And it’s OK that way — I marveled at New Zealand’s iconic Pancake Rocks for the first time more than 30 years ago. It took decades until I returned; hand in hand with a Kiwi who had enchanted me with his love for his stunning home country. Today, I am standing here again, but this time…

As I disappear into the autumn sun — There was neither horizon, cloud, nor sound; of that pink, spread silence even I had become part, belonging as much to sky as to earth — Emily Carr While spring is ultimately in the air in many countries, New Zealand is taking wavering steps towards the chillier part of the…

A reset of an exceptional kind — Slowly. As if at a snail’s pace, she pushes her way up. Agonizingly, yet in shattering lockstep, people pushing towards her, tired and weary. Eye rubbing at last. Head scratching, too. What has happened? Tears are the only elixir to liquefy the delusion. Despair is finally weaker than courage. …

It makes me grateful — The last time I had to work hard physically was eons ago. I was twenty-two and in Australia picking grapes. Six bucks were the minimum hourly wage back then. I recently found a letter to my folks complaining the pay was too little to live, yet too much to die. …

Sometimes, there’s no other way — “Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark” — Rabindranath Tagore “I’ve never met a woman touring on a motorcycle by herself. Only in groups. Why do you do that?” And so began a random conversation with a stranger over a cup…

Can become a giant leap — When I finally step aside, nothing and no one is holding me back no more. Stepping aside may seem insignificant in terms of distance (emotional, physical). Still, it can become a giant leap toward where you genuinely need to be. Because it thrusts the goddamn door open that’s been bolted…

It’s life’s genuine essence — For a long time, I seriously considered myself a city girl. Loved to go shopping and enter smoky bars. On my own. Found some inspiration in overpriced new attire and random chats over the counter with strangers and their earthly stories. I was bored with slow-paced country life, which I…

But hugely liberating — Some of us just want to ride away for days, weeks, months — or maybe forever. If you’re after a heart-pounding solo adventure, a motorcycle ride of a couple of thousand km right across Nepal, why not consider a trip to Rara Lake in its remote Western part? Most people…

Unless you brave it yourself — What do you know about Mauritania and its women? Probably as much as I do, which is close to nothing. But that has changed. Today, I stumbled across an eye-opening article concerning the deplorable situation of women in this West African country. More specifically, of teenage women and girls. I…