Women of Zafigo

After a 26-hour bus ride from Córdoba, I arrived at the tail end of the Easter holidays, to a fully booked guesthouse. That was the first and last I saw of guests.

There are two types of people in the world; those who are too lazy to climb up a flight of stairs and those who are willing to travel for 40 hours to explore a different continent. Hermandari Kartowisastro is the latter.

Many of us have heard of the danger that sometimes comes with travelling. We see it in the news; our loved ones remind us to take care of ourselves. But the thing with terror is that it has no specific time or place. Claire McFarlane experienced it first-hand.

Adrienne Lee is a consultant for Tourism Cares who spoke on career opportunities the tourism industry provides for women, the lengths independent organisations go to provide transferrable skills, and benefits for its volunteers.

Himadri Garg and her sister wanted to experience life beyond the patriarchal lens, and they believed their home country of India was the perfect place to start.

As a senior lecturer who’s passionate about tourist and guest behaviour, it came as no surprise that Dr Catheryn Khoo-Lattimore would tackle travel trends and the effect it has on women at ZafigoX 2018.

I took up a month-long Workaway job at a hostel in Punta del Diablo, a tiny fishing village that got touristy after getting a shoutout on the Lonely Planet. I only ventured out once and I went by foot.

These are the recollections of a retired Army Intelligence Officer. Beverly Aishah Roach started as a radio technician and worked towards becoming the first female army intelligence officer in the Canadian Military.

Stories of the girl who hitchhiked from Sweden to Malaysia were all over the internet. But Petrina is more than just that.

Life is too interesting for one type of travel experience. We sometimes envy those who get to travel for work. The idea seems glamourous but what it deprives us of is being adventurous on our own terms.

Anita Yusof described herself as a simple woman who believed the best way to see the world is by bike. Her trainer said, “you are the worst adventure rider I have met in my entire life. Sell your bike.” But did she do as told? No.

“Every child here, I can tell you their story and how far they’ve come,” Melody says with a smile.