100 Places Every Woman Should Go - Introduction
Time disappeared when I spun the globe and dropped my young finger on a hunk of foreign land—a pink continent, a green island, a republic or a highland or a range. The italics, the bold, the ragged coastlines, the vast teal-blue oceans: to me, it all added up to potential. In some nascent way, even then I understood that seeing the world would be among life’s sweetest nectars.
And now, with a good bit of road dust under my nails, and a keener than ever sense of years flying by, traveling with a reason (rather than the way of the peripatetic) seems more important than ever. But Where? And Why?
It’s a wide, wide, wide, daunting and thrilling world out there, and we could all use a bit of direction. Sure, there are stacks of guidebooks that offer ample information about bus fares, hotels, and arcane history—the kind of stuff that flies out of your mind the minute you find yourself dancing on a sturdy Greek table, or watching an offering glide down the holy Ganges, or gazing across Cambodia’s killing fields.
We ladies could use a book that limns the world in a way that makes sense for us; a book that encourages us to lead with our inspirations and chase down their manifestations around the globe. 100 Places Every Woman Should Go does just that. This is the brain trust of an intrepid traveler who lashed on her estro-lens, filled a few passports, and is now handing over all the juicy liner notes so others can engage the world in a similarly spirited, pro-woman way.
There are lots of good reasons to travel far, near, and widely. Sometimes we simply need to escape the numbing demands of the work-a-day grind; sometimes we’ve lost our way and need the life-altering clarity one can achieve from leaping outside the comfort zone; sometimes we hope to connect with our contemporaries around the globe who face challenges similar and different from our own: poverty, land mines, spiritual angst, potty training. Sometimes we simply need to remember that there’s a two-steppin’ cowgirl within each of us—and that she could use a top-notch massage now and then.
This practical paean serves as a fresh reminder that every trip can be a votive journey of sorts. Reading it sparked memories of my own long-delayed pilgrimages: that intriguing Virgin festival in a tiny nook of South America that I’ve been meaning to get to—for a decade; the magical Hindu temple in Kerala that has long beckoned; the sites of my own matrilineal roots.
100 Places Every Woman Should Go touches on all the best reasons to travel, and delivers a hot list of destinations that is sure to enliven the Where and Why of your next adventure. Onward!
—Holly Morris
Brooklyn, USA
Holly Morris is executive producer/writer/host of the award-winning PBS series Adventure Divas and is the author of Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for Women Who Are Changing the World.
Preface
Wanderlust pumps through my veins: I've explored two dozen countries and all but four of the United States in the past decade, and ache for more. Every place is glorious in its own special way, but now and then, I stumble upon somewhere sacred. It usually takes a moment to recover, and when I do, I scan the room (or wilderness) for a pair of eyes to share it with. No matter where I am-downtown Manhattan or the Mongolian steppe-it is inevitably in the eyes of another woman that I find a similar spark or sense of wonderment. Afterward, I can only describe the place as one where "every woman should go."
When Travelers' Tales approached me with this project, memories of these places surged forth. I scribbled down half the list in half an hour, then started calling my girlfriends (and a few select boy friends). Nearly one hundred interviews later, this book was born. Within its covers, you'll discover places where women made history, where we battled for our rights to rule, to speak, to vote, to be free. You'll find places of inspiration and enlightenment, such as the 88 Sacred Temples of Japan, and places of purification and beautification, such as the mud bath volcanoes of Cartagena, Colombia. Looking for a little adventure? There's surfing in Costa Rica, mountain trekking in Pakistan, canyoneering in Utah, pearl diving in Bahrain. Or do you just want to indulge? Choose between white-sand beaches in Zanzibar, champagne tours in France, and chicken tamales drowned in black mole sauce in Oaxaca. For every site of struggle on this planet (Rwanda, Beirut, Cambodia, New Orleans) there is a site of celebration (rumba clubs, full moon haflas, flamenco festivals, Carnivale).
In short, this book documents places where being a woman is affirmed and confirmed; where you will be energized and impassioned.
Perhaps you are wondering: does this mean there will be no men? Not a chance: in some locales—Rio de Janeiro, Havana, Bali-they are a main attraction! But we all know how catcalls from street corners and wandering hands in crowded subways can tarnish an otherwise fabulous trip. So pains were taken to include places populated by men who are at least somewhat respectful to foreign women. Of course, not all women are similarly received on the open road. A Bulgarian friend of mine, who has dark Mediterranean features, strolled across southern Italy without incident, while a busty blonde American friend got harassed at every turn. Our perceived race, class, religion, and sexual orientation can have just as much-or more-impact abroad as at home.
Another initial goal was to choose only places where local women, indigenous people, and the environment are treated with kindness, but it was nearly impossible to find 100 of them: inequities are too omnipresent. Instead, I tried to highlight the work of local community activists so that if you, like me, feel guilty downing a glass of Chardonnay in Napa Valley while undocumented farm workers are hunched over in the sun, you know where to volunteer or send a check afterward.
These destinations can be visited with your girlfriends, your mother, your daughter, or your partner. But hopefully you'll someday travel to at least one alone, to take on Mother Road on your own terms and experience what she has to offer. Be forewarned that she will push you to your physical, spiritual, and psychological limits—then nudge you a few steps further. But at the end of the journey, you'll be more self-reliant and self-assured, and ever more the woman.
May your travels take you far and wide!
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