@bemytravelmuse

This 🌺 👑 is about to fall down around my neck and also this stingray feels like mushrooms 😂⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Time for a little dose of IG vs. reality: It's not exactly like one goes into the water in Mo'orea and the stingrays just circle around you like BFFs. @alexinwanderland and I went out twice trying to get the shot right and most of what we got pictures of was (rather hilarious) fails. I'd do it all differently next time and will be writing about it on the blog, but it's safe to say this one requires more effort than meets the eye. ⁣⁣ ⁣ It's also fair to say these rays are habituated and not totally wild, but it was cool to see them and feel them climbing on my legs nonetheless!

This drop was WILD! Humpbacks come from Antarctica all the way to French Polynesia strictly to mate and give birth, and this year was baby year! ⁣ ⁣ Last year I mostly swam with playful adults but this year we found males after females with calves several times and it was always total chaos. ⁣ ⁣ This mom was swirling around while the calf, seemingly unaware of the danger, was having the best time belly rolling and playing while the male aggressively pursued his mom. Then two more males came to join and it turned into a swirling show of five whales circling and circling while we watched. I’ve done 5 weeks now in the water with these guys and sometimes they love swimming with us and other times they’re too busy to really care we’re there. This time was the latter. ⁣ ⁣ The days on the water can feel long, the current is strong, the waves are big, and there’s lots of swimming involved, but if you can enjoy the ‘hunt’ of it, the rewards can be so thrilling! (📷: @matthew.reichel)

Be My Travel Muse turned 8 yesterday! It’s like I blinked and 8 years went right by. But these have been the 8 most adventurous years of my life, from sleeping in cheap dorms and taking cargo ships and overnight buses in Southeast Asia to hitchhiking through China, trekking for months in Patagonia, and now going into week 3 of swimming with whales in the South Pacific, doing this mostly alone and writing about it for other solo female travelers has become one of my greatest joys, and certainly made me a better person. I have you to thank for being here, because without you this wouldn’t exist. Thank you to those who have been here since day 1 and those who have joined along the way. It’s been a wild ride with many 11th hour moments but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Much love to every single one of you!

Back with the homies 🐋 🤙⁣ ⁣ Since I know y'all have questions (did I really just use 'y'all? Who am I?), Tahiti reopened to tourists in Mid-July. I got a very specific test in the US 48 hours (with result!) before I left. In fact I got two because I wanted to be sure of the result! I took another test 4 days into being here. It’s been so beautiful to be back. Despite this crazy year I could feel deep in my heart that I would return. It’s beautiful when you love a place just as much for the experience as the people, and they not only remember you but welcome you back, and make you part of the family. There’s a love I have for this place that’s hard to explain, like I was always meant to find it, like it was always meant to be a part of me. What places are like that for you? (📷 @matthew.reichel)

Seeing the endangered mountain gorillas in @uganda_tourism was one of my life’s most incredible animal encounters. Seeing any animal on safari is amazing, but there’s something extra special about hiking through the dense jungle of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on foot, listening to the songs of birds all around, and standing so close to the majestic gorillas that are so similar to us, as they go about their routine. The silverback was just hanging out, the babies drummed on their bellies to mimic him, and the juveniles snacked and climbed on the trees. The gorillas are also a lifeline for their local community which relies on tourism to survive. On I wanted to share this with you, to encourage you to put Uganda on your bucket list. Uganda is truly gorgeous and, when it reopens on October 1, they are welcoming us all back with open arms. Hit the link in my bio on how to go gorilla trekking in Uganda! @uganda_tourism

Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.⁣ ⁣ This we know: the earth does not belong to man - man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood that unites one's family. All things are connected. - Chief Seattle

Washington state blew me away. I'm endlessly amazed by the landscape in the American West and this is truly the icing on the cake. It probably helped that I must've gotten the best week of weather possible, resplendent with pink and gold sunsets and sunrises for the books. My YouTube and blog are both updated with my best suggestions for 48 hours in Mount Ranier national park. Hit the link in my bio to check it out!

Did you even go to the PNW if you didn’t wear flannel?⁣ ⁣ More specifically, flannel that you annexed from your brother's closet? 😜⁣ ⁣ A note on the geotag: This is from Rialto beach, which is on National Park land. The beaches accessible via La Push are closed at the moment. However as I understand it, Quileute land used to include this area, and I wish to acknowledge that.

Burning Man 2020? Oh yeah, it happened. ⁣ ⁣ I definitely went through several stages of grief when burning man got canceled this year. Maybe it won’t make sense to people who have never been, and I know it’s not a life or death situation, but this is where I connect, grow, expand, and it has meant a lot to me over the years. I love Black Rock desert anyway, so I figured why not just head out there and see what’s going on?⁣ ⁣ It turned out there was still art (!) lasers (!) sound stages (!) sound baths, costumes, and amazing people. Of course it was on a much smaller scale than normal and very, very spread out.⁣ ⁣ But it was so encouraging to be able to participate in something again that could feel expansive and enriching. I love seeing the creative ways we can navigate this new normal without giving up the things that mean the most to us, all while still honoring a wide spectrum of people’s various needs for space and safety. ⁣ ⁣ For the most part, people asked for consent when approaching and talking, people would wear masks when dancing and make it part of the costume (or in my case a giant panda head), there was plenty of room. It felt like all levels of need and comfort were honored and respected. ⁣ ⁣ Anything is workable with a compassionate enough community where kindness and respect matter. ⁣ ⁣ Ninth burn in the books, And for the first time wearing a @wanderbabeclothing costume that I designed myself! Certainly not how I expected it to look, but just having the chance to dance in the dust felt so. Damn. Good. Maybe it was more like how it used to be way back in the day. Check out my stories today for some behind the scenes on how it all looked! (📷: @vertical_vixen)

Being a woman online is means getting constant lectures and unsolicited advice from strangers. It's an occupational hazard, which I could make peace with, except...⁣ ⁣ It’s fraught with girl-on-girl crime. ⁣ ⁣ It happens every time I post about body positivity, or really anything at all lately. I see it happen to my fellow female influencers who are willing to take on controversial issues. And I’m not talking about constructive dialogue, which I welcome. I’m talking about anger, lecturing, and unsolicited advice. ⁣ ⁣ I see too many women on Facebook and Instagram constantly ranting or taking each other down, and I wonder why. It feels like we’re acting out a patriarchal objective and it’s unfortunate. ⁣ ⁣ It’s been such a short time in history that women could have a voice, could hold higher offices, could make meaningful waves of change, and be CEO. In much of the world it’s still a distant dream. Why not celebrate each other for that? Why not be united in the fight for equality? ⁣ ⁣ It is so easy to cast stones. It is so easy to be critical of another person without looking at the positive actions that *we* could be taking instead.⁣ ⁣ Are we all supposed to agree on everything? ⁣ ⁣ Most influencers never take a hard stance on anything because they are afraid of the backlash. I get it, it’s way easier to post pretty pictures and bask in the praise. ⁣ ⁣ The lectures and assumptions can hurt, and it took many sessions with my therapist for me to work through these rude comments. I know they’re not really about me, but we are evolutionarily hardwired to crave acceptance. So while I would love to not care what people think, it is a voyage.⁣ ⁣ So shout out to my fellow queens who don’t shy away from speaking their truth. I see you, I respect you, and I am cheering for you, even if I don’t always agree with you. We get it way more than men do, and I know it takes double the strength to put yourself out there. ⁣ ⁣ Please list some of your favorite strong and brave women on this platform in the comments! I will too! ⁣ ⁣

America the beautiful. ⁣ ⁣ It makes me sad when people talk about ‘how terrible’ things are here. They’re not perfect. We have major racism and public health issues — the list goes on — and I’m not proud of that, but we have this beauty too. I’ve traveled the world looking for something as gorgeous as our nature and I’m here to tell you it’s rare. We have wilderness, we have really friendly people, and we do have so much more freedom and comforts than those who haven’t spent time in the developing world realize. ⁣ ⁣ I could have gotten German citizenship on the track that I was on (I lived there for over 4 years and permanent residency was available to me), but I chose to come home, and I choose to focus on the good things here now, because there are many. ⁣ ⁣ We can fight for a better world while loving the positive aspects of the one we’re in. I couldn’t stay sane any other way.

What I love about Winnipeg is how much is going on, regardless of time of year. I visited once in the summer and once in the winter, and loved it in both seasons! To me, it’s incredibly underrated but at the same time, I think that’s what keeps it so charming. Check out the link in my bio for my latest @alamorentacar Scenic Route article to see what I thought of attending my first hockey game in Canada, along with other exciting activities in the area! ⁣ ⁣ P.S. no flowers were harmed in the making of this photo. I’m just right on the edge of the field.