At Wild Women Expeditions, travel isn’t defined by distance or destinations alone. It’s shaped by the moments in between — shared glances on a Zodiac boat, laughter echoing through canyons, deep conversations under open skies, and the grounding realization that you are exactly where you’re meant to be.
This year was full of those moments.
It was a year of bold adventures and gentle awakenings. Of women stepping into unfamiliar landscapes — geographic and internal — and discovering strength, softness, courage, and connection along the way. Our staff walked the trails, sailed the rivers, listened deeply to the stories of local communities, and returned home changed.
This end-of-year reflection celebrates those experiences. A round-up of stories from the field. A love letter to the women who lead, host, guide, and shape our journeys — and to the places that met us halfway.
Baja, Mexico — Learning to Say Yes to Wonder
There’s something about Baja that invites you to loosen your grip — on expectations, on fear, on the idea that you need to have it all figured out.
For Kyra, Baja unfolded as a rhythm of movement and stillness, challenge and joy. Days began on foot, hiking through the breathtaking Santa Rita Canyon, where towering cliffs filtered the sun into golden beams, and every step forward revealed a new perspective. These were the kinds of hikes that invite presence — where conversation ebbs and flows naturally, and silence feels companionable rather than empty.
After the heat of the trail came the gift of water: hot springs tucked into the landscape like secrets waiting to be discovered, followed by crystal-clear pools that cooled skin and sparked laughter. These were the moments where guards dropped, and connections deepened — where joy became contagious.
And then came the sea.
One of the most powerful transformations Kyra witnessed wasn’t in the landscape, but in the women themselves. Watching participants shed fear and step into the unknown — slipping into snorkels and swimming alongside playful sea lion pups — was a reminder that courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes it giggles underwater.
As night fell, Baja revealed another layer of magic. Starlit skies mirrored themselves in glowing, bioluminescent waters, creating a world that shimmered above and below. It was the kind of beauty that lingers — not just in memory, but in the body.
Every hike, every swim, every shared smile felt like a perfect blend of adventure, wonder, and connection.
Stars above, glowing bioluminescent waters below, tide pools to explore, hot springs to soak, hikes to conquer, and playful sea lion pups — adventure from dawn to dusk.
~ Kyra Dahlke
Costa Rica — Letting Nature Lead
Costa Rica has a way of reintroducing you to wonder.
For Jenny, this journey marked her first time in the Costa Rican jungle — and with it came a cascade of firsts. Childhood imagery came alive when a toucan, once known only from cereal boxes, appeared through her binoculars, vibrant and unmistakably real.
Macaws flashed overhead. Hummingbirds darted between blossoms. Herons stood watchful and still. The clay-coloured thrush — Costa Rica’s national bird — sang its distinctive song, embodying the country’s Pura Vida philosophy: a celebration of life as it is.
Then there were the creatures that often trigger fear— basilisk lizards skimming water, golden vipers coiled in silence, red-eyed tree frogs glowing like jewels, caimans and crocodiles watching from riverbanks. Guided by local experts, these encounters shifted from fear to reverence. Observing these animals in their natural habitat felt like a privilege — a reminder of how much we have to learn when we slow down and pay attention.
And finally, the sloths. Elusive, unhurried, permanently smiling. Whether two-toed or three-toed, they embodied a lesson many of us forget: rest is not laziness. Stillness is not wasted time.
The wildlife remind us to conserve our energy, slow down our busy lives and just chill out — they teach us Pura Vida!
~Jenny Martindale
Egypt — When Time Becomes Fluid
Some journeys rearrange your sense of time. Egypt did just that.
For Julie-Anne, sailing on a Dahabiya up the Nile was one of those experiences — one that felt almost surreal in its ability to collapse thousands of years into a single moment.
As the boat glided past riverbanks once travelled by ancient Kings and Queens, daily life unfolded in scenes both timeless and contemporary: camel trains moving slowly across the land, wooden carts pulled by donkeys, children playing on the riverbanks, palm trees swaying gently to the rhythmic Muslim Call to Prayer echoing across water and sand dunes.
It was impossible not to imagine the past while fully inhabiting the present. To feel the weight of history alongside the immediacy of modern Egyptian life — in Cairo, in rural villages, and along the river itself.
Each day seemed impossible to top — and yet somehow, the journey continued to deepen.
It felt like we had covered more of what Egypt had to offer than we thought imaginable, seeing and experiencing human history from literally 4500 years ago, interspersed with visits to local families, gaining insight into modern Egyptian life in Cairo and traditional, contemporary life in rural villages. Time took on a whole new meaning. Ticking off the major wonders of the world, to slowing down and watching life pass by as we sailed up the Nile — everything about our time in Egypt was bordering on surreal.
~ Julie- Anne Davies
Perspective at the Edge of the Map
For Cline, much of the past summer was spent hosting small groups of Wild Women on small-ship expeditions across Europe and the Arctic. These journeys gave the group access to remote landscapes, pristine environments, and the everyday lives of the people who call these places home.
One of the greatest joys of small ship travel is its intimacy. The ability to visit communities that larger vessels can’t reach. To listen, learn, and engage with local culture in a way that feels reciprocal rather than extractive. To hike in places so remote they feel untouched — where fresh air resets the nervous system and perspective quietly shifts.
Cline describes these journeys as hitting the reset button — a return with refreshed energy and a renewed sense of what matters.
One moment in particular left a lasting impression. While exploring Kangerlussuatsiaq Fjord in Greenland, Cline shared a zodiac with Inuit advocate and filmmaker Martha Flaherty. Over the course of the voyage, Martha shared stories of her life, her advocacy work, and her childhood relocation by the Canadian government — experiences later documented in the film Martha of the North.
Listening to Martha’s story — and later watching the film together onboard — was a powerful reminder of the responsibility that comes with travel. To listen more than speak. To honor lived experience. To recognize that beauty and history can coexist with grief and resilience.
These are the moments that stay with you long after the ship returns to port.
There’s a particular kind of clarity that comes from standing at the edge of the world — where maps blur, air feels sharper, and distractions fall away.
~Cline Owen
Mongolia — Wide Open Hearts, Wide Open Skies
In Mongolia, even the rainbows feel different.
Julie-Anne (photographer extraordinaire) captured these massive arcs stretching across the sky with a level of intensity that makes it easy to understand why this land holds such deep spiritual significance. Here, nature isn’t something to conquer — it’s something to revere. Mountains, rivers, and landscapes are believed to carry divine essence. The sky itself is blessed, seen as a nurturing force that sustains all life.
Julie Anne shared that travelling through Mongolia invites a particular openness — a willingness to meet the land not with expectations, but with humility.
It’s a place that asks you to feel more than think. To listen. To widen your heart.
We can hold onto any or all of the moments that we choose from our encounters throughout this lifetime, but one thing that feels certain after our Mongolia travel adventure and our time in this incredible land is that there is beauty and power – healing, transformation even – in experiencing our journeys with our hearts as WIDE open as the Mongolian sky.
~Julie Anne Davies
Baffin Island & Greenland — The Power of Shared Stories
The Arctic has a way of expanding you — emotionally, spiritually, imaginatively.
For Claire, the Baffin Island and Greenland expedition was defined by contrast. No two days were the same, yet each carried its own quiet invitation to fall a little more in love with the North. Vast tundra landscapes. Ice-dotted seas. The humbling scale of a place that refuses to be rushed.
But among all the unforgettable experiences, one moment stood out with particular clarity.
Before arriving in Greenland, the group gathered for a private cultural circle with Inuit women who were travelling on board with them. What unfolded wasn’t scripted or performative — it was honest, open, and deeply human. The women spoke about their lives, their histories, their strengths, and their challenges. In return, our group shared their own stories.
What emerged was a space of rare vulnerability — one that transcended geography and background. A reminder that while landscapes can differ wildly, the experience of womanhood often holds shared threads.
It was educational. Emotional. Transformative.
And it became one of many highlights that made the Arctic feel not just vast, but intimate.
I went into the trip expecting an out-of-this-world adventure (which it absolutely was), but did not anticipate building these amazing connections with other women who would transform this experience into something even more unforgettable.
~ Claire McLean
More Than the Views: Croatia’s Got Heart
Candice expected Croatia’s landscapes to be breathtaking —but what surprised her most was how deeply its history and sense of community are intertwined. In towns shaped by centuries of empires, shifting borders, and war, there’s a resilience you can feel. Stories live in the stone streets, the coastlines, and the way people gather—slowly, intentionally, together. History here isn’t something behind glass; it’s woven into daily life, meals shared, and conversations that invite you to pause and listen. People take care of their people.
Croatia’s greens and blues feel almost unreal. But moving through the country reveals that its beauty isn’t only visual — it’s layered with human experience, history, and the lives that have shaped the land.
Guided by people deeply connected to these places, the trip felt less like sightseeing and more like stepping into a living story—one rooted in care for community and a powerful sense of belonging.
~Candice Bartlett
Carrying It Forward
As we step into a new year, these stories travel with us.
They remind us that adventure isn’t about ticking boxes — it’s about presence. That transformation doesn’t always arrive with fireworks — sometimes it comes quietly, through connection, reflection, and shared humanity.
At Wild Women Expeditions, we believe travel can be a catalyst for transformation. For more than 30 years, we’ve been a global leader in women-only adventure travel, creating immersive, small-group expeditions that prioritize connection, cultural respect, and personal growth.
We travel intentionally. And we travel together. Each year, our all-female team of guides, hosts, and expedition leaders journey alongside women into some of the world’s most extraordinary places — from the Arctic and Antarctica to Costa Rica’s rainforests, the deserts of Baja, the Nile River in Egypt, and the vast open steppe of Mongolia. These aren’t just trips; they’re experiences rooted in curiosity, courage, and community.
As we close out this year, we’re pausing to reflect on the moments that mattered most — the quiet breakthroughs, the shared laughter, the conversations that lingered long after the journey ended.
These are the moments that remind us why we do what we do — and why women-only adventure travel matters.
As we look ahead to 2026, imagine where your curiosity could take you. Join women from around the world on small-group, women-only adventures rooted in connection, culture, and growth.
