There have been a few changes to the Travelettes team this year. Although , , , and have of course been writing their hearts out for years, others have left us to move onto awesome new ventures. In their place, there’s now another six new writers, bringing the total Travelettes team count up to eleven!
From Australia to the UK, Cyprus to – well, wherever life takes us, we’re dotted all over the globe, sharing our love, stories and knowledge of travelling with you, our tens of thousands of monthly readers, and the world.
Though as much as we love this community, we’re more than simply writers for Travelettes. We’re entrepreneurs, career women, digital nomads, go-getters, dreamers and of course adventurers, addicted to learning all about this planet we call home.
So in order to introduce ourselves and for you to get to know us properly, here is a run down of the newest members of the team.
Over to you ladies!
Gemma – The Nomadic Nurse
I’m actually an oncology nurse and over the past 2 years, since leaving the Middle East, I’ve been working short contracts as a cancer specialist nurse across Bermuda and Turks and Caicos which has given me the opportunity to spend time fully nomadic and travelling across the world. I work freelance as a travel writer and I also write contemporary, inspirational poetry (think Rupi Kaur). I’ve recently published my first book, ‘Screaming Wings’ which was inspired by my experience of breaking away from society’s expectations of us. My second book ‘The Anatomy of Wanting’, is set for publish in September which is really exciting after the fantastic reception my first book received.
I’m a huge solo traveller and over the past couple of years I’ve had some amazing adventures. Living in the Middle East for 4 years really opened up my mind and improved my self confidence. This time last year I revisited my favourite country, Nepal, and spent 2 months there volunteering in Haibung and completed Everest Base Camp. It was incredible and probably my craziest achievement to date, next to driving 3052 kms through India in a tuk tuk!
This year I made a partial move to Amsterdam so this is where I spend my time writing books and working on travel projects in between nursing stints on tropical islands. I’ve also had some great trips to Canada, USA, Barcelona and Belgium this year and still have the Bahamas, New York and hopefully, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Thailand still to come. I’m so bad at planning in advance in though!
I’m extremely grateful (and also lucky!) for the life I’ve created. It gives me so much freedom and being removed from the rat race has changed me completely. Working and living in this way can be challenging. Being away from home a lot, missing friends, as well as not really knowing what the future will hold with regards to work etc. But, that doesn’t worry me anymore, I embrace it and take one day at a time…but as I say every month, who knows what next month might bring?!
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Emily Hughes – The Perky Portuguese Transplant
Blessed with the most common name in America, I set out to be different at a young age. I claimed the theatre as “my space” and moved to New York at 18, to study and pursue my Broadway dream. As it turns out, the bright lights of Europe (and work-life balance, HELLO!) were calling my name a bit more than the lights of Broadway, so I uprooted my life and decided on Portugal as a home base. For two years, I worked around the world as a singer on cruise ships, documenting all of my adventures (primarily consisting of running paths and hipster coffee shops) on . At the moment, I like the feeling of solid ground beneath my feet, and I’m enjoying waking up every day in my small, Portuguese surf town. When I’m not working as a copywriter, you can find me running, testing my flexibility with yoga, and attempting to make culinary miracles happen in my ancient, antique kitchen. I’m a city girl at heart, with a particular fondness for Hamburg, Germany, so who knows what language I’ll have to learn next…
At the moment, I’m hooked on The Daily podcast from The New York Times. Journalists are under constant fire right now in the United States, and I have immense respect for the reporters continuing to churn out good work, with little reward. While I know it’s not exactly original, I’m also a HUGE fan of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and I’m stupidly excited to have more women like her shaking up the political scene in the states (I promise I don’t live there anymore, I’m just really into politics…) Music-wise, I’ve been listening to Ben Platt’s new album and revelling in ALL OF MY FEELINGS. His voice. It’s just… perfect. Ok, and on a more serious note, I’m really inspired by the push for more responsible travel that’s catching on, worldwide.
I just came back from the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia, and it’s easily one of my favorite destinations. I spent an afternoon with the folks at A Perfect Foundation, learning about the problems of plastic pollution, and it was nothing short of inspiring. We have to protect these beautiful places…
Besides Indonesia, Vietnam will forever hold a special place in my heart, as it was my first trip as a solo traveler, and it exceeded every single one of my expectations.
Norway has the most beautiful nature (it’s a fact), and Barcelona is the perfect city. Ok, and Lisbon is a close second…
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Eleni Philippou – The Curious Islander
Hey! I’m an islander at heart (I grew up in Cyprus) with big dreams and itchy feet. Living in a country surrounded by water, it’s not always easy or cheap to fly abroad to exotic destinations yet it’s definitely not impossible. At the same time, I remind myself that there is still so much to explore even in my own homeland. A weekend away (which is what I’m doing right now) can be as thrilling as a trip abroad.
I love getting to know other cultures and discovering how in fact similar we all are. I recently travelled to Russia, Mongolia and China and was in awe to see that our joys and worries don’t differ so much.
Since September 2018 I’ve joined the remote worker wagon and it has its ups and downs, though I’m totally loving creating my own schedule and work space. It’s still something I’m getting used and haven’t crack the code on how to ace it yet but it’s a fun process and I love the flexibility it gives me. One thing I’m seeing is that I crave to be social more and being with like-minded people is key.
During my Transiberian trip I bought a book from St Petersburg that I can’t stop raving about. “How to be a better tourist” by Johan Idema has all of my inner thoughts about travelling. If you are mindful about the way you travel, the effect tourism has or even want some new ideas about vacations, it’s a fantastic read. I can’t recommend it enough!
I’m thinking about blogging about it on my . In fact, the relationship with my blog has been shifting in my mind lately. Getting to write for cool platforms and publications is fantastic and it’s making me re-think how I use my blog and what kind of content I want to save just for that. In between deadlines and travelling though it’s a bit tricky, yet I’m sure I’ll figure it out. Stick around if you want to see its progress.
When I was twenty-one, I did a mini-tour of Latin America the summer before I returned to university. Costa Rica was one of my favourite places I visited for its pure-hearted and kind people, its delicious food, relaxed lifestyle and incredible nature. One day, I was off to do zip-lining in the jungle when our van suddenly stopped in the middle of the road because a little sloth was cross the road. It was the cutest thing and the best reason to wait an extra 30 minutes. Zip-lining over valleys and through the trees was an experience I’ll remember forever and gladly repeat.
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Tamara – The Rock & Roll Backpacker
Although I am a Yorkshire girl at heart, I have been living on the other side of the world, in Melbourne, for the past 14 months. I work casual jobs (such as at a winery), alongside freelance projects like travel writing and social media management. As much as I adore being in such a creative, entrepreneurial and music-obsessed city as Melbourne, I admit – I do really miss Europe (and especially the English countryside)!
I’ve been thinking about the future a lot recently, and in more ways than one. I’ve always known that I need to run my own business, but my dislike of being stationary and having to commit has proved a rather inconvenient challenge in this department! Setting up an online company or becoming freelance full-time seems to be the only solution, so right now, this is my focus! I won’t lie, it’s really stressing me out – I have so much respect for business owners and freelancers, it really takes guts. I’m also currently trying to grow my travel and music blog, , in the hope that I can one day monetise it – but it’s still super early days!
Climate change is also on my mind. My desire to see the world but also protect it is causing me a bit of anxiety and guilt. Can both realistically work together? Have we done irreversible damage to the planet and more importantly, does anyone even care? These are the kind of things I think about probably way too much! Being in Australia currently, I pretty much have to fly if I want to go anywhere and for me that’s a dilemma. I am trying to stick with micro-adventures but deep down I’m pretty restless and desperately craving a solo adventure in an unknown land with my music, backpack and walking boots.
Speaking of music, I am totally obsessed with Australian rock (in fact, it may have been a big pull factor for moving here!) I’m especially into female rockers like Stonefield and Courtney Barnett. I have a huge if you’re interested in having a listen! I’m also enjoying podcasts like the hilarious but educational ‘No Such Thing As A Fish’ and travel shows like ‘So She Travels’ and ‘Women Who Travel’ by Condé Nast Traveler.
Despite toning down travelling this year, I’ve recently been to The Philippines, South Korea, England (home) and briefly visited Bucharest for a press trip. South Korea was a destination that totally captivated and surprised me. Seoul is amazing – a modern and clean city with great food, a respectful culture and beautifully preserved pockets of history, all set against a backdrop of mountains. I’d go back in a heartbeat!
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Jodie – The Sassy Snowbird
I’m Jodie, originally hailing from Kent, SE England. I’m about to turn 32 and have spent the last 10 years travelling on and off essentially and the last 6 working remotely, which largely involves me watching Netflix from a range of exotic locations! I moved back to London last year to see if I can still hack it and have really enjoyed being closer to family and friends, but with plenty of little adventures thrown in, naturally. I live in a glorified cupboard, so it’s exactly as glamorous as you can imagine, but it’s nice to have some roots again. Now all I need is a puppy, but my mum says I can’t have one until I “grow up.”
I have found living back in a major cosmopolitan city has been helpful in having a more well-rounded life with lots of time for chic cocktails (yes, they can be inspirational) but access to excellent co-working and yummy food, plus networking events. I own a small brand that manufactures and retails travel products so when I’m not writing I’m usually thinking up new product ideas and chasing orders from suppliers. Having completed a few writing courses recently, I’m trying to get into writing for magazines, so I spend a lot of time scrawling through travel mags, my personal fave at the moment is the beautifully made .
I’m headed to Cape Town for a month in September which I’m really excited for. Wine, beach, nature, penguins! I’ve always wanted to go so it’s my birthday present to myself! Taking a girlie glamping trip at the end of August too, so that will probably be my last trip of the summer.
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Maria – The Boho Adventurer
I hail from a beautiful corner of the world – South Australia. Since graduating from my degree, I’ve have lived in Paris, backpacked through Europe, volunteered in Nepal and I’m now based in London, soaking up the chaos and excitement of life in the big smoke. I’m always planning my next adventure and I love exploring new cultures, cuisines and cities. My favourite destination is Italy – I simply cannot get enough of the beautiful scenery and delicious food.
I get inspiration from a range of different sources and it’s constantly changing. However, the National Geographic recently released a podcast where every week they dive into a conversation overheard at the National Geographic’s offices. For example, a National Geographic writer shared her story about what it was like to scuba dive underneath a pyramid in Sudan. I really enjoy listening to personal travel stories, especially from inspirational women who are daring enough to venture to remote and uncharted destinations.
At the moment, I am planning a sailing trip along the coast of Turkey. We will be boarding a gulet which is a traditional wooden Turkish sailing boat and heading up the coast from the town of Fethiye. Along the way we will stopping at caves, jump from the boat straight into the turquoise sea and hopefully finding some little secluded beaches. I’ve never been to Turkey before so am very excited to soak up its unique culture and dig in to some of the local cuisine.
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We’d love to hear about you, our readers too! What’s your story?
Happy travels (or wanderlusting),
Tamara, Gemma, Emily, Eleni, Jodie & Maria
xx
