family and friends anytime I want to. And that opportunity has been taken away from me. And so as soon as I can, I'll want to head back to England and see my family and friends to be honest. It's those simple, small things that we used to so often take for granted, that's unfortunately become much more appreciative of when you're without it. Kim: Thank you so much James, a link to the guide is in show notes. Thanks for tuning in to this episode and a reminder to rate, share and subscribe so the world hears about our episodes. Next week, travelers are returning to Guatemala and we’ll let you know how to visit as the 2020 pandemic continues. </div> </div> </div>Kijabe Forest Offsetting Project 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/south-america/ecuador/the-world-nomads-podcast-travel-to-ecuador-during-covid-19In this episode, we revisit Ecuador sharing what you need to know for visiting this destination during COVID-19 including special rules for the Galapagos Islands.2020-09-20T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/south-america/ecuador/the-world-nomads-podcast-travel-to-ecuador-during-covid-19https://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19</h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What’s in the episode</h2> 00:32 Flights to Ecuador are back on for US Citizens 03:11 Nicole explains the layout of Ecuador 06:50 Plastic rules for the Galapagos 11:46 Cam’s trek to Ecuador 15:26 Stranger to the guest to the family 21:06 Let’s meet Katie and Ben 25:30 Partying in Ecuador 30:19 What are the Two Wandering Souls up to <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “The people are really- they're very genuine but also like how the culture is built. It's very much based on sharing- having time for persons- if someone has one dollar, they will buy a beer and they will share it together”. Nicole “It's just an incredible country. It packs in a lot of stuff in a relatively small amount of space.” Cam “I didn't really have any expectations coming in (to Ecuador) but just after finding out everything that you can do within the whole country, it's so small but it has so many things to do that it just- it's really fun.” - Ben <h2>Who is in the episode</h2> Nicole Roodenburg is from <a href="http://cetravels.com/">Colourful Ecuador Travels</a>. They organize everything around Ecuador and the Galapagos and really believe in what the country has to offer <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/south-america/ecuador/talking%20about%20a%20couple%20of%20my%20favourite%20places%20for%20hiking%20there,%20namely%20Cajas%20National%20Park%20and%20the%20Volcan%20Cotopaxi">Cam Honan</a> loves to hike. In this episode, he reveals a couple of his favorite places for hiking in Ecuador, Cajas National Park and the Volcan Cotopaxi. Cam has also written a couple of books <a href="https://gestalten.com/products/the-hidden-tracks">The Hidden Tracks</a> published by Gestalten. As well as its predecessor, <a href="https://www.thehikinglife.com/2018/01/wanderlust-hiking-on-legendary-trails/">Wanderlust: Hiking on Legendary Trails</a>. You can find Cam on Instagram and Facebook. Katie and Ben, otherwise known as Two Wandering Soles, seek adrenaline rushes, good food, authentic experiences, and adventures off the typical tourist path. <a href="https://www.twowanderingsoles.com/">Follow along</a> for responsible & adventurous travel tips, and inspiration that'll get you packing. Since last chatting to us they have kitted out a van and joined the Vanlife community. Follow their journey on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/twowanderingsoles/">Instagram</a>.  <h2>Resources & links</h2> <a href="https://ec.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information-ecu-2/">US Embassy and Consulate in Ecuador</a>. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/south-america/ecuador/travel-warnings-and-updates#:~:text=Please%20read%20your%20policy%20wording,stones%20and%20vandalizing%20public%20buildings.">Travel alerts and safety news for Ecuador</a>. General <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">Travel safety alerts.</a> You can get in touch with us by emailing <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a>. <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating (it really helps), review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: Kim and Phil here. Thanks for tuning in to the World Nomads Travel Podcast, please rate, share and subscribe from wherever you get your favorite podcasts because there are plenty of travel stories to share and places to visit. Commercial flights to Ecuador resumed in June and is open to US Citizens, but what do they need to know Phil? Phil: So, at the time of recording, all travelers arriving in Ecuador should provide proof of a negative COVID PCR test taken no more than ten days before entering the country.  If you don’t present symptoms of COVID, you do not need to perform mandatory quarantine, but special rules apply for Galapagos Island. If you (regardless of nationality or residency status) wish to travel to the Galapagos, you must have taken a PCR test with a negative result within 96 hours of entry into Galapagos province. We will share more thorough info in show notes along with our email address to get in touch. Kim: We have edited a previous episode we launched featuring Ecuador reminding you of the stunning waterfalls and hikes and even tips for traveling light. We kicked off with Nicole from Colouful Ecuador who caught up with at a conference in Edinburgh asking her what is it that she loves most about Ecuador. Nicole: It's the people. The people are really- they're very genuine but also like how the culture is built. It's very much based on sharing- having time for persons- if someone has one dollar they will buy a beer and they will share it together. It's not about a very selfish culture, it's just about life, and like for me that is what makes me happy in life. Of being able to have the time to share of but not being busy now with what I'm actually going to be doing tomorrow, in a couple of hours. Also, to have this thing that you can basically do what you want to do at that moment. So for example, when we have a busy day in the office and we're just like, "Let's just go out the whole office for karaoke." Everybody can. Even if we say it's at 2 o'clock in the afternoon like a few phone calls are made to parents and grandparents and boyfriends and girlfriends and husbands and wives and at 5 o'clock we are all singing karaoke. That's a bit of how the spirit is. It's basically of living there and it's not the most efficient culture in the world and we might- like if we were working in Europe we would do with a lot fewer people but we have fun. There's a genuine happy vibe always, everywhere. Phil: And so, how is it one of those countries where the majority of the people live in the capital or is it spread out or... Nicole: It's quite spread out. The capital is Quitoso that has about 2 million people. Guayaquil's biggest city in Ecuador, it's one of the most productive cities. It's based on the coastal area so there it has about 2 and a half million people. So there's like the two main areas where people live, in total, we have 30 million people all living within Ecuador. A lot of more of Ecuadorians living outside of Ecuador. After Quito and Guayaquil, like the big city's Cuenca that's about 500,000 so it goes down. Phil: I heard you speaking here at WYSTC. I've heard you speaking the other day about there are four or five regions of the country. Just take us through that Nicole: Yeah, so we would divide the country into 4 regions. We have the sierra, we call it, it's the Indian region so it's everything to do with the mountains. We have a whole Indian spine going through the whole of Ecuador, basically from the border of Columbia to the border of Peru. We call it the Andes, it's the beautiful snow-capped volcano, villages, there are all the indigenous people living there as there. You've got colorful markets but also the capitals and the colonial centers. We have the Amazon, so it's the jungle area. It's the whole Amazon basin. We don't actually touch the Amazon, it's one of our biggest frustrations. They say that the Peruvians took it away, so that's a bit of neighbor ressentiment in that part. The Amazonian basin so that's everything that we call the jungle area. We have the coastal plains, that's the part mostly going up the coast, the whole Pacific coast, and then the Galapagos is a whole separate region for us as well. So that's the 4 ones, the Amazon... Phil: Let's start with the big one, the Galapagos. Now is it heavily protected? Nicole: It's heavily protected in a way that's it's not easy to move there. It's a part of Ecuador but it's considered complete- we have a special regiment that goes there. So there are special laws for the part of the Galapagos, there are special labor laws as well, in how much you pay people. For example, salaries in the Galapagos are 75% higher than the mainland, that's by law. So the minimum wage in Ecuador at the moment is 385 and in Galapagos, it's 575 so that's already a difference. You have to Galapagano to be able to live there. Becoming Galapagano can be born there or marry in. So that's the only way basically that you can get it and then as an Ecuadorian or as a foreigner that has a valid working visa, you're able to go and work there if you are allowed to by the government. So that means that basically as a Galapagos company, you can apply for it, you can say, "okay I've looked between all the Galapagonos that live there and there's none that fit my description I need- for example, a marine biologist with so many years of experience in researching turtles. I have this person." And then they tell you how much time they are authorized to do it. It's normally, maximum a year and you can extend it up until 5 times. So that's like the maximum. So that's one of the ways that trying to protect it because in the past, especially with the tourism industry growing a little bit there are people moving there and starting to work, especially as waiters and receptionists because also the guiding part is heavily protected. You can only become a Galapagos National Park guide if you are a Galapagano so that takes the level of the guide sometimes down quite a bit. So a lot, for example, the companies that want to have like a really good nature experience they send both a biologist and a Galapagos National Park guide to deal with the park regulations. Phil: And what about just as a visitor though? If you... Nicole: As a visitor, you are allowed to come for 60 days a year. That's the maximum you can stay there. So there, they put in some new laws that were put into place in May and they're actually going to be effective in November. So that changes the whole rules on plastic. There are no plastic straws allowed, there's no plastic, if you want, no plastic containers. So if you're going on a boat excursion you will get all- just normal plates and everything. There's nothing that can be thrown away and no plastic bags so you're not even allowed to bring your shoes in a plastic bag, nothing that is plastic that can only be used once. That's the biggest change and the law is going to be effective on the first of November and one of the other things that you can not go without an itinerary. So you already have to have a plan that you're staying in the legally approved hotels because of- other forms of accommodations also took a flight of people staying like in people's houses and that is not the idea. Like the idea is that the national park regulates all the hotels that are approved to be in the Galapagos National Park in the residential areas basically because only 3% of the Galapagos National Park is actually allowed to be lived at which are the four towns that we actually have and a couple of the highland parts where there's some farming allowed. That is controlled by how to do their waste management, how to do their water management. Also, to keep everything of low control, they have now installed that you can not travel there and just see what kind of hotel you're going to book when you're arriving. Phil: What's your favorite part outside of the Galapagos? Nicole: Actually, for me, there are places above the Galapagos within Ecuador. There are parts called, there are parts we call the paramo, which is above the three and half thousand meters. They have the most amazing landscapes. So if you drive, for example, from Quito to Tena, Tena is one of the easy, accessible jungles towns. You go from two thousand eight hundred meters up to four and half thousand more or less by the roads and that just gives you amazing landscapes with, we call it pahas, so it's like grass with lakes everywhere and then you go all the way down to the jungles. So like the nice thing around Ecuador just sits on a public bus or go and drive with someone in a car and just look out the window because it changes every 5 minutes you have a different view. So like the paramo would be one of it. You have near Cuenca, if you drive from Cuenca to Guayaquil you have El Cajas, it's a national park and it's actually one big lake and there's moss on top of it. You can walk on it... Phil: What? Nicole: It's there are meters wide moss so you walk on top of it and you walk through this forest and it's like a whole fairy tale that came to life. It will make beautiful lakes and little trees and you can see well the rabbits, the foxes, different things around it and you make beautiful hiking there. Phil: Wow Nicole: So that it is really, really great. There are some areas where you have just a waterfall after waterfall. There's also there are parts where you very turning, winding roads so every time you look like there's another turn in the road you see another five waterfalls coming down. So those are beautiful and of course the whales like every summer I do try to go because it's just one of those things that you're- I was there a couple of weeks ago and just from the beach you can see the whales jump. So they are so big. It's always an amazing thing, it doesn't matter how many times you've seen them, it's just this whole bus size animal coming out of the ocean. Yeah, it's wonderful. Phil: Tell us what it is you do. What your company does there and how people can get in contact with you. Nicole: Okay, well I work for Colorful Ecuador Travels. We're a company that's inbound tourism so we try- we organize everything around Ecuador and the Galapagos if you want to go anywhere else we'll refer you to other people because we really love what we do. So as a company we really believe in what the country has to offer so we organize the trips. We put together and connect both providers with the clients in general and we've started also operating different parts of hotels. So we have Casa Aliso, it's a small boutique hotel in Quito. We work together with Indicia, it's an educational hotel or it's an educational center actually and the hotel supports the whole part of the center in Guamota which is about four hours from Quito. We have Musa Galapagos, so we do Galapagos Island hopping in a different way. Also, connecting the local providers so that there are people like the real situations that their people living on the Galapagos Islands. So it's also nice to support the local businesses which is the way that we do with a part of the island hopping and we also volunteer work and have a Spanish school in Quito. Phil: So anything Ecuador, get on to it. So thanks so much for touring with [crosstalk 00:11:00] Nicole: You're very welcome. Kim: Yeah, Link's in Show notes. So Nicole painted a beautiful picture of Ecuador so let's start to pick it apart. We'll kick it off with Cam. He's written a couple of books including, "The Hidden Tracks" and as of 2018, he's hiked more than sixty thousand miles or ninety-six thousand, five hundred and sixty-one Ks in some 56 countries in 6 continents. Cam. How ya going? Phil: Are your feet sore? Cam: I think I'm a bit weary just hearing that actually. Kim: Well yeah, you've tired me out. That's a hell of a lot of trekking. So can you expand on hiking in Ecuador? Cam: Well it's been about- I spent about 5 or 6 weeks in Ecuador back in 2004 so it's been a while but the two things that really stand out for me in regards to Ecuador are the volcanos and the national park by El Cajas. That's spelled C-A-J-A-S. and in regards to the volcanos, Ecuador it's a pretty small country, I think it's a little bit bigger than Victoria in area wise... Phil: I've got to say though mate, most of our audience in America so I'll check it out but it's got to be about the size of Rhode Island hasn't? Cam: A little bit bigger than Rhode Island. But I think there's about [inaudible 00:12:23] volcanos and a bunch of them are active and probably the most- well definitely the most famous one and maybe the most beautiful is one called Cotopaxi. It's about, seeing most of your audience is in the States, almost 20,000 feet high, 5,800 meters give or take. It's got that beautiful symmetrical shape and there's a hike you can do around the base of it, you can circumnavigate the volcano. It's about 80KM long takes anywhere from 4 to 6 days and it's just an absolutely gorgeous hike and the whole you just get this series of views of the volcano and I think it's also one of the most active volcanos in the world. It's erupted more than 50 times over the last few centuries but maybe not in the last 100 years so it may be due. Kim: Cam, it would be a very quick 5 to 6 days then if you're trekking the base of an active volcano Cam: Yeah, you definitely have your skates on for a lot of it. I mean, if you see all these puffs come out you probably go a little bit quicker. So it's- well if you go through all these dense forests and high grass lands and broad valleys and go over these lava flows and yeah it's just gorgeous volcano pretty much like Mt. Fuji in Japan or Mt. Taranaki in New Zealand. It's a stunning hike. And the other place I think about when I think about Ecuador when it comes to hiking is the national park I referenced before called Cajas which is just actually just up the road from this beautiful old colonial town by the name of Cuenca and Cuenca is the Panama hat capital of the world. It's a really lovely little town and Cajas is this national park maybe 10, 15, 20 minutes drive from there. It's got over a couple hundred different lakes and glacial valleys and rocky peaks and cloud forests and really it's off the radar. Not a lot of people go hiking there and it's really wet there, think Scotland but without the pomps and the bopies. Phil: Ah Cam: Yeah, it's just an incredible country. It packs in a lot of stuff in a relatively small amount of space. Kim: So the book, "The Hidden Tracks," which I'm guessing is your latest book. It's great, which sounds so patronizing to say it's great by the way. Phil: It's got the Kim seal of approval. Cam: Yeah, you don't want to realize that it's crappy when you have me on for a podcast. Kim: No I enjoyed it because it's super inspirational and there's a lot of other things about the layout of the book that I really like too. But it kicks off with this concept of a stranger to guest to family. What do you mean by that? Cam: It's something I came up with probably about- I'm showing my age a bit here but probably about 25 years ago on a trip to the South Isle of New Zealand. It's basically what I call a natural progression which is something which is I guess it's a transformation that can take place when people spend a lot of time out in nature. A lot of folks first head out to the woods particularly if they haven't grown up in the country, they might feel a little bit like a fish out of water, a stranger in a strange land, the odd sounds at night they're not really used to or too hot or too cold or too muddy or too wet. Sometimes, for some people, the first time might prove to be the last but I think for those that preserve, and this is the key, in so doing really learn to accept Mother Nature on its own terms, a transformation this natural progression can take place and slowly but surely you become accustomed to those sort of conditions that have become the catalyst of those worries and fears. And as those experiences accumulate, worries begin to fade and instead of a stranger, you start to feel like a guest. A guest when you're out in the wilderness, a welcomed guest, and then in the third stage, the guest to family. Kim: I like it. Phil, you love that kind of stuff, don't you? Phil: Yeah, I love that stuff Kim: So what was your motivation then for getting off the beaten track and obviously, at 60,000 miles you're a pretty keen hiker. Cam: Yeah you could say that. Well, I think all the biggies like freedom and the challenge of it, the connection with nature but I think a lot of it for me is always come down to just simplicity. I think I realized that at a fairly young age that I was at my happiest when my life was at it's most simple and I was at most miserable when everything was complicated. I think spending time out in the woods when you got everything you need in the world on your back, it really hits home that you don't need a lot of stuff to be happy. I think that's always been a huge motivation for me for heading out into the wilderness Kim: So what have been some challenges then that- you've painted a pretty romantic picture. This concept of a stranger to a guest to the family. As we know, with families it can often be a rocky road. Cam: Alright, I'll give you the flip side. I'll give you the flip side. Back in the mid-90s, there was one time I was attacked by a rabid dog when I was hiking in the southeast Oasis in Egypt. Like actually, staying just outside of this oasis by the name of Siwa. There have been other times- there's this region in the north of Mexico called the Copper Canyon area. This incredible region, it's like four times bigger than the Grand Canyon. I've done about 5 trips there over the last 2 decades. But the very first trip up to it was the first bus ride I ever took when I came to Mexico, I was robbed by these masked bandits at like 2 or 3 am in the morning I had a gun held to my head. Kim: Phil loves these kinds of stories. This is great. What do you get to do then? In terms of tricks Phil: Yeah what have you- what do you want to do? Cam: There's still a few places out there that- I've never been to Kurdistan. I've always fancied going to Kurdistan. Actually, the Kimberlys in Australia, it's a part of- I've been to Western Australia but I've never been up to the Kimberlys so I'd like to spend a bit of time up there. There's parts of Ethiopia, the rift valley area in Africa that I'd love to get to. I think it's one of those things where, irrespective of how much hiking you've done, how many places you've been, there's always something else to do and there's always other places to explore. It's been something that I've done pretty much my whole life and something that I plan to continue to do or I hope I can continue to do for the next 60 years or so. Kim: Well, listen, it's been fabulous talking to you and I guess it would be great to finish on a single piece of advice for anyone that's thinking about doing a long haul trek. Cam: The big thing is preparation. Just do as much research as you can and getting fit as possible. And also, I think traveling lightly, traveling as lightly as you possibly can because it's tough to enjoy a long hike when you're carrying the kitchen sink on you back. That's a huge thing when I do talks and comps I'm often going on about traveling as lightly as possible and emphasizing necessity rather than surplus luxuries. 'Cause it all adds up and a lot of it gets back to the whole idea of simplicity, just not needing as much stuff. Kim: I think they're actually bamboo underpants you can buy where you don't have to take them off for a week. Phil: Bamboo fiber, I hope, and not just strapped from pieces of bamboo. I let my fingers do the walking while we're having a chat there, Ecuador is only very slightly smaller than Colorado. Kim: Beautiful. We've got you the U.S. reference in there. Cam, thanks so much. We all have links to not only your books but also your Instagram and a couple of other things in our show notes. Phil: Yeah, great talking to you Cam. Cam: Just one last thing in regards to the undies. Look, I know the bamboo probably sounds nice but really you've got to go commando. Kim: That's even better. Yes. Phil: Fair enough. Kim: That's even better. Links to where you can pick up "The Hidden Tracks" and more on Cam in show notes. Now, Katie and Ben are otherwise known as two wandering souls and they have been to a number of destinations including Ecuador which they say was unforgettable. We've got the guys on Skype now. Hey, Katie, Ben, two wandering souls. Katie: Hi Ben: Hey Kim: So what was so unforgettable about Ecuador? Katie: I think there are many things that we could say that were unforgettable but the things that kind of stick out about our trip to Ecuador were being about to experience and explore the nature and wildlife and do a lot of adventure activities. So that's what kind of sticks out. We also just had an amazing experience meeting other travelers and having a few local connections as well. Phil: Like what? What were some of the adventure activities that you got- that you got yourselves into? Ben: We did quite a bit. Like we went canyoneering, we went mountain biking, we went puenting which is like a swing jump. Katie: Kind of like bungee jumping without the bounce back Phil: Kim is looking very perplexed. Puenting, from a bridge. Kim: Yeah. Phil: So you jump off that and so you end up sort of swinging underneath the bridge, like a pendulum. Kim: Right. Yup, so you're off to the adrenaline rush there guys. Katie: Yeah, we got quite a few adrenaline rushes in Ecuador. We also went snorkeling in the Galapagos, where we saw sharks and penguins and sea turtles. Ben: Manta Rays Katie: Manta Rays, yeah. So we had quite an adventurous experience in Ecuador. Kim: Phil, I'm going to stop here and ask you. Phil: Yes. Kim: With these chats that we've done about Ecuador, is this the kind of country you thought it was? Phil: No. Not at all. No. I mean, I was amazed to find out about the waterfalls and the beautiful forest and what have you. And now we're finding out about the adrenaline activities as well. For a relatively small place, it packs a punch, doesn't it? Kim: It does. Ben, what did you think when you got there? Was it above your expectations? Ben: It really was. I mean, I didn't really have any expectations coming in but just after finding out everything that you can do within the whole country, it's so small but it has so many things to do that it just- it's really fun. Kim: Phil, you found out it was the size of what? Phil: It's the size of Colorado. Kim: There you go. Phil: There you go. Kim: It puts it into context for you. Now, Katie, you also, both of you spent time working on an organic farm. So you go from this adrenaline rush to this kind of peaceful, village life almost. Katie: Yeah, we- so we ended up signing up for this volunteer program through Work Away and the directions on the website were very, very simple. They were, take this local bus and have them drop you off on the side of the road where basically you're in the middle of nowhere and then the instructions say and hike up a hill for an hour and a half. We have our big backpacks and we're hiking, literally in mud that is up to our knees. So we have our boots on and we're hiking and we look at each other, the sun's going now and we're like, "Are we actually going to make it to this farm? This so-called farm that we don't even know exists?" Sure enough, we made it. Thank goodness. Because we were literally in the middle of nowhere, but we spent a week on this farm doing kind of all sorts of different chores around the homestead and it was a really, really incredible experience. Phil: What were they growing? What was the produce? Ben: They have a whole bunch of different vegetables and fruits that they were growing like corn, tomatoes, peanuts, just a whole variety of different things. They had different projects on the farm as well, like I installed a solar shower to help out other volunteers. Kim: I like the way you travel. I'm a massive adrenaline junkie. I like being in the water and snorkeling and that sort of thing but- Phil: But anything higher than a table [crosstalk 00:24:59] Kim: Yeah no, can't do it. But you're into the food, you're into the authentic experiences and adventures that are off the typical tourist path. But you're also young and you talk about partying on the beach in Ecuador. How do they party in Ecuador? Katie: Yeah well, this was the second country we visited after quitting our jobs and so we were kind of ready to let loose and Ben. Ben is a former engineer and he was very excited to have some freedom and we had heard all these stories about this beachside town of Mantaita and to be honest, it's mostly travelers there that are partying. We decided to spend a few days there and to be quite honest, it was not a cultural experience at all. It's not the most beautiful beach at all but what this town promise is an epic nightlife... Ben: Yeah, it was a pretty fun nightlife. We stayed at this hostel and got to know a lot of other travelers there. Played some drinking games of course, and we walked to the beach. It's the kind of place where you can just get a drink at a street stall and roam through the streets or roam to the beach and it was a fun night. Kim: So what made you quit your jobs? Obviously, we know why you quit your jobs and we speak to so many people that do it for a sense of adventure and just to really experience life. What were you doing Katie and Ben you were an engineer, so what you give it all up? Katie: So I was working in graphic design and advertising. And we both actually really liked our jobs and we had a comfortable life and we had a great apartment, great family and friends but we just kind of realized that we could see ourselves in that same spot in 40, 50 years and we decided that we wanted just a little bit of a chance to experience something different. Honestly, what was meant to be 3 months in South America ended up kind of snowballing and turning into something that has continued for the past 5 years. It was kind of an accidental quitting our jobs and staying that way but yeah. Phil: It seems to me that Americans have not really done that in the past. They've all been very career-oriented and I just get the feeling that more and more Americans are deciding to chuck it in for a while and go traveling. Ben: Yeah it's tough when you're working at a company and you only have two weeks vacation for the whole entire year and that's kind of what we saw and we wanted to have a little bit more time to travel and so. I guess a lot of Americans want to have more freedom and kind of get out of that type of... Katie: The everyday routine but I think just the ability now to work online and be able to make money remotely it will make it so much easier for people to pick up and quit their jobs and travel if that's what they want. Ben: Or create a new job online. Phil: Yeah, well a graphic designer Katie, that's easy for you to do remotely but it's probably not that easy to build roads or something Ben. Kim: I don't think he wants to. Phil: No Ben: Yeah it's been a little bit of a learning curve for me just to pick up more website development and design. Katie has taught me a lot too. I'm making it work, it's pretty good. Phil: We've been talking that lifestyle up but what's the worse thing about it? I mean, do you get homesick. Kim: Good question Phil: Yeah Katie: There's a lot of worse things actually. Yes, we do get homesick. We have missed out on a lot of events back home, a lot of weddings or births or just everyday kind of things that we feel like we're missing out on. But at the end of the day, it's- there's nothing that can really replace the freedom that we've been able to create. Kim: Well the world is a big backyard. Your blog we'll share in show notes with some great stories particularly or not particularly about Ecuador 'cause all the stories are great... Phil: All the stories are great. Kim: But there are things there about getting down and dirty on the farm. Also, border crossings from Ecuador to Peru which Katie's not a big fan of, Katie? Katie: Yes, we had a not so fun border experience and to be honest I think land crossings, like when you're crossing through a bus are never really fun experience. Ben: Especially when it's in the middle of the night Katie: Yes and especially when the bus is not the most comfortable. But it's all a part of the journey. Kim: Speaking of journey’s I have touched base with Ben and Kate who are currently living in Bend, Oregon, and converted a campervan which they have been traveling around in. Kate said they have listened to quite a bit of the WN podcast during the build because it was fun to hear about travel stories while being stuck in the USA.  Bye </div> </div> </div>Getty Images/Jay Dickman 0521438982 Getty Images Off Floreana Island a Galapagos sea turtle

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/southeast-asia/vietnam/the-world-nomads-podcast-stuck-in-southeast-asiaIn this episode, how being stranded in Vietnam forced this family to rethink the way they’d like to travel the world moving forward.2020-09-23T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/southeast-asia/vietnam/the-world-nomads-podcast-stuck-in-southeast-asiahttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19 </h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Before you buy a travel insurance policy, check your government travel warnings and health advice – there may be no travel insurance cover for locations with a government travel ban or health advice against travel. <h2>What’s in the episode</h2> 00:36 Vietnam’s COVID-19 response 01:54 Stumbling across the World Nomads Travel Podcast 04:36 Finding out about coronavirus in Da Nang 07:09 A farm stay in Vietnam 09:17 A change of plans 11:15 The end of the two-week vacation 12:09 Next episode <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “I think people can still travel. It's just going to be doing it a little bit differently, isn't it? And it's going to be thinking outside the box.” - Melissa <h2>Who is in the episode</h2> <a href="https://worldtravelambitions.com/">Melissa and her family</a> set off on a two-year trip in February this year but they didn’t get far. “Thanks, Covid-19! Instead of jet setting speedily across Asia, into Istanbul and over to Europe to walk the Camino de Santiago, we have enjoyed the period of COVID hanging out in the beautiful country of Vietnam.” You can follow Melissa and her family adventures on Instagram @worldtravelambitions. <figure><img src=" https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/melissa_shownotes.jpg" alt="woman near a lake" /> <figcaption> Melissa and her family are happy to have the extra time to explore Vietnam</figcaption></figure> <h2>Resources & links</h2> <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/southeast-asia/vietnam/latest-vietnam-travel-warnings-alerts">Vietnam travel alerts and safety.</a> Whether it’s a call from your mom or the call of the wild, we’ll help you prepare for your trip and <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/usa/travel-insurance/near-is-the-new-far">help you stay safe while traveling</a>. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">Travel safety alerts.</a> You can get in touch with us by emailing <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a>. <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: Thanks for tuning in from wherever you get your favorite podcasts, it’s Kim and Phil with you sharing the story in this episode of a family who launched into a planned trip in February one month before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and have been in Vietnam since. Phil: Vietnam acted very early when the virus hit in fact as early as January thinking they were preparing for a strain of acute pneumonia originating from Wuhan, which we now know was coronavirus. Kim: Despite a population of 97 million at the time of recording in late September 2020 they had just over one thousand cases and 35 deaths. The highest number of cases was in Da Nang, Vietnam’s fifth-largest city by population. Phil: And despite their success in containing the virus the country is not allowing entry or issuing visas to foreign nationals except for those traveling for official or diplomatic purposes, and they must undergo medical checks and 14-day quarantine at their own expense but for those whose visit is less than 14 days they don’t have to quarantine, but they must comply with Vietnam's COVID regulations. Kim: Melissa and her family kicked off what was going to be a two-year family vacation and in her research stumbled across the World Nomads Travel Podcast. Melissa: Well, I was just online looking for just more inspiration and having a look at what was out there. And as well, just feeling like at the moment it's hard to travel, as you know, and trying to figure out how to get anywhere or where you can go and things like that. So, I've been looking on heaps of sites of what countries are open and that sort of thing. And I thought, why don't I have a look and see if there's someone just updating and what's going on. So, you came up in a search and it was like, okay, awesome. There's something that I can tune into and listen to from time to time. So, it's actually really cool, and some of the stuff that you guys have got on there, I actually really enjoyed the one that you did recently with the rooted storytelling. It was really cool. Kim: Yeah, on sustainable and ethical travel. Yeah, absolutely. Melissa: Yeah. Kim: You picked a terrible time to start a two-year world trip. February, you left Australia, in March everything fell apart, Melissa. Melissa: We didn't get far, no. The reason that we stayed was that I wrote this trip down on my dreams in 2010. At the time, I was a single mom. I was rebuilding my life after family violence, and so had just no hope really, but I wrote it down anyway. I was like, "I want to travel the world with my kids." So, we've been saving and planning for this for five years, and we arrived in Vietnam on the 6th of March. Phil: Oh, no. Kim: Well, you have to laugh. Melissa: You have to laugh. You have to laugh because I think in some ways it's the unluckiest thing, but in other ways, it's been the luckiest thing that's ever happened to us. So- Kim: Well, a good country to land in, too. Phil: Hang on, hang on. Why? Why has it been lucky? Melissa: Because I'm in Vietnam, and everyone in the rest of the world has been in and out of all these insane lockdowns, and we've cruised through. We have been so lucky. I'll tell you, it was really scary. So when we arrived, everything was fine. We did the trip out to the Củ Chi tunnels, we did the War Remnants Museum, everything was okay. We had arrived in Saigon, and that was the first time we'd been here and thinking, "Oh my gosh, this is madness." Then people are like, "Oh no, this is quiet." I was like, "I don't ever want to see this place busy." Melissa: We flew up to Da Nang on the 10th of March and that day I'm so glad we didn't check the news. But the lady at our homestay, she gave us the face masks and she said, "You must wear these at the airport." We're like, "Oh no, it's fine. Vietnam's fine, we're fine, it's good." She's like, "No, seriously, wear these." We hadn't read the news. It wasn't until we arrived in Da Nang and my three year old got a fever and we started having a freakout. Phil: Uh Oh. Melissa: We contacted one of my friends who happened to live in Da Nang, and she was like, "Um, haven't you heard? There's a massive outbreak, and this lady's being traipsing around Vietnam, spreading COVID everywhere." I went, "What the?" We were- Kim: That's why I was going to say you're lucky because Vietnam was very proactive. They had some comprehensive measures in place very, very quickly, and they've done very well, almost the poster country for COVID. Melissa: Exactly. Yeah, so it was freaky at the time because it was so new and it was so unexpected. Then we had this kid with a fever and when we told the reception at the hotel, they looked like they just wanted to die. But it worked out okay because we'd flown in from New Zealand, they couldn't trace any possibility of us being in contact with any non-cases. So he went to the hospital, they checked him out made sure it wasn't [inaudible 00:03:50] or anything like that, no COVID test at that point, and sent him home. We just were like, "Okay, we'll just hide from everybody and hope that we don't have it." Melissa: Then we moved over to Hội An on the 19th of March when everything was starting to really drastically escalate, and we made a call, we sort of said, "Well, okay, this country's looking like it's going to go shut down really quick, what town do we want to be in?" We basically could choose from Da Nang or Hội An. We chose Hội An, and we ended up in this beautiful villa, overlooking the rice fields with a swimming pool. We were there for a month. The only tricky thing in that time was we had to do COVID tests. Melissa: So, we had to do the whole blood test, throat test, up the nose. And, that was the entire family. That's got to be probably the hardest day of my mothering life, I think. Kim: Are you still a single mother? Melissa: No, no. Well, I got married, me and my husband got married in Cooke Islands in 2014. So yeah, since then we've been planning this trip. Phil: Can you do me a favor, because I'm not allowed to travel anywhere at the moment, but not quite clearly, the noise of Hội An is going on in the background. Can you just not say anything for a minute so I can just listen and pretend I'm there? Melissa: Well, now I'm actually not in Hội An anymore. Phil: Where are you now? Melissa: We're in the beautiful Phong Nha, it's a farm state. And so you sort of said, well, why is it lucky? Because we spent one month in Hội An, and then it was fire season where they burn the crops. And so we moved from Hội An to the beachfront of An Bang. And we spent a month there and these are things that we wouldn't have done. You know, originally we had on our plan, we were going to spend about five weeks in Asia because we had pre-booked our flight from Singapore to Istanbul. Melissa: We had planned to do, we're world schoolers. So we've got three kids, and my two are older. So they're 13 and 11. We were planning to [inaudible 00:05:53]. We were going to travel Turkey for a month, And then we were going to go over to Spain and walk the Camino. Instead, we spent April beachfront An Bang in the most beautiful villa, which we just would not have done at all. And then at the end of that, we felt like Vietnam was pretty much COVID free. We'd got on top of it here, as the country, it was doing so well. So we thought, right, we'll go traveling and we've traveled the whole Northern region of Vietnam. Melissa: We've been all the way out to Ban Gioc, which is actually on the border of Vietnam and China. We've done Cao Bằng, Ba Be Lake. We spent two weeks out in Sa Pa, and we came down to Ninh Bình. And, that's when this recent outbreak happened. So, that's why we're now in Phong Nha. Phil: How long do you have to stay where you are? Melissa: Oh gosh, that's the difficult thing. Because, we sold everything, right. We sold everything. Like I sold the cars, we sold everything we owned. Melissa: We didn't actually own a house. So we gave up our beautiful rental. So our home in Australia is not there. And, then we're New Zealand citizens, so we thought about going back potentially to New Zealand. So we're kind of thinking, we need to figure out how we can get longterm visas, looking at being in Vietnam and watching the world unfold and then sort of trying to switch off as much as we can but watching it unfold again, I kind of get the vibe that this thing's not going away in the short to midterm. And I feel like, we may be here for two or three years. So our strategy going forward is to work out where we can get long term visas, and plan to just travel for a year at a time in one country. And if that means we have to stay put on a beach somewhere, because my husband's desperately missing surfing. Melissa: We'll just try and find a place that can take us, that we can physically get to. So that's part of the biggest challenge right now. It's not even if we wanted to go home. Back in March, we got that call from our New Zealand embassy. They said you should go home. You should go home. And we looked around and there were a lot of people booking flights. Like a lot of people don't even realize there was a lot of people booking flights and they were getting canceled. They were going to turn up in the airport and they'd get canceled or even worse. They'd be one leg into their flight, and then the next leg gets canceled and they're stuck on the airport floors and things. And I just thought at the time there was so much panic and I was like, I don't want to subject my kids to crazy airports and flights where people are panic flying home, if we don't have to. I don't want them to be put into the more likely bracket of possibly picking up COVID en route home. So, we chose not to go then. Melissa: And then, when things started to sort of settling down and people were flying, we sort of just thought, well, can't drag out that long can it? Like that was my mindset. It was like, it's not going to drag on for more than two months. And then we've sort of got to now and it's sort of looking like we probably don't really want to go home. If we booked September, there's no guarantee of flight. That becomes tricky. So we've just changed our plan and thought well we'll figure out how we can do this safely and sensibly and not, we don't want to be gallivanting around, especially in areas where there is outbreaks. We'll just, we'll sit tight when these outbreaks, but we'd still like to see more of the world. So it's, going to be different. It really is. It's not, going to be viable to take a two-week vacation internationally for quite some time I think, for a lot of us, especially Down Under. Europe, they are doing okay at the moment. But being sensible, and looking at how we navigate for the next two years, it is more sensible to try and do these big, longer trips. And so for us, we want to see the world. So we're going to set a date. Phil: I think it's amazingly inspirational to think that you can still travel and some of those experiences despite it all as well. Melissa: Yeah, I think people can still travel. It's just going to be doing it a little bit differently, isn't it? And it's going to be thinking outside the box. Kim: I have been told if you don’t come out of COVID having changed something for the best, then you have missed an opportunity. Slow travel, a year in each country, love it well done Melissa. Phil: To get in touch and share how COVID has changed you email <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a> Kim: Next week with the world slowly moving again we revisit our episode on Ecuador with all the information you need to know to get into the country and be COVID safe. Bye   </div> </div> </div>Supplied 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/oceania/australia/new-south-wales-camping-during-covidCoronavirus restrictions couldn’t have come at a worse time for this van-life-loving couple. Here’s how they were able to safely explore the wilderness north of Sydney.2020-09-17T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/oceania/australia/new-south-wales-camping-during-covidhttps://www.worldnomads.comKim Napier is the producer of the <a href="/explore/podcasts">World Nomads Travel Podcast</a>. These camping experiences inspired her and her husband to embrace van-life full time – she now podcasts from the road. <ul> <li><a href="#campgrounds">Finding socially-distanced campgrounds in New South Wales</a></li> <li><a href="#safety">COVID-19 safety practices vary campground to campground</a></li> <li><a href="#personal">Taking personal steps to stay safe</a></li> </ul> My husband Andrew and I had picked up our newly kitted out, LDV G10, one-ton van just after bushfires had devastated Australia in early 2020. As a result of the devastation, tourism campaigns were underway to get holiday makers back to the affected regions and inject some much-needed money into their shattered economies. And we were keen to go. Andrew and I have always been campers, usually packing a tent and a couple of sleeping bags into the back of a car, so the van was next-level camping for us. The setup not only includes the kitchen, with two burners and a sink, but also a 12-volt battery, a socket for a fridge, and USBs to charge our devices. There’s also ample storage, and awnings on both sides for cover. And as a bonus, it’s insulated, so camping during winter is very comfortable. We also choose properties that allow campfires – the best way to keep warm in the great outdoors. Owning our van means constant movement, which guarantees adventure. Our idea was to use the van for extended weekends, exploring regional <a href="/explore/oceania/australia/top-places-to-go-for-an-adventure-in-new-south-wales">New South Wales</a>, with plans for longer trips down the track. However, right when we are ready to set out, the government requires us to stay home, as it worked hard to contain the coronavirus. When restrictions are lifted and some travel is allowed, we hit the road, mindful we would need to practice social distancing and good hygiene. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/covid-camping/van-life-setup.jpg" alt="A woman relaxes beside her well-appointed campervan at a campsite in Australia." /> <figcaption>Our setup. Photo credit: Kim Napier</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="campgrounds">Finding socially-distanced campgrounds in New South Wales</h2> Using an app called Youcamp, we find a large and gorgeous cattle property 25 minutes’ drive from Mudgee, about 3.5 hours northwest of Sydney. It won’t be hard to socially distance amid 1,100 acres of bush. This campsite has everything in place to ensure our health and safety during COVID-19. Guests have to check in one at a time, and there are multiple signs reminding us of our social distancing responsibility. Cleaning practices have been put in place in the bathrooms, and guests are encouraged to wipe all surfaces down before exiting the toilet. Although soap is provided, it was recommended when we booked that we bring our own soap and hand sanitiser. <h2 id="safety">COVID-19 safety practices vary campground to campground</h2> Our next trip is to a property in Martinsville, an hour and 40 minutes’ drive north of Sydney, inland from the regional city of Newcastle, and is a very different experience. At this property, we don’t see any signs about coronavirus, there is no hand sanitiser in the bathroom block, and the property’s horses definitely aren’t practicing social distancing. At 3am one morning, we are woken by three thoroughbred horses under our van’s awning, where they have knocked over our portable kitchen, broken a drawer, and taken a healthy bite out of it. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/covid-camping/van-life-field.jpg" alt="A campervan parked in a large, green field in New South Wales, Australia." /> <figcaption>Social distancing, van style: Bunyip Camping in Martinsville. Photo credit: Kim Napier</figcaption></figure> It’s time to move on, playing a game we call Left/Right. It’s simple – when you reach a junction in the road, someone calls left or right and that’s the direction we take. That’s how we discover Sofala, a former gold mining town established in 1851. We stop here, pull out our kitchen, and make egg and bacon rolls by the river, with the beautiful, isolated village as our backdrop before we hit the road again. On another weekend, we head to Upper Orara, a region inland from Coffs Harbour, about six hours north of Sydney, settled in a rainforest on the edge of the Bindarri National Park. And just like in Martinsville, news of COVID-19 doesn’t seem to have made it this far. The property host reaches out to shake Andrew’s hand, instead the elbow bump alternative we had become used to in Sydney. As this property didn’t have any bathroom facilities, we head into a bush with our spade, a roll of toilet paper, and a bottle of hand sanitizer when nature calls. We’ve also chosen a spot next to a huge lime tree, perfect for our nightly vodka and soda. Our most recent camping trip is to Wollombi, a historic village two hours north of Sydney, where we set up in the grounds of the old village pub. There are plenty of these in rural Australia, allowing campers to stay for free – they only request you don’t bring your own alcohol, but instead support the pub by buying from them. Here, we also order our meals from the pub kitchen. The pub takes coronavirus seriously, with a COVID marshal who makes sure everyone is seated and properly social distanced, and who wipes down tables and other surfaces the moment guests leave. Customers are limited inside the pub at any one time, where they order before dining outside. We feel our health and safety has been considered (plus there are strict regulations in place for hotels, and any breach could see them cop a hefty fine). <h2 id="personal">Taking personal steps to stay safe</h2> We are disappointed that not all of the campsites have COVID-related restrictions in place, but we take responsibility ourselves by making sure we travel with our own soap and sanitizer and socially distance from other campers. So, while currently we can’t make new friends while on the road, we are enjoying exploring our own backyard, discovering places we would never normally visit. Oh, and owning a van wouldn’t be complete without a hashtag. You can follow our getaways on Instagram @advanture2020.Kim Napier 0 Kim Napier A woman cooks over a stove near her campervan in New South Wales, Australia, with a campfire in the foreground.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/north-america/mexico/the-world-nomads-podcast-covid19In this episode we revisit Mexico, currently one of the most popular travel destinations with some of the easiest COVID-19 entry requirements in the world.2020-09-16T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/north-america/mexico/the-world-nomads-podcast-covid19https://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19 </h2> With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. <h2>What’s in the episode</h2> 00:46 Why Mexico is so popular? 03:00 Is it safe? 07:21 Mexico City has changed thanks to investment 10:30 Cassandra’s Mexican hitch-hiking story 13:50 A case of jungle diarrhea 18:13 Tales of a Backpacker 24:23 Exploring the water 30:15 Mexican cuisine 36:36 Next episode, Vietnam <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “I love my city; I love Mexico City. Then my second favorite of Mexico is Chiapas which is in the South, South East Mexico. They have a beautiful, beautiful, landscape. It's green, a lot of community, and local community people. They have beautiful, beautiful, green zones and it's a mix between jungle and a lot of art and a lot of traditions.” – Ruben “Playa Del Carmen it's one of the best places in the world. You see turtles, you see large fish, you see algae, you see... I saw a gigantic eel, that apparently just lives in this shipwreck and I was so surprised to find him and was told after the dive that he's just always there, every single day, waiting for divers to come down and say hi.” – Cassandra “I was actually really amazed by how many museums there are in Mexico City, apparently, there's only Paris that has more museums.” – Claire “That's the fun thing, right? About kayaking? Is that not only do you get to ride in your backpack but let's also say, so you don't have to carry anything, it's all in your boat. But then you get to use it to go explore these fun little nooks and cranny's that are otherwise pretty difficult to get to.” - Tim “You can travel around Mexico and you can have a similar dish in each place, but it will never taste the same and it will be... for me, when I've been here it's just been a series of revelations that you can have every day, and not get bored of them and still be surprised and delighted by some of the ways they present it.” - Kendall <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/north-america/mexico/mexico-travel-alerts-warnings">Mexico travel alerts and warnings</a>. We revisit Mexico to see what it's like to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. <h2>Who is in the episode</h2> Ruben Mora from <a href="http://mundojoven.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuqiF0bfG4AIVF66WCh39TgOgEAAYASAAEgJQ6PD_BwE">Mundo Joven</a>, an educational travel agency aimed at all types of travelers, especially first-timers, who are guided step by step in their process to go abroad to study. Cassandra Brooklyn runs <a href="https://www.escapingny.com/">EscapingNY</a> offering group tours for people who don’t do group tours and helps solo travelers plan their own adventures. <a href="https://www.escapingny.com/home/how-to-not-get-sick-in-mexico">Read more</a> about Cassandra's dose of diarrhea in Mexico. Claire Sturzaker runs a blog <a href="https://talesofabackpacker.com/">Tales of a Backpacker</a> and has published her own <a href="https://talesofabackpacker.com/backpacking-mexico-backpackers-guide-to-mexico-on-a-budget/">backpacking guide</a> to Mexico. She has a bunch of other articles about Mexico & Mexico City too, including <a href="https://talesofabackpacker.com/ten-things-to-do-mexico-city/">the best things to</a> do and the Mexican guide to <a href="https://talesofabackpacker.com/lucha-libre-in-mexico-city-mexican-wrestling/">Lucha Libre</a>. Tim Neville is a correspondent at Outside and frequent contributor to The New York Times, Tim has scaled glaciers, scuba dived, and cycled hundreds of miles to report his stories. His work has been reproduced in The Best American Sports Writing, Best American Travel Writing, and Best Food Writing. Read his article on <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/north-america/mexico/kayaking-in-loreto-bay">Kayaking in Baja’s Loreto Bay</a>. Kendall Hill is an Australian journalist specializing in travel, food, and people. A former travel editor at the Sydney Morning Herald, he is also the author of the best-selling recipe book Coast and a contributor to Gourmet Pilgrim’s Spain and Mexico volumes. Follow him on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/misterkendallhill/?hl=en">@misterkendallhill</a> and read his article on Mexican food <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/north-america/mexico/how-to-eat-mexico">here</a>. <h2>Resources & links</h2> Is Mexico Safe? <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/north-america/mexico/is-mexico-safe">11 Travel Safety Tips</a>. Download our Mexico guide<a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/guides/mexico-nomads-guide"> here</a>. It’s designed to feel like a magazine, with big, bold images and full-page spreads. Grab a cup of tea, open it up, and read it cover to cover. Listen to our episode with <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/north-america/mexico/amazing-nomads-tenny-and-claire">Claire and Tenny</a>, who walked the entire length of the US/Mexico border. Whether it’s a call from your mom or the call of the wild, we’ll help you prepare for your trip and <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/usa/travel-insurance/near-is-the-new-far">help you stay safe while traveling</a>. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">Travel safety alerts.</a> You can get in touch with us by emailing <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a> or <a href="mailto:kim@worldnomads.com">kim.napier@worldnomads.com</a>.  <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your twitter followers and head over to Facebook and join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">World Nomads Travel Podcast group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts </a>and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: In this episode, we revisit Mexico, currently one of the most popular travel destinations with some of the easiest COVID-19 entry requirements in the world. Insert show intro Kim: With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. But as we reengage with the world, you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling. Phil: At the time of recording in mid-September 2020 Mexico has become one of the most popular travel destinations with reportedly some of the easiest COVID-19 entry requirements in the world. Kim: Before we get into sharing this destination with you some things you need to know but PLEASE make sure you do your own research. Mexico does NOT require a negative COVID-19 PCR or rapid test for entry. You don’t need to quarantine but obviously you do need to follow COVID health requirements. Phil: Which include wearing masks in some locations and obviously washing hand and social distancing. We will have a link to an article in show notes that spells out those requirements further. Kim: Let’s get into it and who better to give us an idea just how safe Mexico is a local (not COVID safe but generally as we do hear a lot of stories) and you caught up with Ruben from Mundo Joven, at a conference in Scotland a couple of years ago Phil: Yep, born and raised in Mexico so who better to give us an insight into how safe it is. Ruben: I've been traveling around the world. I've been in this industry for 15 years, and I've been, always, next to this story about listening all the time when... "where are you from?". Mexico and immediately it's [inaudible] "how do you survive?". I don't know, people immediately is feeling that I'm landing in Damascus, probably, every time that I get home. But it's not like that. Of course, there is a problem, of course, I would be lying to you if I don't consider that we have a problem. We have a big drug problem, probably since... ever. Bigger and bigger in the last 20 years, or it was more obvious in the last 20 years. It's really simple to understand. We have a big neighbor, with a big demand, and we're a big producer. So in order to exist, any conflict has to... you need to have two parts. Otherwise, couldn't be just one. I think Mexico's first big problem is we have a terrible PR, terrible PR condition, in terms of the news. You can see the worst president ever in history that we've had, is right now. Thank god he's gone this administration, considering so many facts. Considering corruption, things that we've been involved in. Terrible, terrible. Phil Sylvester: It's pretty simple to say that there are lots of places which are fine, but there are some places which are not. Ruben: Correct. Phil Sylvester: So it's very localized, in a way. So if I was to go to Mexico, how would I find out the information about what are the safe places to go and the not safe places to avoid? Ruben: Border is always the hot spot, not in the right way. Because geographically positioned next to the U.S. border is where, probably, you're going to get the biggest conflicts. Natural conditions of these people trying to get in all this stuff, into the country. And then, about the cities or about the destinations, the most demanded destination which is Mexico City, Cancun, or all the other beach destinations. You're going to have this... how do I say? Possible problems because all the interactions there are involved around. There are always people looking for [inaudible] and there are always people having to suffer. So if you're looking after this, and you are looking after that kind of action... Phil Sylvester: You will get into trouble. Ruben: You will get into trouble. But that is something that is going to happen in Mexico or anywhere else. Phil Sylvester: Tell me about your favorite parts of Mexico, which part of your country do you love the most? Ruben: I love my city, I love Mexico City. Then my second favorite of Mexico is Chiapas which is in the South, South East Mexico. They have a beautiful, beautiful, landscape. It's green, a lot of community, and local community people. They have beautiful, beautiful, green zones and it's a mix between jungle and a lot of art and a lot of traditions. All the zones around, for me, is one of the most beautiful parts of Mexico, close to Yucatan. Yucatan, as well for me, is one of my favorite places and it's my Grandma's home town. Which, obviously, put it in the hot part of the list. Phil Sylvester: Indeed. Well look, Mexico City has changed a lot. The medium-term it was once not a very nice place to go. So what's changed there? How did it become such a great destination? How did it become a hot spot? Ruben: It's been a lot of investment in the city, in the last 10 years, I would say. Much more efficient communication and PR, a lot of big brands. Hotels and big luxury brands around the city. And developing. You feel comfortable when you're next to the city or walking around the city. And there are so many things to do, and so many things to see around. Phil Sylvester: The last question, I want you to tell me a secret spot in Mexico City. If I was to visit there, where would you send me that's not the usual? Ruben: My secret spot in Mexico... San Angel. For me, San Angel is one of the most non-well and amazing neighborhoods that perfectly shows you how it used to be, the real Mexico City. So get lost in San Angel, take a look at the houses, and you're going to know exactly how is Mexico, and how is Mexico City. Phil Sylvester: Mundo Joven is an educational travel agency aimed at all types of travelers, especially first-timers, who are guided step by step in the process to go abroad to study. All the links in the show notes. Kim Napier: Plus our very own safety guide, too, for Mexico, we'll put that there as well. Now Cassandra runs Escaping NY group tours, I really like this, because when you hear the term group tours... [crosstalk] No doubt, please. Because she does group tours for people who don't do group tours. And she helps solo travelers plan their own adventures and Cassandra has spent a lot of time in Mexico. Cassandra: So I started in Baja, California, and I did a whale watching road trip all along that peninsula, camping, and stopping at different locations to see whales. I then completed my scuba diving certification, in Baja California, then I went to Playa Del Carmen about two years later and did my advanced scuba diving certification, there. Kim Napier: So what's scuba diving like in that area? Cassandra: Oh, it's amazing, it's amazing. I'll say in Playa Del Carmen it's one of the best places in the world. You see turtles, you see large fish, you see algae, you see... I saw a gigantic eel, that apparently just lives in this shipwreck and I was so surprised to find him and was told after the dive that he's just always there, every single day, waiting for divers to come down and say hi. Kim Napier: When you're in Baja California, you then hitchhiked with a couch surfing friend? Cassandra: I did. So I met her actually the previous year in Tijuana, she lives in Tijuana. And she wrote to me and she said: "I go to see the whales every winter, would you like to go with me?". So I did, I flew back to San Diego and then I crossed the border into Tijuana and we made a plan to go down the border. We actually found another couch surfer to go with us and he drove for the first couple of days, which was really nice because when she went to pick up her tent we realized that there were no poles in the tent. So we would have been in for a terrible surprise when we went to go set up the tent at night. When he had to go back up to Tijuana, we hitchhiked! We hitchhiked the whole way down the peninsula with a lot of Canadian retired couples who, I would learn, vacation in Baja California, Mexico, every winter. And there's these massive RV camps and lots all along the peninsula so they would drive us to wherever they were going, we would spend the night, and then we would find someone to take us the next stretch. Kim Napier: So jumping in with Mom and Dad or Grandma and Grandpa, seems a lot safer than what I was envisioning. Cassandra: It was, it was very safe. We did have other offers and we just used our best judgment as two single women. There were offers from... we had an offer from a truck with three men in the front and we decided they might be very nice, but we didn't think that was the best option for us, so we let that pass. At one point we had a Mexican couple, a male and a female probably in their 30's, that was driving on a short vacation they took and so they gave us a ride to one of the cities, as well. We ended up staying at their hotel that night, just because we got in too late to try to find any accommodations. Kim Napier: We're going to chat about safety in Mexico later in the podcast but generally, did you feel safe? Cassandra: Yes, 100 percent. I've been in Mexico at least a dozen times, I've traveled all the country and I've always felt extremely, extremely, safe there. I mean there are areas I won't go to, like around the border, and there are pockets of violence and that violence is real. But, it's also in very specific places for the most part, so it can be avoided. Kim Napier: Now you mentioned last these surprises... jungle diarrhea. Cassandra: Oh, wow. Kim Napier: Why I'm so interested in this is that Phil and I are pretty sure we're going to have to do an episode on, you know, pooping around the world. It's kind of one of those things that happen to everyone but no one talks about it. Cassandra: Oh, I talk about it. I send out a monthly adventure newsletter that talks about my personal adventures, and upcoming group trips that I lead, and travel tips, and everything. One of them that I sent out was jungle diarrhea in Mexico and one of my mentors was like "You can't use that as the title". I was like "Oh yes I can", people want to know and if they don't, they shouldn't subscribe to my new slater because I want to keep it real and let them know what's going on. It's a part of travel, it's a part of travel. Unless you're just going to stay in your house for the rest of your life. I've gotten sick at restaurants in New York City and across the country. So this particularly awful bout of the jungle diarrhea happened when I was going on a road trip with a friend of mine, Pedro who's a taxi driver in Mexico City, and we drive his taxi all over the country on road trips. We were going through San Luis Potosi and we stopped in a small town because they were tired, and we went to a little street fare and the food was good. Pedro had me sample his drink, it was sweetened tamarin water, I was like "Man, this is good!". I should get my own, and I did. I was like this is really good, I should get another! Then I had another. And the next morning, I woke up, just sweating. I'm like "Isn't it hot in here?" And he was like "No, it's not!". I sat up and I was dizzy and it was really bad but, we had hiked to do that afternoon so we went hiking and we went hiking the next day, through these ancient ruins in the middle of the jungle and it was, I think in the '80s or '90s that day. It felt to me just boiling, it felt like my blood was boiling hiking through these mountains. No bathrooms in sight. At night, we were camping, and we found this really cool campground with teepees, so we had this nice teepee but I had to climb out of it and run to the bathroom, which seemed like it was a kilometer away. I was grateful for it. Kim Napier: So any accidents, or did you make it to the loo every time? Cassandra: I did make it every time. I'm surprised because the next campsite we went to I had to cross a river I had to hop over rocks to get to the other side of the campsite to get to the bathroom. But I was so grateful that there were lights and there was toilet paper. A couple of days later, I was able to do this waterfall jumping tour in San Luis Potosi Mexico, with no accidents, thank goodness. That would have been interesting for some underwater GoPro filming. That would have been the video to go viral, I know every travel vlogger and every business person wants some viral video. That would be the viral video that I would be subjected to. Kim Napier: So tell us about this friend in Mexico that is a taxi driver, and you'd drive the taxi around the country. Cassandra: I also met him on couch surfing! I met him ten years ago, and... I've been talking about couch surfing for years, and I've gotten so many more questions recently about it. I recently hosted a guy from Iraq, and I want to do some more writing about that. I met him in Mexico City and he had responded to a dancing group, I dance salsa. So he wrote me in that group and said: "Hey, I can't host you at my house but I'm a driver if you need I can pick you up from the airport and take you to wherever you're going to be staying". I said, "Oh, that works out great". So we ended up hanging out, I went down there like two years later and we met up again and we decided to take a day trip to Puebla, which is like two hours from Mexico City. It was just going to be a quick day trip, go there come back. And on the way, he says "Hey, what do you think about spending the night in Puebla, and then driving another six hours to Oaxaca in the morning?". I thought that sounds like fun, it also sounds like something we should have planned for before we left Mexico City because we don't have our clothing, our toothbrush, or anything. But it sounds like fun! When we got to Puebla we went to the internet café and we posted on there and we actually found some hosts that were going to take a bus to Oaxaca the next day. So they let us stay with them, they had a spare bedroom, and we all drove in his taxi to Oaxaca, had a great time, and then we had a bunch of adventures since then in his taxi. And now he's the taxi driver on my group tours to Mexico. He has a million stories to tell on his own. Kim Napier: Now, Cassandra's laugh alone would be enough for me to join the traveling. She's great fun, links in show notes. To avoid jungle diarrhea, she suggests making sure the water is filtered, which makes sense but it's not often that easy. Phil Sylvester: Easy to do in small towns, yeah. Kim Napier:  Claire Sturzaker has a blog...of a Backpacker, she also has her very own backpacking guide to Mexico, which we will share in show notes. She's a big fan of the places a destination having spent months there. Claire Sturzake: Oh, I loved it, I loved it. I didn't really have many expectations of Mexico City, to be honest. I'd heard all the stories that it was big, it's dangerous, it's dirty and polluted. But actually that wasn't my experience at all. I was in a really nice area of the city, a place called Roma. Leafy avenues, there are loads of cool bars and restaurants. I had a whale of a time, I really didn't want to leave actually. I'd originally only planned to be there for like, a month, and I just liked it so much I decided to stay as long as I could. Kim Napier: So give me four reasons you decided to stay for four months? Claire Sturzake: The food. Mexico's food is ridiculously good. The street food, actually, is amazing. You can buy, sort of, three tacos for a dollar and it's really, really good. The people, I actually found the people really friendly, kind, and open. Again, sort of not really what I'd expected from Mexico given all the stories I'd heard. The culture. I was actually really amazed by how many museums there are in Mexico City, apparently, there's only Paris that has more museums than Mexico City. So there's so much to learn in Mexico, there's an anthropology museum that's absolutely incredible. It's huge, and it has exhibition halls of every pre-Columbia civilization in Mexico. They have this... they call it the Aztec sunstone, this huge massive stone that's like three and a half meters across and apparently it weighs over 20 tons. It's got amazing carvings on it, they don't really know what it was used for but they think it might have been a calendar or for astrological purposes. That was just incredible for me to see that and considering how long it'd been there for, and that they've actually designed this thing. I was just blown away by it. That's three things... what else, four things. Being somewhere that was just... it was just fun! There's a square in Mexico City called Plaza Garibaldi and you can go there and there are mariachi bands playing everywhere, they can serenade you. There's an area called Xochimilco which is where you can go on a boat, like a really colorful boat, around all these canals. If you go on a weekend, or on a holiday, it's just a massive party. All these boats are filled with people drinking all their beers and singing, and there are mariachi boats that come alongside and serenade you. There are little boats that come past the house that are selling tacos and a little corn on the cob. I just loved it, everything about it really, I just really really enjoyed it. Because my expectations were pretty much zero, it just totally blew me away. Kim Napier: Perfect, but can you expand on what you do? Because it isn't just Mexico. Claire Sturzake: Yeah, no, it's not just Mexico. I decided... it was about three years ago now, I was working in Spain. I couldn't take an office job anymore so I decided to quit my job and go traveling. I went around South America for about ten months that I was backpacking around South America. I loved it, and when I came back after that, it was only supposed to be a sort of once in a lifetime trip, and when I came back the thought of me working in an office then was just awful. I decided to work a lot harder on the blog. So tales of a backpacker it's solo female travel, I travel all around by myself. Budget travel, but still spending money on unique experiences. Because I think if you're going to travel, and there's something incredible that you can't do anywhere else in the world, that's worth spending a little money on if you can. I just want to inspire people to take the plunge and do it. When I created my job, there are so many people that said to me "I wish I could do what you're doing". Obviously, if you've got a family and mortgage and stuff it's a lot harder. I think life is short, you should just take the plunge, and if you can then just do it. Kim Napier: Which is great, but the big question though, Claire, is you must have had some money in your pocket before you headed off? Claire Sturzake: The first trip that I went on, this ten-month adventure to South America, I actually had some inheritance from my grandparents and they passed away. Before I went I was working two jobs, and saving up everything I could for that. When I was out there I was volunteering at hostels and stuff like that, and staying in hostels. I'm not spending very much money. Kim Napier: And that is good to hear considering Claire's mission, Phil, is to share with you the very best of a destination without breaking the bank. Phil Sylvester: Good. Okay, Tim Neville is a travel writer and we featured him in previous podcasts, he's a great bloke to have a chat with. He went kayaking in Baja's Loreto Bay. Jacques Cousteau called Mexico's Sea of Cortez the world's aquarium. Tim Neville: Yeah, when I found that he said that I thought "Man that is just absolutely perfect". It was my first trip to that part of Mexico and I am just dying to go back. I just can't describe what a wonderful feeling it was to go down there, especially when the weather up here in Oregon is not so great. To go down there and have just wonderful temperatures and so on. When we first arrived, of course, the weather wasn't so great, but it's Mexico! It's always going to be better than where you are, at least generally speaking I would say. To jump into a place with just crystal clear water, just spectacular scenery, it's very desert very arid. Then this cool refreshing waters in the contrast are just wonderful. You pack in all this wildlife, and you think "Wow, there's no place else I'd rather be right now". Kim Napier: Now you saw a marlin, I can't imagine what that would be like to see marlin swimming when you're not actually fishing for one if that makes sense? Tim Neville: Right, right, exactly. And that's the first one I had seen not mounted on a wall in a seafood restaurant. I couldn't believe, I'm just paddling along and look down and it's kind of a disturbing feeling when you... it's almost like your body can sense there's something there before you really realize something's there. Something just looked a little different down underneath the boat and all of a sudden I realize it was moving, and then I realized oh my gosh, this is a giant fish. I really couldn't' tell what it was, even though it was probably four feet below me, something like that until it turned. And when it turned, the sunlight hit its sides and it just lit up like an alien space ship or something, just blew electric light and poof, it was gone. Yeah, that was definitely a highlight for me. There are so many turtles, and birds and things like that you begin to get a little used to it let's say? So to have something like a marlin go by, which is still the only one I've ever seen, pretty special something I won't forget that's for sure. Kim Napier: Does it live up to Jacques Cousteau's theory? That it's the world's aquarium? Tim Neville: Well I'm not a marine biologist but just an average guy that likes to go down there and go kayaking, it is certainly one of the more spectacular places you can go. You see tons, and tons, of wildlife. There are great places to go snorkeling, we would stop off into these little coves. That's the fun thing, right? About kayaking? Is that not only do you get to ride in your backpack but let's also say, so you don't have to carry anything, it's all in your boat. But then you get to use it to go explore these fun little nooks and cranny's that are otherwise pretty difficult to get to. We can pull into these little coves, beach the kayaks and then swap out for snorkel gear and go play around with the fish for a little while. Kim Napier: You described that it goes kind of from this desert feels into this beautiful crystal clear water, but you also in the story that you wrote talking about some charming little seaside towns. How does it all connect? Tim Neville: It's definitely a mix of the two... there are several places you can start but they're in the [inaudible]. It's just a wonderful little town, just that whole portion of Mexico. I think Mexico is so big and diverse, but that particular area of Mexico, the Baja peninsula, just has this unbelievably chill vibe to it. It's like we've got this great weather, we've got these great beaches, and all these animals, awesome food. Why worry? So everybody just seems naturally happy and relaxed, so you can go hang out in these sidewalk cafes, sidewalk restaurants. You can have fish tacos, or margaritas, whatever it is that you want. Just really, really shed some of the daily stress that you have in your normal life. At the same time, it's culturally fascinating and historically so rich. You've got to remember that these areas have settled long before, by Europeans obviously that's what I'm talking about, before anything where I've lived. You have these old missions, you know these towns are old, you have just this cool, very very colorful culture. It permeates everything. So to have both this wonderful urban vibe and this wonderful natural vibe, you put those two together and man, it's paradise. It's right there on our doorstep, it's so wonderful, fascinating culturally. The food... you need no excuse to go, you know? It's right there. I plan to spend a lot more time down there, for sure. Kim Napier: Well Phil it's not fair to say we've left the best until last, but we cannot have an episode about Mexico and not explore the food. Phil Sylvester: Absolutely. I think Mexican food sometimes has a bad reputation. I've heard it described as pre masticated food, but I think that's a western version and I'm aware that there is an entirely different Mexican cuisine. Kim Napier: We're about to find that out. Who better to do that with than Kendell Hill? He's an Australian journalist, he specializes in travel food and people features, but he's also the author of the best selling recipe book Coast and he contributes to Gourmet Pilgrim's Spain and Mexico volumes. So I'm guessing, Kendell, you know what you're talking about when it comes to Mexican cuisine? Kendall Hill: Kim I wouldn't ever profess to be an expert in Mexican cuisine because it may take a couple of lifetimes, I think, to get across everything that's involved there. But I've eaten quite a bit and traveled around quite a bit for the Gourmet Pilgrim book as you've said. I know something about it, yeah. Kim Napier: Phil seemed to sum it up as pre masticated food. Phil Sylvester: Well that sort of refried beans tex mex stuff that you get in cheap chain outlets, that sort of stuff I'm talking about. It's not proper Mexican food, is it? Kendall Hill: No, it's not. And talking from an Australian perspective, we don't get great Mexican food, we think it's just sort of a hot mess of things. But in Mexico itself, it's so diverse. Mexican cuisine is actually an amalgam of all sorts of different influences, not like when the Spanish invaded they brought pork and, you know, the sort of common mates that we're aware of that Mexico didn't have beforehand. Then you have [inaudible] terrain and [inaudible]. There's a sort of treasury of ancestral customs that informed the way Mexican cuisine is prepared and the way it's developed, but also they have the most incredible ingredients in Mexico. Avocado comes from there, chocolate comes from there, chili's, beans, tomatoes, pumpkin. All these incredible ingredients that we couldn't imagine living without. Tomato, for example. Those are all Mexican, so for anyone who thinks of Mexican cuisine, it adds sort of a lack of understanding of how much those United States and Mexico have brought to the world in terms of our food trade. Phil Sylvester: I think you just named all of my favorite foods, then. Kim Napier: Oh, yeah, yum. Kendall Hill: Any country that gives you chocolate has got to be... there's some debate that it might have come from further south in Latin America, but certainty the Mayans were one of the first ones that we're able to turn those things into something delicious to drink. Kim Napier: Okay, now I'm going to impress you here, both of you probably more so Kendell. When I cook a chili con Carne, I put chocolate in it. Kendall Hill: Ah! Interesting. You know mole, which is the staple sauce of high Mexican cuisine I'd say, because it takes a long time to prepare, 24 hours or more, and often has more than 30 ingredients. That often has chocolate in it, so you're on the right track in putting a bit of chocolate in, a bit of... you'd want the sun-dried chili's, as well, that gives it more of the smoky flavor, too. Kim Napier: Okay, now I do use the fresh so I'll take on board that advice. Phil Sylvester: Do you spend 24 hours preparing it, Kim? Kim Napier: It's twelve hours, slow-cooked. Phil Sylvester: Twelve hours? Okay, okay. Kim Napier: Twelve hours, slow-cooked. I put the time in. Speaking of avocados, I can't imagine what a guacamole dip in Mexico would taste like compared to what we whip up ourselves in our kitchen, based on the recipes that we're given. Or even in some of the restaurants. Is there a difference? Kendall Hill: I think there is, in the same way, that there's a difference in a lot of countries with their native cuisines when you go there and eat them. It's got a lot to do with the freshness, and guacamole is never quite prepared and mixed up the way it's made fresh. It's [inaudible] of the onion, and tomato, and the lime juice, and the avocado all together. They do, I mean avocado comes from there, but one of the states say they're the best avocados in the world so. It's that quality of ingredients that all hails from this place, I think that does make a difference. The freshness and the fact that those ingredients are endemic to the place, they probably turn out better there than they do anywhere else. That you'll see across all sorts of dishes in Mexico, it may seem very simple... Phil, you mentioned earlier about beans and cheese and what have you, but there are millions of different ways of preparing things. So many different types of cheese that they make in Mexico that there are just too many of the many ingredients they have. You can travel around Mexico and you can have a similar dish in each place, but it will never taste the same and it will be... for me, when I've been here it's just been a series of revelations that you can have every day, and not get bored of them and still be surprised and delighted by some of the ways they present it. I mean, beans Mexican style, is presented [inaudible] it's equivalent of rice in some Asian cultures because it's their staple [inaudible] I guess. Kim Napier: Well your article covers all bases that you've written for us, we'll share that in show notes. But Kendell, is it all washed down with a little shot of tequila? Kendall Hill: If that was your thing. When I was in the coast looking at tequila production, it was early morning and I had to stand there and do, not shots of tequila, but taste the stuff. It's not really my thing, I think I'd probably go for a beer, and probably a Michelada which is beer sort of served tequila style with salt around the rim, a bit of lime juice, but they put some Worcestershire and Tabasco. Kim Napier: Chili? Kendall Hill: Yeah, a bit of Tabasco. So it's a mix of Worcestershire, Tabasco, and something they call Maggi sauce which is kind of close to soy. And then you put the beer on top of that, top it with some ice especially on a hot summer day. It's so refreshing, it's sort of a little bit blood Mary ish, but not quite. It's really great. Kim Napier: I'll go that and I'll have two tequila shots and a margarita, thanks! All the food you can fit on the table. Kendell, thanks so much for chatting. Phil: And that’s Mexico, just one of the destinations in the world pushing through the pandemic and allowing travelers. Kim: Vietnam has done a pretty good job managing COVID-19 and next week, we meet a woman who found herself stuck there with her family and it’s changed the way she views travel moving forward. Bye </div> </div> </div>Colorful alley in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: Getty Images/ © Marco Bottigelli 1 1198240687 San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato State, Mexico

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/north-america/united-states/the-world-nomads-podcast-rv-travel-during-covid-19In this episode, how Google and the National Park Service helped this couple create an updated itinerary after COVID-19 destroyed their European plans.2020-09-09T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/north-america/united-states/the-world-nomads-podcast-rv-travel-during-covid-19https://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19 </h2> The World Nomads Travel Podcast has suspended its regular destination episodes, and in their place, sharing the thoughts of travelers who are shaping the future of the industry post COVID 19. We tap into their vast bank of knowledge to discover what can be learned from the past as we plan a new way of traveling moving forward. <h2>What’s in the episode</h2> 00:35 Restrictions being lifted or relaxed 01:30 Plans change 02:19 Let’s get to know Rebecca 05:12 When you can’t get to Europe 09:38 What America looks like on the road 10:58 Traveling to Mexico 12:40 Vacations in fall 13:29 How’s Marcos coping? 14:50 Next episode <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “We stayed at the Lake McDonald Lodge; they wouldn't allow anyone in their famous lobby unless you had a reservation. Bedrooms were not cleaned in between your days there, which was fine with us. And then it was grab and go. So, no bar, no sitting by the large fireplace…” - Rebecca <h2>Who is in the episode</h2> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.merrell.351">Rebecca Merrell</a> and her boyfriend Marcos were supposed to go to Eastern Europe this summer for the Euro Cup Soccer Tournament in Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia, but COVID-19 forced a change of plans. Instead, they flew to Boise from San Diego to begin a road trip in Stanley, Idaho in the National Forest of the Sawtooth Range. <figure><img src=" https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/Lake_McDonald_Rebecca.jpg" alt="woman near a lake" /> <figcaption> Exploring the US by road. Rebecca at Lake McDonald.</figcaption></figure> Follow Rebecca on Instagram @rebeccasmerrell <h2>Resources & links</h2> Read Rebecca’s article <a href="https://www.manopause.com/travel/america-the-beautiful-adventure-travel-in-the-time-of-covid-19-part-i-24134/">America The Beautiful: Adventure Travel in The Time Of COVID-19, Part I.</a> <a href="https://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm">Find a park by state in the US</a>. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/top-tips-to-stay-safe-while-driving-in-remote-areas">How to Plan a Safe Road Trip During COVID-19</a>. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/stories/discovery/usa-road-trip">USA Road Trip: California's Highway 101</a>. Bookmark World Nomads <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">travel safety alerts.</a> You can get in touch with us by emailing <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a>. <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your twitter followers and join in the conversation in our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">Facebook Group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: Hi it’s Kim and Phil with you and yes Phil, so many plans canceled or changed because of coronavirus. Phil: Restrictions are being lifted or at least relaxed in many places around the world, although it’s not appropriate according to health advice to totally remove controls. So, moving forward in our episodes we will be reflecting that with practical guidance for travelers to those countries that are on the radar again. We will include some information about what changes companies have put in place, like limiting the number of people on a boat, how often vehicles and trains are sanitized, etc. And in this episode will hear examples of that from Rebecca, who as you said Kim had her plans changed when restrictions in Europe were at their highest. Kim: Yes! Rebecca and her boyfriend Marcos had it all planned, tickets to three UEFA soccer games in Budapest and Bucharest as part of the Euro 2020s, Dracula’s castle, monasteries, etc. and then COVID-19 hit. Determined to use the time put aside Rebecca turned to Google and the National Park Service to create a six-week road trip. Before she tells us about that, let’s get to know a bit about Rebecca. Rebecca: Well, I live in San Diego and I've been here for a little over 20 years. I've worked in a couple of different industries, but the first one being more environmental protection and wildlife preservation, and then throughout the years, I ended up moving into the medical device field, which I've been in now for 15 years. Kim: That is great, but where's the segue? Rebecca: Yeah, there really isn't one. I ended up working in a field in marketing after I was doing international environmental work. I moved back to California and at that point, I enjoyed marketing for an environmental consulting firm, but then I thought, "You know what? I really want to try my hand at sales. I think I might be good at this." And I worked, you'd be happy to know, in the wine industry for about four years, I'd actually did spell the Australian premium wine collection for a while. Rebecca: Yeah. So I went from the wine industry to sales and medical sales because I had the sales experience. And in between all of that, I had always loved travel. I've traveled since I was 13 and did a lot of long trips. So, four months in Southeast Asia on my own when I was 22, and then I did another seven months in Southern and Eastern Africa, spent some time in Seychelles. Summer school in France and I did an internship at the U.S. Consulate in Sydney, Australia in 1992. So I got to spend a good amount of time there and doing weekend trips to Byron Bay and that kind of thing, which was a blast. Kim: No stranger to travel. Have you earned any money from it? Rebecca: Sadly? Now? I have not. And the website I write for now is sort of more in the hobby stage. I wish it was a full-time job, but it's always been some travel. When I worked in international environmental work, I did probably four that job. To a few places, Asia and Ukraine, and other places like that. But, in terms of just like a travel industry, it's just been a hobby and a passion forever, and a lot of adventure travel hiking. I'm a big scuba diver and just love to be outside, love nature, and love culture. So. Can't get enough of it, actually. Kim: Perfect combination. Although, we have been challenged in 2020, haven't we? At the time I'm chatting to you, I think we're about seven months into this pandemic. And we all had the lockdown in March where we couldn't really do anything, but hit the road, really. This is why I'm speaking to you from a campground in New South Wales, South of Sydney. I think you were supposed to be in Europe, but obviously you couldn't get there. So you hit the road and look, America is a great place for road trips. There's so much to explore and so diverse. Rebecca: Yes, it's really got everything and think people like John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt and all the heroes that set up the parks and preservations of areas that would have been destroyed if they hadn't. Kim: Take us through your road trip, which I did follow on Facebook, you did enter some pretty cool places. So, offering inspo to someone and it's okay to have the dog bark, I'm sitting in a campsite, I'm on snake alert. Rebecca: I'm like, "If I just hold her dinosaur toy, maybe she'll be quiet." Kim: Some inspo for people that... And we are avoiding air travel because we'll certainly in Australia, there are only four reasons why we can leave the country. We've still got hard border closures as well at the time of recording. So, we are all hitting the road. We are all kind of exploring our backyard and given that we can work remotely, it's fantastic. A great opportunity. So, for the American audience, who can't get to Australia at the moment, give them some inspiration. If they were to jump in their car, where did you go? Rebecca: Well, we did fly first from San Diego to Boise, Idaho, and Southwest Airlines was great. They had the middle seats empty. They made sure everybody was wearing a mask. So if you are flying, there are airlines that are still taking measures for that, as far as I know. And if not, and you're just going to get on the road. There's a couple of tips I would suggest. I mean, if you going to go camping, obviously reservations for campsites have been out of control. So, make sure to look at that ahead of time, the state park websites, and then of course the national park service to nps.gov, which has all the campsites. Rebecca: So, if you're a camper, that's the way to do it. And as you have heard, a lot of people can't even rent the RVs anymore because there are none available. I think there's one of those websites now where you can actually find a parking spot on a winery or some other places that you know, "Okay, we're going to only charge you a small fee and you can at least park your sprinter there," or your van or whatever it is you're in. Kim: How'd you find it COVID wise? Were there a lot of red flags? Rebecca: Well, I think the first thing was that when we entered like Glacier Park because we started in Boise and drove to the Sawtooth Mountains and then into Glacier. And at Glacier, it was still why they're empty because it had just opened up when we got there. But for example, at the lodge, we stayed at the Lake McDonald Lodge, they wouldn't allow anyone in their famous lobby unless you had a reservation. Bedrooms were not cleaned in between your days there, which was fine with us. And then it was grab and go. So, no bar, no sitting by the large fireplace, there was no fire in the fireplace. You were outside picnicking with your grab and go dinner at sunset. We bought our own wines at the local shops outside of the glacier. You're in a beautiful place. The sun doesn't go down until 10 o'clock. Rebecca: So, you were going about the spacing of people. I think the same, a little bit less so in Yellowstone, there's just a lot more traffic. A lot more people have access to Yellowstone then Glacier, which is further North. So, Yellowstone was a bit more crowded. But, they still were doing social distancing, limiting people who were coming into the general store. Their visitor centers were closed, but the general store and provisions were open. What was nice is when we moved into the Grand Tetons. We stayed in Jackson, which is outside of Grand Tetons. Those restaurants were open, social distancing, the minimal capacity of people, all of the waiters and waitresses were wearing masks. We did have three really nice meals. So, we just had a very good balance, if anything. But, I do think it's all about managing your expectations and what are your goals of the trip? Are you going for nature? If you want fine dining, you might want to skip it and do something else. Kim: Just listening to you explain that experience. It's kind of creating a picture of an America that we hear. I can only speak for Australia, don't think exists. That everyone's flouting the rules and there's no social distancing and no one wants to wear masks and this is not the case. Rebecca: Yeah. I feel like it... Well, for example, if you're watching Old Faithful, the beautiful water that's streaming up. That happens about every hour and a half if you want to watch that Geyser and watch it erupt. There were a lot of people around that and there was no social distancing at that particular moment that everybody wants to get it on video. But, that walkway that goes through all of the geysers is about a four-mile walk. And people were very respectful of each other when I was there wearing masks and trying not to huddle together in groups. So, there was some dispersing of people once, you got away from the main attraction. Kim: I've found on my road trips since we've been able to move within new South Wales, that some places do health and safety surrounding COVID really well. And then, other places you go to, you wouldn't know it existed. But have you found that [crosstalk 00:08:24]? Rebecca: Yeah, absolutely. And California has been aggressive. But, where I live in San Diego, there's still a lot of people that don't respect what's going on. Whereas we did go over the border into Mexico recently and the border is sort of a fluctuating situation that we didn't have any problems driving over it and getting back. But then, they were kind of cracking down in about a week ago with people driving back and forth. You can fly to Mexico without a problem right now from the States. Rebecca: But what I thought was really notable in [inaudible 00:08:58], which is a coastal town, is that they were more diligent about protocols for COVID than anything I've seen in the U.S., which I would not have necessarily expected. It was taking your temperature and give me your sanitizer, social distancing. And the other thing that they do in Mexico is when you walk into a place there's this place on a mat on the floor to wet your feet, and then you take another step to dry off your feet. I have yet to see that in the States, but the places I've been in Mexico, that's what they're doing, which I think is probably smart. Kim: Now as America opens up and there is that domestic travel. There are a few hotspots that people are enjoying. I think Mexico is one, the Caribbean, Florida, any others that are on the ride there? Rebecca: The only other ones I've heard about for Americans is some countries in Eastern Europe. And of course, a lot of people now are like, "Well, I don't really want to go to the Caribbean. It's hurricane season." That just might not be the right time. So, Mexico is really a great option if you're just going to make sure you take all the protocols for yourself with your distancing, the sanitizer... You've you go to a hotel, probably want to wipe everything down. You're not going to have the maids coming in. Then, once you're out and about doing whatever it is you're doing, I think you just take upon yourself to be responsible and do the right thing. Kim: Yeah. So, you were heading into fall in America. How did its travel change from summer to fall? Rebecca: Well, I think it's probably going to drop just simply because all of the schools have started. So, everyone with families has got to have online education going on. For example, in San Diego, there are a few schools that are back in person and there are others that are not. So, I think it's just depending on where you are and what the rules and regulations are for that community. So, I think it will probably drop in terms of travel as a family [inaudible 00:10:51] get back to another routine. And I think there are others if they are not having to worry about that are probably going to do a little bit more camping until the weather gets cold. And then, maybe they'll start to choose other destinations that are, that are warmer. Kim: Okay. Marcos, your boyfriend, you couldn't go to Europe. He was going for the Euros 2020, which I think has been postponed until next year. How's he coping? Rebecca: Well, let's just say he was thrilled to be able to watch soccer again, because as a Brazilian, his world revolves around soccer, especially his team. Palmeiras in San Paulo, where he's from and he's able to watch those games as well. So he is now back to his normal self. I love it as well and it was really looking forward to the Euro cup. We had tickets in Bucharest and Budapest, and obviously didn't happen, but hopefully have a chance to do something else like that again. When we're sort of under duress with the new changes in a new world, it's always good to find something positive out of it. And the things that you've discussed on the podcast about wildlife and animals and the environment and the earth, just being able to take a large breath. And that I think has been a really wonderful aspect of this. Kim: So true and with Americans being able to travel to Mexico (and as you heard it’s a good experience), next week we will release an updated version of our destination episode on Mexico and has Phil said earlier include information on traveling there during COVID. Phil: To share your current travel experiences with us email <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a>. In the meantime, don’t forget to rate, share, and subscribe to the World Nomads Travel podcasts from wherever you get your favorite pods. Bye </div> </div> </div>Supplied: Grand Teton National Park 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-flying-fact-vs-fiction-2In this episode, flying during COVID-19, how to get the cheapest seats to the best destinations and what your airport experience looks like in 2020.2020-09-02T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-flying-fact-vs-fiction-2https://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19 </h2> The World Nomads Travel Podcast has suspended its regular destination episodes, and in their place, sharing the thoughts of travelers who are shaping the future of the industry post COVID 19. We tap into their vast bank of knowledge to discover what can be learned from the past as we plan a new way of traveling moving forward. <h2>What’s in the episode</h2> 00:34 Are Europeans back to a normal travel life? 01:51 Don’t be complacent 05:33 How to get a cheap flight 08:56 Flying stats for the US 11:00 Staying safe from COVID-19 on a plane 14:28 Travel should be fun 15:56 What your current airport experience looks like 17:29 No time zones in airports 18:30 Get in touch if you have flown during the pandemic <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “A lot of the ways that people would spend killing time before a flight is either closed up or aren't available. Many of the restaurants just do take away for people to be able to spread out, or the tables are much more separated. Everything is much more contact-less. Some of the restaurants will let you order on your phone, the security, and the check-in agents, often at times won't even take your items, you hold it up to them for them to read.”– Scott Keyes <h2>Who is in the episode</h2> Scott Keyes is the Founder & Chief Flight Expert of <a href="https://scottscheapflights.com/how-it-works">Scott’s Cheap Flights</a>.  Leave the deal hunting to Scott and his team of experts. Only the best deals make it to your inbox. Check out the membership sign up link below. <h2>Resources & links</h2> <a href="https://app.scottscheapflights.com/signup?_ga=2.48945958.1055744445.1598834700-504895646.1597635705">Sign up to Scott’s Cheap Flights</a>. <a href="https://scottscheapflights.com/guides/how-to-cancel-a-flight">How to Cancel a Flight—and Not Lose the Value of the Ticket</a>. The odds of catching Covid-19 on an airplane are slimmer than you think, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/odds-catching-covid-19-flight-wellness-scn/index.html">scientists say</a>. According to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/6/flash-facts-about-lightning/">Nat Geo</a>, the chances of being struck by lightning in your lifetime are 1 in 3000, research suggests you have a 1 in 4300 chance of catching COVID on a full 2-hour flight. Bookmark World Nomads <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">travel safety alerts.</a> You can get in touch with us by emailing <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a>. <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your twitter followers, and join our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">Facebook group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: Hi it’s Kim and Phil with you and our chat with Scott Keyes from Scott’s Cheap Flights shortly who will unpack all of that, but Phil if you take a look at Instagram it would appear the whole of Europe is almost back to a relative normal travel life, with shots of people in Italy and Greece on vacation, not to mention domestic travel in the UK and America…is that the case? Phil: It may appear that way, but borders are still shut, restrictions are still in place, and as we know things can change in a flash. You can bookmark our travel safety alerts page which will be under resources in show notes and that’s updated regularly. But in short, do your research before you book a destination and re-educate yourself on how to stay safe – don’t be complacent. Avoid standing in long queues, wear a face mask, practice social distancing, wash your hands, and double-check, that is make sure you have the most up-to-date information on your flight and the country it's landing in. Kim: Not being complacent is a great piece of wisdom. Scott Keyes is the founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights, and basically, they source amazing deals to the best destinations, in fact, you can save up to 90%. But first, it’s always fun to find out how these companies take flight (pardon the pun) Scott: Scott's Cheap Flights started very serendipitously. Most people who found a startup these days, they did so because they had really wanted to be an entrepreneur. They had spent years thinking about different ideas and trying to come up with all that was going to be their million-dollar plan for a company and how were they going to do it? And I did none of those things, not out of hubris, not because I thought I was better, because I'd never considered starting a company, or I never considered really even getting into the travel world. I was a journalist by trade and worked for years in political journalism out of college. And if you know one thing about journalists, especially in the U.S., it's not a very financially lucrative industry and so I was out of college, very poor, trying to make ends meet, but also I was young. I still really wanted to travel. And so trying to figure out, "Okay, I've got a very meager bank account and I've got all these places I want to see, how do I do this?" I'd watched airfares and saw them bop around. One day they were really high, one day they were low. I was like, "How does this work? What's going on here?" And then kind of undertook it as a hobby, a challenge, where I started to really study airfare, watch the way it behaved, get a sense of how to predict what was going to happen to it, and spent years doing that. And it all then culminated, this was back in December, I think, of 2013, when I got the best deal that I've ever gotten in my life and that's still true to this day. It was a New York City to Milan for 130 bucks round trip. That's probably what, like $175 or $200, Australian dollars. Kim: Yeah, it's cheap, it's cheap. Scott: That's a flight that normally costs $800, $900, and I couldn't believe it. I had no plans to go to Milan that morning when I woke up but when you find a price like that, when you find a flight like that, all of a sudden you're like, "Yeah, absolutely. I'd be willing to go to Italy for 130 bucks." So bought the ticket, had an amazing trip. It was really, really wonderful. When I got back, all my friends and coworkers kept coming up to me, I guess word had spread, and they kept coming up to me, "Hey, Scott, I heard about that great deal you got. Next time you find a deal like that, do you mind letting me know too?" And so, by the time I had heard this from the seventh or eighth person, I realized, "Gosh, why don't I just start a simple little email list, and that way I can let everybody know at the same time." Kim: Well, we'll put membership, sign up details in show notes but one thing I'm sensing is that you need to have a sense of flexibility. You have to get out of the mindset that we leave on Saturday morning and come back the following Sunday. Scott: You know, I think that's both true and not true. The way that it's true is it's absolutely the case that the more flexible you are, the better your likelihood of getting a cheap flight, but the way it's not true is we think of that oftentimes as you have to compromise on the things that you really want. You have to really, you can get a cheap flight, but it's going to take... it's going to have five stops or it's going to be on some terrible airline that you've never heard of or stuff like that. In reality, oftentimes the best flights can be, the cheapest flights can be the best flights. That deal that I got from New York City to Milan for 130 bucks, it was nonstop on United included checked baggage. It was an amazing deal. We sent one not too long ago, business class from the U.S. to all over Southeast Asia, Bali, Bangkok, Vietnam elsewhere for about 600 bucks round trip. That's a flight that normally goes for $5,000. So while it's true that the more flexibility you have, the better your likelihood of getting a deal, I wouldn't confuse that with it being, you're going to have to take some terrible flights in order to get that. One of our principals at Scott's Cheap Flights is all the deals we send have to pass what's called "The Bestie Test." Is this a flight that you would want to buy for your best friend? And so, not only does it have to be cheap, but it also has to be a good flight. It has to have good routing, be on a decent airline, not have a ton of fees, all that type of stuff. But the last point that I'll make here is that traditionally, the way that people plan a vacation is what I call the "Destination First Method." It's a three-step process. Step one, you decide where you want to go. Step two, you decide when you want to go there, and only on step three, do you think about, "Well, what does the flight cost? How do I get there?" And by setting flights and setting the price as the third-order priority, it's not terribly surprising that people end up with some pretty expensive flights and so what I recommend is that if you want to make... if cheap flights are a priority if that's important to you to get cheap flights, make it a priority. Take that three-step process and flip it on its head. What I call the "Flight First Method." Step one, where are there cheap flights out of your home airport? Step two, of all the places where there are cheap flights, which one's of interest to you, and then step three of where there are cheap flights and interest to you, are there dates where those cheap flights are available that work for your schedule? And so by setting the price as the number one priority, rather than the destination, you can still go to tons of places on your bucket list, but be able to do so in a way that you're saving a lot of money in the process, rather than paying a thousand dollars to go to Milan, even though there were some $300 flights to Japan available that you just missed, because you didn't happen to be searching them, or because you didn't get an alert about them. Kim: Let's address the elephant in the room. This conversation that you and I are having sounds pre-pandemic. Are people still flying? Scott: Yes and no. At least in the U.S., a little over 800,000 people got on a plane today, which is a lot, but it's also about 65%, 70% lower than it was this day, one year ago. So it's definitely significantly diminished from where it was, but it's not as though nobody is flying or getting on airplanes, it's still a somewhat common activity. Kim: I know you don't have a crystal ball. We talk about travel post-COVID, but we're kind of shifting, at World Nomads, the conversation also towards learning to travel through COVID-19. Do you agree that there will be such a thing, that we just need to learn to live with it? Scott: I have a couple of thoughts on this. One is, there are a lot of people who predict, "Oh, this will be the death of travel. Nobody's going to get on airplanes anymore." I'm reminded of that saying, that nothing is as important as it feels like in the moment, and what reminded me of that today was seeing a short clip on Twitter of a packed, crowded rock concert in Wuhan, where there were thousands and thousands of people all getting together, partying together. Obviously this was the epicenter of the virus, but because it's been mostly gotten under control, their life has started to return back to normal, and what happens when life is able to return back to normal? We want to do all the things that we love to do. We want to make up for the lost time. And so I think once people feel safe and comfortable traveling again, absolutely they're going to be getting back on planes. It won't happen overnight. It'll be a gradual climb, less a V- shape recovery, and more of a Nike swoosh. But I'm very bullish on the future of travel and the future of flying. The question though of flying during the pandemic is a really interesting one because one of the things that we hear so often is A, you shouldn't be indoors. It's an airborne virus that especially spreads indoors, but also it especially spreads in close quarters, so you want to have social distancing. You want to keep six feet. What is it, two meters, one meter? I'm so bad at the metric system, I apologize. Kim: No, 1.5 meters in the metric system. Scott: 1.5 systems. Thank you. So, you want to keep that distance, which is a really difficult thing to do on an airplane. Even in the best of circumstances, there are some airlines in the U.S. that are blocking out middle seats. Even then, you're talking about an extra 18 inches, a foot and a half, it's virtually nothing. So people understandably have the assumption that airplanes must be a terrible place to be during a pandemic, must be a real vector of transmission, and scientists have actually studied this. They've looked at it, done a lot of different angles and studies on it, and what they've found is that it is way safer to be on an airplane than most people expect. And again, it was shocking even to me when I read this, to realize like, why? People are in close quarters for hours at a time, indoors, but the reason why it turns out flying is much safer than most people expect is A, rather than there not being any fresh air on board, we think of airplanes as a hermetically sealed environment, where there's no fresh air from the moment you take off to the moment you touch touchdown. Rather than that being the case, in fact, oxygen is constantly being sucked into the plane during the flight. There are these really kind of fancy vents through the engine that bring in fresh oxygen continuously throughout the flight. But what's even more important is they have what is called HEPA filters. So these are hospital-grade air filters that are constantly, essentially purifying the air. Every couple of minutes the entire air cabin has flowed through these air filters and that is killing 99.97% of particles. Layer on top of that the fact that masks are now required for all flights in the U.S., They've gotten rid of basically all exceptions and the fact that everybody's facing the same direction, not usually talking very much. It's not like a choir practice where we're singing at one another and really belting out air particles. All these factors tend to combine in making air travel much safer than people might expect and that's the reason why they've gone back and looked at what are called "Super Spreading Events" where multiple people get sick. And it turns out there's only been one confirmed case of a flight since the pandemic where multiple people on board got sick, and you have to remember that there have been tens of millions of people who have flown even just in the U.S. since the pandemic began. The fact that there's only one instance of a super spreading event, I think really underscores that it's a much safer thing than most people expect. All that said, and to wrap up here, is that vacations should be fun. Travel should be fun, and for me, I take a lot of comfort in hearing that. It would feel very safe and comfortable for me to be on an airplane. For a lot of people, they'd still be very, very worried, very tense, very uncomfortable, and I don't think anybody should feel pressured to get on a plane or to take a vacation before they're ready and before they feel comfortable, because vacations should be fun. It should be something that you're doing to take the stress away, not to add stress. And so even being able to separate fact from fiction about air quality on a plane, if you're still like, "I just don't know. It doesn't feel like... it still feels risky to me. It's still not worth it." You 100% have my blessing to kick up your heels, wait a while longer, Paris is still going to be there next year. Tokyo's still going to be there. Sydney's still going to be there for us Americans to be able to hopefully, fingers crossed, come visit again. Kim: Well, yeah, fingers crossed when that will happen, but you've touched on the precautions that the airlines have put in place like not booking out that middle seat. Can you speak to what happens from check-in to security? Do you know what's happening there? And even airport restaurants, where you sit down and have a bite or even a beer before you jump onto a plane, do you know how that's changed? Scott: It's much less common. A lot of the ways that people would spend killing time before a flight is either closed up, shuttered. Many of them aren't available, many of the restaurants just do take away for people to be able to spread out, or the tables are much more separated. Everything is much more contact-less. Some of the restaurants will let you order on your phone, the security, and the check-in agents, oftentimes they won't even take your items, you hold it up to them for them to read. And so there's a real emphasis on everything being as contact-less as possible. One of the interesting changes that happened here is some of the in-airport kiosks have actually converted to becoming COVID testing sites. But in general, I think people are trying to spend much less time at the airport before trying to get there. Just spend your time in the airport as distant from other people as possible and then get on your flight and be on your way. It's more of a sort of... Less of a relaxing, just like, go hang out, kick up your heels, have a beer, and more just like, let's just grit our teeth, get through this and get to where we're going. Kim: Thanks Scott, a beer at the airport has always been part of the traveling experience for me! We will share an article in show notes in which scientists, as Scott touched on, say catching COVID on a plane IS slimmer than you think, in fact, to quote “ … based on short-haul flights in the US planes configured with three seats on either side of the aisle, such as the Airbus 320 and the Boeing 737 -- and assuming everyone is wearing a mask -- the risk of catching the virus on a full flight is just 1 in 4,300. Those odds fall to 1 in 7,700 if the middle seat is vacant”. Phil: If you have flown during the pandemic and would like to share your experience email <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a>. In the meantime, don’t forget to rate, share, and subscribe to the World Nomads Travel podcasts from wherever you get your favorite pods. Bye   </div> </div> </div>Supplied: Your airport experience in 2020 is hardly buzzing. 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-flying-fact-vs-fictionIn this episode flying during COVID – 19, how to get the cheapest seats to the best destinations and what your airport experience looks like in 2020.2020-09-02T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/worldwide/the-world-nomads-podcast-flying-fact-vs-fictionhttps://www.worldnomads.comSupplied: Your airport experience in 2020 is hardly buzzing. 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/eastern-asia/japan/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-healing-mountains-of-japanIn this episode, Susan Spann confronted her deepest fears by climbing 100 of Japan's most famous peaks, gaining a new confidence and strength.2020-08-26T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/eastern-asia/japan/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-healing-mountains-of-japanhttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19 </h2> The World Nomads Travel Podcast has suspended its regular destination episodes, and in their place, sharing the thoughts of travelers who are shaping the future of the industry. We tap into their vast bank of knowledge to discover what can be learned from the past as we plan a new way of traveling moving forward. <h2>What’s in the episode</h2> 00:52 Attractions reopen in Brazil 02:11 Introducing Susan Spann 03:30 Conquering the bouncy house 06:07 Seeking motivation 09:56 Finishing the climbs before COVID-19 13:22 A transformative experience 15:23 Next episode <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> “It's a wonderful thing that the mountains did for me... it was really a transformative experience and absolutely changed me in just about every way that a person can be changed.” – Susan Spann <h2>Who is in the episode</h2> <a href="http://www.susanspann.com/books/">Susan Spann</a> is the award-winning author of the <a href="http://www.susanspann.com/books/">Hiro Hattori </a>mystery novels. Inspired by <a href="https://erikweihenmayer.com/about-erik/">Eric Weihenmayer</a>, author of Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man’s Journey to Climb Farther than the Eye Can See, Susan made the decision to face her fears and climb one hundred of Japan's most famous mountains, inspired by a classic list of hyakumeizan peaks. <figure><img src=" https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/susan spann.jpg" alt="woman near a sign" /> <figcaption> Susan climbed 100 of Japan's most famous mountains, overcoming many fears and a major health battle along the way</figcaption></figure> <h2>Resources & links</h2> <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/eastern-asia/japan">Explore Japan with World Nomads.</a> <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/travel-alerts">Keep up to date with World Nomads travel safety alerts and warnings</a>. Purchase <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Climb-Leaving-Finding-Strength-Summits/dp/1633885925">Climb: Leaving Safe and Finding Strength on 100 Summits in Japan</a> Subscribe to Susan’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwWYBpecDWd1A-iw1t9-1Eg">YouTube channel</a>. Whether it’s a call from your mom or the call of the wild, we’ll help you prepare for your trip and <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/usa/travel-insurance/near-is-the-new-far">help you stay safe while traveling</a>. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/2020/05/safety-tips-to-help-you-travel-again-during-covid-19-cvd/">Best practices for getting on the road without endangering your health</a>. <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">Bookmark World Nomads COVID-19 travel restrictions and border closures which are updated regularly.</a> <a href="https://www.budgetair.com.au/travel-advice">Where can I travel to?</a> <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">Get in touch by emailing podcast@worldnomads.com</a><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">.</a> <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your twitter followers and join our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">Facebook group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts </a>and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Kim: Hi Kim and Phil with you revisiting an Amazing Nomad we featured in an episode last year. Susan Spann was attempting to confront her deepest fears climbing one hundred of Japan's most famous peaks, despite a breast cancer diagnosis. Did she do it? We’ll find out shortly but first Phil – do you have any travel news? Phil: Two of Brazil's best-known attractions -- Christ the Redeemer statue and Sugarloaf Mountain -- have reopened after being shut for five months due to coronavirus but visitor numbers have been limited. Meantime Brazil’s COVID cases continue to rise becoming the second-worst affected country in the world behind the USA, which by the way has rescinded warnings to Americans against all international travel because of the coronavirus pandemic, saying “conditions no longer warrant a blanket worldwide alert”. Of course, this was at the time of recording. And if you must travel, we’ll share an article in show notes on how to do it safely. Finally, globally, air travel is down more than 85% from a year ago, according to industry figures. And the implications for the airline industry are not good with several leading airlines filing for bankruptcy protection. But let’s get some positive news, Kim! Kim: It was last year, 2019, early on in the year, we spoke to an amazing nomad, Phil, Susan Spann. The episode was titled No Barriers. Now she was currently, or she was then, facing her fears and climbing 100 mountains in Japan. After making a pledge to create a life of purpose and impact she's written a book, she's contacted us to fill us in on what's she's up to now in 2020 and Susan, spill. What have you- Phil: Have you done it? Susan Spann: I have done it. Oh, that's a spoiler alert. Maybe we should delete that one. Anyway. So yes, I did ... First of all, thank you for having me back on the podcast. I really enjoyed talking with you last time so much. And I did in fact, complete a hundred mountains, actually in just a little over 11 months. It wasn't even a full year, finished almost a year to the day after my final cancer treatment, my final chemo treatment, which was a really nice way to put a cap on it. And as you mentioned, the book has just come out. It's titled Climb: Leaving Safe and Finding Strengths on 100 Summits in Japan. Kim: I liked the quote that you gave us from the last episode, and very early on in the book you touch on this, you said at six years of age you got out of line and walked away because you didn't know what the risk was and you were afraid to take it. And you were terrified that if you got in the bouncy house, this is as a six-year-old, somehow you were going to die, and straightaway in the book you get into that feeling that you have that you can't do anything, or you could never do anything. But now looking back, look what you've achieved. Susan Spann: You know, sometimes it's a little surprising to me too. I mean, a lot of the mountains that I've climbed, because I continue to travel in Japan and I'm continuing to climb mountains now. I mean, it was really transformative experience for me. And sometimes I look at the mountains that I have climbed, Mount Fuji in particular, because you see her quite often fortunately here, and I kind of shake my head and think, "Wow, that little girl who wouldn't go in a bounce house ..." and for the record, I've still to this day never been in one because by the time I realized that the fear was foolish I was too large for them. It's just amazing how the simple decision is what it takes to move forward. And that was not apparent to me somehow for 45ish years, that really, the journey of a thousand miles, the journey from fear to confidence and joy really does begin with that simple step. Phil: Can I just thank you. I know the book's out, but you were very kind to send us a PDF of an advance copy of that. Can I just thank you for allowing me to waste a couple of hours of my day when I should have been working reading your book? Susan Spann: Well, thank you. The honor's mine. Phil: Fascinating straight from the get-go which is brilliant. And there's so much in that. I mean, when you say that you took the easy path to get away from fear and followed your father into the legal profession. That doesn't ... I mean, it's still pretty tough doing a law degree though, isn't it? Kim: Yeah. Susan Spann: Well, I mean difficult, but difficult and familiar. And I think that's what a lot of us sort of fall into. Even hard work, if you know what the path looks like, right, it's sometimes easier to work hard on a difficult path than to step off the path and not know where it leads. But in my experience and having done both, the unknown path is often much more rewarding. Kim: I was sitting there reading your book and suddenly I saw myself in you and don't laugh, Phil, you just ... Phil just spoke before we recorded that he did a gym class last night and he went so hard he felt physically sick after it. It was only on the weekend after reading the book, I haven't read it all, but I was saying I walked up a hill and I was really, really puffed. And I just couldn't believe that when I'd first met my husband, I was doing these gym classes and running rings around a really fit football player. And you described yourself in the book as having a few rolls. Susan Spann: Indeed. I did. [crosstalk 00:04:27]. Kim: And then when you got to Japan and you were going up this mountain with your son, rather than coming ... You went up in a chairlift or whatever you call it, rather than coming back down in the chairlift, you decided to walk it. And I thought, "Why aren't I ... Okay, I'm unfit and I've got a few rolls, but why can't I take that step?" What's lacking in me, Susan? Susan Spann: Nothing. It just didn't occur to you. And that's kind of where it was with me. The mountain you're referring to is one that I actually climbed in advance. In fact, well, it gave me the inspiration to do this, which is really funny because it was an absolute disaster as the book describes. But I got up there and I rode the lift up and I stood on top of that mountain, which was Mount Misen in Hiroshima prefecture, and felt just a little hint of that runner's high, that experience that people talked about when they stood on top of real mountains, like Everest. And by the way, I mean, the mountain we're talking about is like 500 feet. It's really not a big mountain, but at the time I was very, very overweight. I didn't do anything physical and I wanted to earn that feeling. And so I decided I was going to hike back down it, and it probably just hasn't occurred to you that you could, and it hadn't occurred to me either. And for my own personal safety, that might've been a good thing, but fortunately, the story ends much differently now. Kim: We began with a spoiler so we don't want to give away too much. Susan Spann: Indeed. Phil: No. And tell us about your health now. Is it okay for you to talk about that, you fully recovered? Susan Spann: Absolutely. In fact, I have had my ... what is either your two and a half year or three-year checkup, depending on how you count it. My doctor in the US might've called it two and a half. My physician here in Japan actually referred to it as ... sorry ... yeah, as three, just because of the way they're ... whether you count from the day of diagnosis or the day of finishing treatment, right, because there was about a six month lag in between, but I am still cancer-free and I am over the hump, 95.5% of the recurrences of cancer within the first two years. And so the odds are very strong in the favor of me having absolutely beaten this thing and moved on with my life, which is really, really a wonderful place to be. Phil: Oh, that's great. More power to you for it as well and I'm sure there are very, very many very talented medical lab staff who helped you along that journey as well. Susan Spann: Oh, absolutely. In fact, I give them shout-outs in the book, but I had a wonderful team at Mercy Medical in Sacramento, California. They just not only took care of me, but they were very understanding from the very beginning that I had this hundred summits quest in my sights and they just moved mountains literally. You see what I did there? Kim: Yeah. Phil: Yeah. Susan Spann: [crosstalk 00:07:25] on the slopes. Kim: So we're talking to you in 2020. It's a very different world to when we spoke to you in early 2019, we are in the middle of a pandemic. [crosstalk 00:07:34]. Yeah. The world is at a standstill. Now you did have some coronavirus related delays. Can you sort of touch on those again without giving too much away? Susan Spann: Yeah. Fortunately I was finished with the climbs of course, before the coronavirus, but the book did get delayed. We were supposed to be released in .... was supposed to be released in January. And then that was pushed back for ... because we were going to bring it out near the Tokyo Olympics, and of course, really delaying it until the Tokyo Olympics would have been quite a bit of an endeavor at this point now, but we ended up having a couple of pushbacks, but the book is now available. It is now in release. If people go to order it, they may find a little bit of a delay in shipping, but like a day or two, not we're not talking weeks, but it is available and it is now released and I'm just thrilled that it's out in the world. Phil: And what's next for you? Can I suggest that you set up your own little rock at the top of a mountain and hand out the fantastic advice you've been sharing with us? Susan Spann: Well, thank you. Phil: A guru on the mountain. Susan Spann: Well, I've done a couple of things. I have actually started a YouTube channel. A lot of people have talked about wanting to see more of the mountains of Japan, maybe get some more narrated and curated videos. So I am actually planning to go and rewalk the Kumano Kodo, which is a 1,000-year-old pilgrimage trail through the mountains in Wakayama prefecture in October. I will be taking a video camera and gimbal and I will be recording that. So I'll be doing in October, November, releasing about seven videos, about 30 minutes in length, curated tours of the Kumano Kodo, for those who cannot get away from home this year. Kim: Being a Japaphile I love all things about Japan. I wanted ... My goal is to visit in every season. I've only managed summer so far, but- Susan Spann: You picked the worst one to start with. Why did you do that? Kim: Well, no, I went to Ishigaki, which is somewhere that a lot of people have never been, so- Susan Spann: It is. Kim: It was beautiful. It was a great experience. But when I do a renovation, I always try and incorporate some kind of Japanese design and I love Japanese food. And these things are touched on also in this book, it's not just about climbing the mountains. Susan Spann: Oh, indeed. Yeah. I wanted to share everything from show shojin ryori, which is the Buddhist temple cuisine, which happens to be my favorite food in Japan. I ended up accidentally walking into a major festival on a city when I wasn't even expecting ... I thought I was going to have a rest day. That didn't work out because I just wandered into the largest festival in Northern Japan, which ... These things happen when you go and travel for a year. And particularly when you really were first getting started and didn't really know what you were doing, but yes, it's everything from food to culture. There are festivals, there are horses, there are all different kinds of things. And so I hope that people will enjoy that part of country too. Kim: And photographs. Susan Spann: Yes, there are photographs. And what is more, I will also put in here, there are full-color photographs in the book, and I am also in the process of posting a photo companion on my website. So all of the things that are discussed in the book, photos of all of those things, because we could only get so many photos in the book, right. But there will be hundreds of photos on a chapter by chapter basis, basically photo narrating the entire book on my website, available to people as they read. Kim: Are you want a roll? Do you feel like there's nothing that you can't do? Susan Spann: Well, I probably still can't climb Mount Everest to be brutally honest with you. Phil: Would you want to, though? Even if you could? Anyway. Susan Spann: It's a wonderful thing that the mountains did for me. They really ... it was really a transformative experience and absolutely changed me in just about every way that a person can be changed. Kim: Well you mentioned that you're still there, what's it like traveling throughout Japan during COVID? Susan Spann: Well, I wasn't able to travel actually from about March until the end of June. We weren't locked down formally, but the government was asking everyone to stay home and avoid congestion. And so I did in fact stay home. I walked into the neighborhood. I did make one brief trip to Hiroshima prefecture. In fact, on the five-year anniversary of that first fateful climb, Mount Misen, or down Mount Misen I should say, I actually was back on Mount Misen and climbed it again. And it was not as difficult the second time as it was the first. I'll just put that out there. Kim: Well, how exciting. The book is Finding Strength on 100 summits in Japan. It's hard to chat about a book, Phil, and not give too much away, but- Phil: Give it all away. Kim: Yeah, the fact that you've completed the climbs, more than a 100, too, 112? Susan Spann: To date, 112, although 108 I think before the book was finished. That's a little bit of a spoiler. So I'll just tantalize with this. The climbs did include both the largest and the smallest official mountains in Japan. And the smallest mountain is a lot smaller than you might think. Kim: Beautiful. Well, as you like to end your emails with, dare to dream and you can change your world, and I totally believe in that and think you've done an amazing job, Susan. Susan Spann: Thank you so much. Kim: An incredible effort. The links to Susan and her book in show notes alongside a link to join our Facebook Group. If you liked this episode please head to Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your favorite pods and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. Phil: Next episode flying during COVID, what it looks like and how will prices be affected in the short and long term. </div> </div> </div>The summit of Tomuraushi with Susan's Hokkaido Nature Tours guide, Takuto (Tak) 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/africa/the-world-nomads-podcast-why-safaris-are-a-safe-betIn this episode, the African safari company embracing preventative measures to protect the health of guests and the increase in poaching during COVID-19.2020-08-19T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/africa/the-world-nomads-podcast-why-safaris-are-a-safe-bethttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2>The World Nomads Podcast: Traveling during COVID-19 </h2> The World Nomads Travel Podcast has suspended its regular destination episodes, and in their place, sharing the thoughts of travelers who are shaping the future of the industry. We tap into their vast bank of knowledge to discover what can be learned from the past as we plan a new way of traveling moving forward. <h2>What’s in the episode</h2> 00:42 Spike in poaching 02:40 Blindsided by the pandemic 04:50 Maintaining staff 06:40 Poaching on the increase 08:50 Africa devastated by COVID-19 12:20 Why a safari is best for your health and safety 16:19 Next episode <h2>Quotes from the episode</h2> "...we've actually noticed the animals have also been a little more skittish. It is a real threat, and it's a real and live danger that we face in terms of being custodians of these wildlife areas. I think the increase in poaching is where it's most prevalent.  Without wildlife and these national parks, we have no tourism. Tourism and conservation really do go hand in hand." Karl African Bush Safaris <h2>Who is in the episode</h2> In this episode we speak with the Head of Partnerships Karl Parkinson, discussing African Bush Camps and the impact Coronavirus has had on the company, poaching and post COVID-19. Beks Ndlovu is the founder of <a href="https://africanbushcamps.com/our-story/">African Bush Camps</a> and while not featured in this episode says, “The more time you spend in nature the more you understand your impact on it. We’re a group of travelers and nature lovers who want to show you the incredible spaces we love.” We also learn about <a href="https://africanbushcamps-gdg-j945n.raisely.com/">African Bush Camps Foundation Community Empowerment</a>. The Foundation is committed to partnering with rural communities in vulnerable wildlife areas. By creating opportunities to empower these communities through education, community empowerment, and conservation, we can improve their quality of life and achieve long-term conservation successes in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Zambia <figure><img src=" https://media.worldnomads.com/podcast/Mokoro_ Safari.jpg" alt="african safari" /> <figcaption> Mokoro Safari Botswana </figcaption></figure> Resources & links <ul> <li><a href="https://africanbushcamps.com/plan-your-safari/">Plan your safari</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://africanbushcamps.com/plan-your-safari/">The latest Safari specials</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWJTR_566mevyIG30OveSBQ">‘Safari TV’</a>: for the latest industry talks – Safari Talks – and one-on-one chats between founder and CEO, Beks Ndlovu, and internal/external guests – Conversations with Beks.</li> <li><a href="https://africanbushcamps.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ABC-Health-Guidelines-Media-Release-July-2020.pdf">Information on the latest hygiene protocols in camp</a>.</li> <li>For updates and news: follow African Bush Camps on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/africanbushcamps/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/africanbushcamps/?ref=bookmarks">Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/BushCampsAfrica">Twitter</a></li> <li>Our travelers recently <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/responsible-travel/footprints/projects/194/protect-wildlife-from-poachers-in-the-serengeti">helped protect wildlife from poachers in the Serengeti</a> by making a micro-donation when they bought travel insurance with us.</li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/planet/wildlife-experiences-to-avoid-on-your-next-adventure">Wildlife Experiences to Avoid on Your Next Adventure</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/participation/wildlife-sanctuary">Is it Ethical to Visit Animals in Wildlife Sanctuaries?</a></li> <li>Wednesday, August 12th, 2020 was World Elephant Day, an opportunity to reflect on why we should always commit to responsible <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/planet/why-elephant-riding-should-be-removed-from-your-list">travel practices</a> when it comes to interacting with animals.</li> <li><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/singapore-crushes-ivory-1.5681808">Singapore has crushed ivory from nearly 300 elephants to deter illegal trading</a>.</li> <li>If you get unexpectedly sick or injured overseas, your medical bills could be expensive. Make sure you pack <a class="Hyperlink SCXW214057981 BCX1" href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-insurance/whats-covered/overseas-medical" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">travel insurance</a>, with 24/7 emergency assistance.</li> <li><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">Travel safety alerts.</a></li> <li>You can get in touch with us by emailing <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a>.</li> </ul> <h2>Help us spread the word</h2> We’d love it if you could please share #TheWorldNomadsTravelPodcast with your twitter followers and join our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldnomadspodcast">Facebook group</a>. If you liked this episode please head to <a href="itms://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-world-nomads-podcast/id1297825851?mt=2">Apple Podcasts </a>and kindly leave us a rating, review, and of course, subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode. <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> Karl: Firstly, we had no idea. This has been sort of a gradual exercise for us in terms of learning. I think in terms of us as a business, we actually decided quite early on in March that we could see that this thing was spreading quite fast, it would have quite a severe impact, and we decided to lock down our camp, so to speak. We put in what we call a [inaudible] position where we'd still have all our staff reporting into camp and for duty, but effectively, we weren't able to welcome guests because orders, as of the 26th of March, started to close in the region. That, of course, meant that we weren't able to host any guests. What we had to do is take a bit of perseverance and the situation and actually take a view on how long this may continue. We took the initial view that we would be in this [inaudible] position while still maintaining the camps until August. We've been supported immensely by all our staff members who've continued to man the camps in the absence of guests and maintain them because, of course, you can imagine with no guests coming into the camps, there's still quite a bit of maintenance to do this. I think we've all been grateful that despite the absence of guests that we've still been able to run the ship, continue mostly with our business in terms of our head office in Cape Town, which is where I'm based, and continuing our efforts to publicize, obviously, the impact of guests not being in camp, and of course, on preparing ourselves for the return of guests. It's been quite a reflective time. I think we've all been humbled by the experience. We've all realized how important tourism is to us and the adverse effects that can have when tourists don't arrive in our properties. Kim: Well, we have seen, and it was incredible within a few weeks just how small the margins are for many companies. A lot haven't survived. Karl: Suddenly, we've all had to take reduced time, reduced pay as a business, so we've all had to adjust our lifestyles and our living accordingly because, of course, especially in a country like Zimbabwe and Botswana, it's people's livelihoods, and without the guaranteed income, it could have adverse effects on them. Then, of course, the company has had enough to actually gear itself for the time of not expecting guests in camp because although we haven't had any guests in camp, we have a lot of bookings on our forward book, and that has enabled us to recut our cloth accordingly and manage the lighter incomes that we wouldn't normally be getting. But in terms of the region, the impact has been devastating in terms of... and the bigger picture in terms of local communities, the impact on wildlife, the holds of tourism to our national parks and how that has had drastic in impact on our foundation, our African Bush Camps Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization and NGO that we run and manage, and a lot of the projects have been put on hold. It's really opened our eyes to how important tourism is to keep our wheels turning, and that goes as far as also to anti-poaching efforts that we run and manage in the various national parks. We have a great project near our Bumi Hills Lodge in Lake Kariba where we actually fund the anti-poaching units. If you can take them as an example, poaching has increased during this time of lockdown, and our efforts have to been increased to address the poachers who are obviously opportunistic and of course in a situation where they have to look after their own livelihoods. It's actually really made us reflect that the link between tourism and conservation and how important tourism is to conservation. Kim: Absolutely, and so sad to hear of the increased poaching during this pandemic, particularly when you look at how the planet, including the animals, have reacted to us being in lockdown. They've thrived. They've totally loved it. Even things from turtles to dolphins to horses and deers and all sorts of animals wandering into cities, populated areas. [crosstalk]- Karl: It's quite funny. I just have to tell you a story. On the back of that, we've had animals, of course, within the absence of tourists, the lions have used some of our public areas as areas to have a rest in during the heat of the day and continue on their hunt. We've had a lot of instances where we've had animals actually in camp because, of course, in the absence of humans, they felt very comfortable to wander through in our camps from completely wild areas. Kim: That's great to hear because I was going to ask you, had you noticed any increased activity or changes in behavior with the animals? That's one example. Karl: Yeah. That's one example. Look, it's two-fold. We have a responsibility to the national parks. We have our camps in those wildlife areas to also monitor and monitor the game, and where we have had a prevalence of poaching activity, we've actually noticed the animals have also been a little more skittish. It is a real threat, and it's a real and live danger that we face in terms of being custodians of these wildlife areas. It's a very real situation that we have to deal with. I think in regards to that, as much as the animals are running free and without any human intervention of humans walking around, there is a much more serious side to it. I think it's the human-wildlife conflict, especially in the borders our national parks that we have to take responsibility for. I think the increase in poaching is where it's most prevalent. It's something that we run. We do it through funding, through our fundraising efforts, as well as our own foundation. It's where we felt the most pressure in terms of our responsibility to wildlife. Without wildlife and these national parks, we have no tourism. Tourism and conservation really do go hand in hand. Kim: I can't think of another sector that would have been... destroyed's probably not the right word, but hammered as hard as the travel sector from COVID. Would you agree? Karl: Yeah. It's been absolutely devastating to our region. We have minimal resources to support the programs. I'm talking here really about the communities as well. There's a number of communities that are very much dependent on support through tourism, and that goes through to the people that work in the camps to [inaudible] of the national parks. It resonates right through the community, and if I can just give you an indication, 10% of Zimbabwe's GDP is derived from tourism receipts and a lot of the tourism projects that run in... Sorry. A lot of national parks and private entities that run camps support a number of communities on the periphery of the national parks as well. We, through our African Bush Camps Foundation, support a lot of community initiatives in the town of Dete, which is very close to Hwange. That is through vegetable garden projects in terms of supporting the camps of food to making small souvenirs and baskets the people can buy while in camp. It goes quite deep into the community in terms of supporting other industries that are dependent on us as a business, and of course, in the absence of no business, aside from the fact that tourism and the contribution it makes financially to conservation. It's also the communities that have really suffered. I think that's where it's been really highlighted for us. We had about 42 projects that we earmarked to run in 2020 through our African Bush Camps Foundation, and unfortunately, they all had to be put on hold. Some of those projects were orientated around building extensions to schools. We support a number of schools as well near our camp Bumi Hills. There's a school that we support and small clinics. A lot of those had to be put on hold because of the fact that we weren't able to financially contribute in an active way. I'm pleased to say that through some of the funding, we've managed to get some of those projects back online. We've just completed some ablution blocks for our school near Bumi Hills, so there is a sign that we are getting some funding through. But as a region, it's devastating because I think tourism in Africa is so important in terms of the bigger economies. Of course, it employs a number of people, and that's especially true of the likes of South Africa as well. I think this is where it's really opened up people's eyes. While these lockdown measures and border closures are in place, the tourism industry is really grounded to a halt. There is some activity. We are... I should say, Botswana and Zimbabwe have been proactive in terms of trying to encourage local tourism. There is a number of domestic campaigns going on in Botswana and Zimbabwe to encourage locals to travel, but this is, of course, is in very limited amounts and certainly nowhere near the numbers or receipts we've [inaudible] from international guests. Kim: Let's look at the future of travel. When we were doing our destination episodes prior to the pandemic, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Rwanda, they were on everyone's lips. They were places that people, countries that people wanted to visit. How do you think the future of travel in Africa will look like, and what will you be expecting from travelers? Karl: We're quite realistic that the precautions brought about by COVID-19 is not going to pass us anytime soon. What's important for us is that [inaudible] integrating those regulations into a new normal, not just the way we run our camps and our protocols associated with welcoming guests, and of course, adhering to social distancing, but it's also going to be how travel will change. The likelihood is that there'll be fewer routes operating, and of course, the fact that prices may escalate as well. If there's anything, it's going to play, at least to our experience that we offer a lot of our Safari camps, the fact that you are at least out in the open, in the wild. You're not confined to small areas or inside, fact that our camps are small and private. We limit the number of guests in our game vehicles, for example, six people, so there is social distancing already exercised in our vehicles. The fact that our camps have large public areas that are outside and not inside, I think that will play to or at least appeal to people who are concerned about those factors. But in terms of future travel, there's no doubt there's going to be a significant downturn in numbers, but we do know that there is a lot of African fanatics out there, and people that are very passionate about Africa that really have a desire. If there's one learning we've taken over this, it's enabled people to dream again, a lot of people who've been sitting at home dreaming about traveling again, and let's face it, we've all been in that situation. We've had a little more time, perhaps, on our hands. We haven't been so busy in our social lives. You've seen an uptick in terms of interest in, for example, the work we're doing in Africa, in terms of the experiences that we offer in Africa because what it does do, and being a father of four myself, being at home with my family, I've been able to connect with them in a different way. It's enabled me to dream and imagine going places with them as a family and having new experiences. We've seen a lot of people be very attracted through our digital presence by the dreaming and the interest in terms of the experiences that we offer. Kim But can you guarantee me that when I'm outside those lions, won't come around? It's great. It's great. I'm loving the fact that they're relaxed, but... Karl: The great thing is we've traveled to Africa, with, especially going out in the wild, there are no guarantees. One minute, there's the face of a lion, and you'll be in the vehicle, and there it will be just 20 or 30 meters away, and the next thing, you have an elephant on the other side of the vehicle. Africa never ceases to surprise or amaze people, but no, there are no guarantees, unfortunately. That's part of the experience, and that's part of the excitement, not knowing what you'll see on a game drive, not knowing what to expect. I think that's one of the remarkable adventures that really immerses people when it comes to Africa. It's so immersive in terms of you get attacked in the senses from what you see, what you smell, what you feel, what you touch, what you learn from our guides. Our guides are like walking encyclopedias. They come from the areas where we have our camps. They're not jetted in from some other location. These guys have grown up in this environment. They really bring it alive.   </div> </div> </div>Supplied: Khwai Bush Camp Botswana 0