In honour of International Women's Day, the most bombastic, encouraging day of the year for all you ladies out there, here's 10 Travelling Inspirational Women Pushing Life To The Max! They are going above and beyond what you usually see in Solo Female Travel Blogs and are true champions. In no particular order, let's get to it and celebrate their awesomeness!
Lois Pryce ♥ Lois On The Loose
She used to work at the BBC but then she found herself in cubicle hell. She got a motorcycle license and that was that: she was off! 'Normal people could do this stuff. And if they could do it, I could too' says Lois. In 2003 she rode 20,000 miles from Alaska to Ushuaia. In 2006 she revved her way through Africa and in 2013 and 2014 she explored Iran! Now she's at the top of her game as far as kickass lady motorbike chicks go. We love you Lois!
Jessica O'Reilly ♥ Comfort Is For Wimps
The name says it all! On a mission to kick the media in the balls for creating ugly propaganda and ridiculous stereotypes about cultures which are genuinely amazing, Jessica is fighting for a lovely caring planet. She believes that to grow as a human being you must experience and learn so your mind doesn't curdle and make you smell like sour milk. Representing inspirational women everywhere, she's just returned from travelling around Afghanistan and exclaims, 'The Comfort Zone is where the boring people hang out'.
Cassandra De Pecol ♥ Expedition 196
Cassandra is attempting to break the Guinness World Record for fastest person to visit all 196 Sovereign Nations. She needs to do it in less than 3 years and 3 months! She's off discovering some of the most unknown and unique corners of the earth whilst promoting peace and prosperity through tourism. What a girl! Cassandra says, 'Some people do not pursue their dreams out of fear; fear of finances, fear of failure, or fear of the unknown. I have fears too, but I use those fears as motivation rather than an excuse'.
Deepti Asthana ♥ Women Of India
With her camera as her weapon, Deepti is representing Indian solo female travellers who are breaking stereotypes and pursuing their dreams. Her striking photography is telling stories that have been overshadowed for way too long. She wants to bring attention to the women in her country and stress the constant struggle these ladies are experiencing. 'I want to tell stories of a woman's strength to persevere in the most difficult of circumstances' says Deepti. Check out her work and break the silence.
Jasmine Reese ♥ FiJaPaw
One Girl. One Dog. A violin. A bicycle. Jasmine originally suppressed her desires to be a professional violinist due to a lack of confidence. After choosing a ‘secure’ career and battling depression she got on her bike one day with her dog and decided to cycle across the U.S. ‘I wanted to push myself to higher limits, to prove to myself that while I had “failed,” I was still capable of uniquely great things,’ says Jasmine. She has just set off again for her second epic adventure. ‘We can accomplish our dreams even if we’re poor, or old, or disabled, or isolated; we can challenge ourselves and succeed.’ Go Jasmine!
Prue And Becks ♥ Straight On Detour
Living on the road together as partners for 10 years, these loved-up solo female travellers are wonderfully tough cookies. Focusing on making the inaccessible and near impossible totally possible, they're inspirational women for all of us who want to make our bucket lists a reality. Crazy adventures include travelling alone through the 'Stan's', climbing active volcanoes to stand face to face with lava, swimming with killer whales in the Banda sea, crewing an independent sail boat through Papua New Guinea and road tripping with a tent through Canada for 5 months.
Liz Gillooly ♥ Moxie And Epoxy
She's a real deal licensed Sailboat Captain and a ballsy one at that! She's survived a jet ski collision, fired a cannon on a Caribbean Pirate Ship, saved people from drowning, got lost in the Atlantic Ocean when both fuel filters failed, come face to face with a whale and managed to stand up for herself in a man's world. She's doing a great job showing ladies that they can travel by working on boats too!
Laura Nalin ♥ Willful And Wildhearted
When you truly believe your life has hit rock-bottom, there is a light waiting for you in the shadows. Taking her brother off life support after a decade-long battle with heroin, seeing a terminal illness win over her Grandmother, escaping a mentally and physically abusive relationship and losing her job all within a span of nine months drove her to alcohol to deal with everything. She woke up one day determined to not be beaten anymore. She researched opportunities for living and working abroad and now lives in South Korea teaching English. Laura, we salute you.
Iris Veldwijk ♥ Mind Of A Hitchhiker
This girl is all about 'no-budget' travel! You can find her sleeping in petrol stations, pitching her tent in the most random of places, dumpster diving and most of all hitch hiking through it all! 'Discomfort is my comfort' says Iris. She's been to 63 countries including Mexico, Ukraine and Iran. For all of us who fear hitch hiking as women, this lady is proving the world wrong!
Divya Rai ♥ A Borrowed Backpack
With crazy sales targets and ambitious money-making goals at the top of Divya's Life List, she created her own funky clothing store for the fashionable ladies of Delhi. Surrounded by material possessions yet feeling devoid of any 'life', Divya experienced a traumatic brush with death at a wedding when her dress caught fire. After three months of recovery, she changed her life direction and values completely. 'Life is more rewarding now, as the focus is more on experience and less on everything that I won't be able to take along with me when I die' says Divya. Her blog explores lesser-known India and she's rocking it!
This post was first published in its original form on Teacake Travels.