(1Save the date, Saturday, April 19, 11 am to chat about Iceland)
I travel because seeing the world, how other people live, what they eat, their grocery stores and gardens, cafes and colleges, helps me learn about myself. My place in the world. By witnessing and immersing myself in other worlds, I gain a bit of perspective. From Varanasi, India, to Thimphu, Bhutan and Selfoss, Iceland, watching how people live their lives helps me understand the world.
My mind wanders to Chochin, India now and then, to the tiny Paradesi Synagogue in Jew Town, with the Portuguese blue and white tiles, the prayers inscribed in Hebrew on the walls, the bimah in the center, and I wonder who is there right now.
I think about the Malecon in Havana, and the young people I saw with radios, trying to get a signal from Miami.
The small Juneydrak hermitage at the top of a hike through the woods in the Haa Valley, Bhutan, wrapped around the side of the mountain, where women, young and old, maintain the sanctuary with meditation and prayer.
I travel so that I can see them in my mind’s eye while I go about my day. I am not alone. The world is working. And I can go be a part of it anytime I desire. So that’s why I take you with me. To experience the world in community. To share. To make memories.
In 2007, the third year of running my bookstore, Breathe Books, in Baltimore, I came up with an idea to take customers to visit Sacred Sites around the world. My store was New Age - aromatherapy, angels, crystals, singing bowls, incense, meditation cushions, and loads and loads of books leaning towards the metaphysical. It was bright and beautiful and wildly successful from the start, thanks to the incredible, curious customers.
The store reflected my interests and experiences, and travel was high on my list, having lived overseas for a decade and having traveled to off-the-beaten-path to places like Bhutan, Iceland, and Cuba.
Crop circles, mysterious mounds, and the standing stones of Avebury and Stonehenge made up my first-ever group journey in July 2007.
In the 18 years since then, I have led groups to Peru and Bhutan, but India became our main destination. Sometimes leading two groups in a year, I believe I have traveled to India at least 13 times, including for Ayurveda studies and treatments, as well as group tours. The last trip was in 2019.
After COVID, in February 2023, I tentatively dipped my toe back into the international world of travel that I had missed so much and took a direct flight from Baltimore to Iceland, a trip I had made twice before. There, I visited with a woman who had become a friend on Zoom after we met through Ayurveda, Heiða Björk Sturludóttir, Ayurvedic practitioner, tour guide and native of the Westman Islands, Iceland.
We began creating a journey. Our goal was to show you not only the wild, beautiful nature of Iceland - the roaring waterfalls, bursting geysirs, deep craters, hot flowing lava, and silent skies filled with green streaks of the Aurora- but also the people, the food, and the customs. The idea was to tie in writing and storytelling to enhance the travel experience. Write & Roam was born.
Our 4th retreat is in 5 months, September 21 to 29. We do all the planning, even the packing list! All you have to do is show up for the adventure.
Awaiting you in Iceland is pure crystal clear water, hot geothermal spas, saunas with a view, a tiny population, horses, sheep, nature’s unbounded energy, boutique hotels, writing rooms, hot tubs, and my dear friend as our guide to introduce us to those people, places, and all the things that make Iceland so special.
Heida and I would love to chat with you about the September trip. Please join us on a Zoom call on Saturday, April 19 at 11 am ET. We will go over the itinerary, the highlights and adventures, take questions and tell you all you need to know.
Email me at susan@susanweisbohlen.com and I’ll send you the Zoom link.
What: Iceland Write & Roam Info Zoom
When: Saturday, April 19, 11 am ET (find your time and date here: https://www.timeanddate.com/
How: Email me for the link at susan@susanweisbohlen.com
Chat with Heida and me! We can’t wait to talk to you!
Lots of love,
Susan
Seeing how other people live is exactly why I love to travel too - I learn so much from this.