images courtesy of National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA

Science Divas delves into the work, spirit and accomplishments of today’s women scientists, engineers and technology workers.

We will travel down to Antarctica, up the Ivory Towers of MIT and Harvard, and into sweltering volcanoes—whatever it takes to find women who are engaged in challenging and dynamic field work. We will capture the grit, realities and passionate lives of these divas who are pushing the intellectual envelope in today’s scientific world. 

Science Divas will challenge the myth of science as a boys’ club and shatter the image of the neutered, nerdy, female scientist slaving over a Bunsen burner.

After a brief and lively history of women who’ve made key contributions to a particular discipline (such as chemist Marie Curie or computer scientist Grace Murray Hopper), in each program Science Divas looks at contemporary women who are shaping their field of discipline, and explore the questions, boundaries, and principles that inspire them. Viewers will come away with a grasp of some of the most fascinating questions and issues in modern science—and the women who are tackling them.

Stay tuned for more information about the series and feel free to give us a shout-out to recommend a science diva.

Science Divas is fiscally sponsored by Women Make Movies a 501(c)3 non-profit media arts organization.

Help a sister out?

You can make a tax deductible donation to support Science Divas directly through Women Make Movies’ secure shopping cart.

Packing List: Eurail

Packing List: Trekking in Nepal

Packing List: Guatemala

Here’s how to pack light. Real light. So you can move fast ‘n easy. Check out our stash of custom lists for the adventures at hand:

Tropical Twist

avoiding those overburdened Heart of Darkness moments…
Crete
Cuba
Guatemala

Alpine Adventure

trekking in cool climes
Nepal

Riding the Rails

a European excursion
Eurail

Meanwhile, a few packing mantras:

1. Shed as you go: Bring old clothes you can leave behind, or t-shirts you can trade.
2. Come bearing gifts: Take a small item or two for friends you meet along the way. Nothing fancy — tokens like postcards, soap and vitamins are gratefully received in many parts.
3. Duct tape rules: Use it for everything from repairing a hole in your pack to fending off blisters. Wrap a bit around the bottom of your water bottle for easy transport.
4. Hone your packing list: It’s some kind of cosmic road rule that you’ll forget something essential. After each trip, cross off the junk you didn’t need and add the one thing you wish you had.
5. Bring photos of your homeys/post cards of home: People like to see the people and places you come from.
6. BYO Gyno Items: Take along your fave condoms, tampons and the like — they can be tough or $$$ to pick up on the road.
7. Rinse ‘n Go: With a little detergent, your select duds can go a long way.
8. Copy Key Docs: Stash photocopies of your passport, credit card, phone card and other essentials — at home and in your bag.
9. Be aware of how the people in the country you’re visiting might perceive you: i.e. no matter what kinda hardcore feminist you are, in Pakistan, you cover up these days.
10. Do Your Own Special Thang: Tuck in a talisman, a sketchpad, a recorder — a little something that allows you to be part of the place/connect in your own way.

Packing List: Cuba

Comfy and versatile summer clothes are the way to get the most out of the island pace — one that encourages just hanging out. One of the favorite past-times for tourists and locals alike is lingering in harborside cafés, talking, simply being… This place is the land of sandals and foot freedom! Teva-esque sandals handle most anything, but boots and socks are nice for rocky hikes like the stunning Samaria Gorge.

Nice-To-Know:

• Leave your rainbazaar at home. In Crete, they get something like 320 days of sunshine. And if it does rain, just get wet! It’ll be warm and wonderful.

• A skirt is key for monestary visits —
and dancing on hot
summer nights.

• Insect repellent is a must-bring from home if you like the natural stuff like citronella, though some hotels/hostels have wonderfully-made mosquito nets that canopy the bed.
That’s when the bastards get you — when you’re sleeping.

Suggested Reading:

Rough Guide Crete
by John Fisher, et al
A decent mix of history and useful travel information (tho’ targeting a slightly
older audience).
Lonely Planet Greece
by David Willett, et al
Good for all the usual stuff and the best all around, plus it’ll give you an overview of the mainland and other islands.

Zorba the Greek
by Nikos Kazantzakis
Check out both the book and movie. Though a bit cliché, the novel and film offer insight into the Greek way of life and glimpses of some tucked-away Cretan treasures.

Dictionary:

Greek phrase book/dictionary

Good Will Gifts:

boxed chocolates, alcohol, Zippo lighters

P.S.: If you’ve got to bring personal appliances, remember they use 220-volt AC in Crete.

Packing List: Crete

Globetrotter's Checklist

This is a table......

What is RSS?

RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndiation,” which means, simply, a technology that allows web content to be easily distributed to other sites on the internet and programs called “newsreaders.” There is a wide variety of newsreader programs available, many free, that will aggregate RSS news “feeds” and deliver them to a web-based newsreader, some email programs, and handheld devices.

Why Should I Care?

If you’re an Adventure Diva on the go and suffer from the common problem of information overload, then RSS can help. If you like to keep up with several websites regularly, RSS can help you stay on top of what’s new at each site, without having to visit them individually. For example, if you like to get your cultural news and world events from The New York Times, financial and business reports from The Wall Street Journal, and also look to The Times of India to see what’s affecting your sister in New Delhi, you can subscribe to the RSS feeds for your favorite sections of each site, and have the latest headlines collected in your newsreader program.

How Do I Get A Newsreader?

There are dozens of newsreaders out there, catering to different preferences. A good place to learn more is the Wikipedia entry for news “aggregator" (a.k.a. newsreader or feedreader).

I’ve Got A Newsreader. Now What?

Click on the RSS 2.0 feed icon, copy the URL (web address) from your browser (i.e. http://www.adventuredivas.com/divawire/rss_2.0), paste it into your newsreader et voila! Congratulations on being a tech savvy diva.

I’m Clueless About Computers. Help Me!

Don’t Panic. It is not necessary to subscribe to the RSS feed to read content from Adventure Divas. If you’re determined to get our RSS feed, however, and are running into problems, contact the support for your newsreader program, or drop us a line and we’ll attempt to help, but please understand we cannot provide official support for 3rd party programs.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Syndication*

Ingrid Emerick Biography

Jeannie Morris Biography

Adventure as a philosophy?

Adventure Divas cofounder Holly Morris tackles these ideas — along with our mission — in a speech to the Outdoor Industry Council. A version — adapted for your screen — follows:

Adventure Divas is a program of travel and biography and is driven by the energy of what we’re calling
diva-dom.

At the heart of each program lies a diva, and as we’ve worked our way towards a definition of diva, a few essential traits keep showing up. Divas are all over the world; they’re women who’ve not simply waited for their ships to come in, but rowed out to meet them. Be they musicians or mountain climbers, activists or poets, the common denominator in their lives, besides a healthy sense of humor, is a compass set on passion. Divas realize their full potential, and in doing so inspire not only admiration, but action. Divas show us that to indulge your passions fully is to know yourself completely. Only then can you treat the rest of the world — its people, its ecosystems — with wit and compassion.

Can Fun Pay?

With all this in mind, we have launched Adventure Divas with a television series at its center, but with creative and production arms extending into online and (someday) book publishing.

Adventure Divas speaks to the synergistic relationship between media and contemporary American culture, and to the eclectic combo-platter of ways we, as individuals, are gathering information and reflecting a borderless world. It also bows to the sensibility that we can do good work, and have fun. A belief that we can defy convention — even be political — and still end up in the black.

Along with most of my compatriots in the diva enterprise, I feel the excitement of being on the brink of something new, and am running on the adrenaline rush of courting the unknown. We’re sort of in that netherland of developmental wisdom — too young for hindsight and too busy for foresight — but we have been around enough to trust our instincts. We’re a visceral lot who learn as much from our bodies and senses — and our best friends — as we do from the academy, the corporate world or our culture’s more established institutions.

Perhaps most importantly, we are marked by the fact that we came of age reaping the benefits of a women’s movement in full swing. The women pioneers in previous generations provided us the opportunity to step into our lives with a heady amount of assumed power. We don’t spend a ton of our energies reacting — we focus on creating and challenging. Often, it’s about challenging ourselves, raising the bar on potential.

Changing the Game

One of our greatest challenges in the media is to load some pack behind our punch: to make style a spice and substance our nutrition. If we tell people to find the Diva Within, we must be committed to the art of mentorship. I hope each of us can find a woman and invest in her happiness and potential, personal as well as professional. Women can do amazing things with a little encouragement. If we tell people to Change the Game — fuel their entrepreneurial spirit and encourage them to take risks in business, to make new rules — then we must be prepared to lose a match to them, now and again.

If we say Power On, and they do learn the magic of flipping their own switch, we must not then fear them, and start throwing roadblocks in their way. An internal light source serves to brighten the world — and uses no fossil fuels in the process.

Power is a funny thing for women. We want it. We fear it. We spend time exercising a flavor of power that is not of our own making. And then, we come to learn that true power is about rocking with our own vulnerabilities and contradictions. Then we are unstoppable. When we dance in the ether of what we think we cannot do, when we tango with our fears, we transcend how others define us — as girl or woman — and begin to feel and do like Maven, Diva, Kick-Ass Woman.

We discover the Rock Star Within.

Run With It

And we all must access her, as she serves us well in business and in life. Whatever your source of power, I say pick it up and run with it. The rules ARE changing and, to quote Harriet Rubin, “When the rules are broken, or in shambles, women succeed. They feel they can do anything, challenge anyone.”

Women are participating in the outdoor and travel worlds in record numbers and, as important, our culture’s relationship to adventure is changing. Adventure is no longer a weekend theme; it is philosophy. Adventure is about hurling yourself at the unexpected. It’s how you walk to the corner store and how you walk the Australian outback. Adventure can un-opiate the masses.

Not to be lost in all this is the ultimate diva — the natural world. She is our operating system, our muse and our playground. To respect ourselves is to have respect for the environment, and vice versa. She keeps us humble as we seek clarity and find our small place within her. For women particularly, outdoor adventure and travel allows us to leave behind the demands that pepper our lives, to discover ourselves and see with 20/20 vision. We learn that we can be at once revolutionary and simple; kind and fiercely independent. And in the face of much adversity, the natural world is still a most ardent backer of joy; a role model in the ways of whimsy.

She teaches us how liberating fun can be… In fact, if she were to write the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Women, it would go something like this: HAVE FUN, HAVE FUN, HAVE FUN, HAVE FUN, HAVE FUN, HAVE FUN, HAVE FUN. And the rest will all work out. 

The (Adventure) Diva Within

My love of travel was instilled by my mother who, as a child, often envisioned living and working in Africa when she grew up. She shared those dreams with me, and even though she never made it across the great waters, she traveled throughout the U.S., many times with me in tow.

It wasn’t until I was 38 that I realized I could do more than take vacations; I could be a traveler. While visiting Paris that year, I met a fascinating man at a dinner party who had made international travel a way of life. He was a fashion and travel photographer and photojournalist. Looking at his passport was orgasmic! I counted 43 stamps to Africa alone! He had arranged his life so that he spent on average two months working and two months traveling. That encounter ultimately transformed me.

Shortly after returning home, I started a travel fund. I knew I would have to be creative and persistent (since I wasn’t particularly lucky or rich). I converted my two-car garage into a one-bedroom apartment and faithfully deposited the rent I received into a special account. And I consulted a financial planner who helped me rethink my attitudes about saving, spending and investing. Eventually I was able to semi-retire for two years. During that time, I took a seven-month solo adventure through eight countries in Central and Southern Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. I returned with my spirit rejuvenated and the borders of my inner and outer world greatly expanded.

Perhaps the biggest surprise about traveling internationally was to discover that in many parts of the world it is an asset to be a black woman, unlike in North America, where it is often a liability. When I am abroad, I am usually afforded a level of respect and appreciation that I do not get in my own country. It’s when I travel that I am told I’m attractive, courageous and smart.

So often, when women hear that I have taken a trip around the world by myself, they tell that me they could never do it — because it would cost too much, be too complicated to figure out, too scary… It’s not any of those things, especially if you plan and prioritize appropriately. Here’s how I did it.

Laying the Groundwork

I began the journey a full year before my departure, when I announced my vision to friends and neighbors at my annual New Year’s party. During a ritual, each of us shared an important goal. To make our goals more real, we pretended that we had already accomplished or received the thing we wanted. We discussed how it felt, acted it out, made it come alive. A few days later, I pinned a big map of the world to the wall next to my desk. I even bought earrings, fashioned like globes, and wore them to keep me thinking and talking about my trip.

I joined a local travel club — international travelers who met bimonthly in members’ homes to share slides and talk about the regions they visited. We also went around the room for a “check-in period” to give each of us a chance to talk about our travel plans and ask questions. It was encouraging to learn that these women who had traveled solo around the world were just regular folks, not necessarily rich or brilliant, but ordinary people who had chosen to make travel a priority in their lives.

Five months before I left, I decided which countries I wanted to visit. I solicited the names of travel agents/services from other travelers and combed the travel sections of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times for airfare bargains. I also called each of the major airlines for price quotes. After extensive comparison shopping, I could not find a price below $4,000, which was more than I wanted to spend. So I was forced to streamline my trip, finally settling on visiting several U.S. cities, flying to France, traveling by train to and through Switzerland and Italy, by boat to Greece and several Greek Islands, and flying to Egypt, Thailand, Singapore, Bali, and Indonesia.

I ultimately used a ticket brokerage firm that specialized in round the world (RTW) packages. Depending on your flexibility, you can expect to spend somewhere between $2,500 and $3,500 for a RTW package these days. Those packages let you choose from about 40 to 60 cities but rarely include the less-traveled routes to the South Pacific, the Caribbean, or the hearts of Africa and South America without extra charges. They also generally require travel in one continuous direction, which must be completed within six months to a year. One caution: if you buy your ticket from a “bucket shop” or consolidator, do your homework to make sure they’re legitimate (try to talk with some other clients, for one) and pay by credit card so you can stop payment if your tickets don’t materialize.

Doing the Details

Once I settled on a route, I started getting in touch with friends and friends of friends in my destinations, as well as contacts I made through cultural exchange and homestay organizations. In places where I didn’t have a homestay or personal recommendations, I relied on guidebooks. I did not make hotel reservations in advance because I didn’t want to be tied down to specific dates and I also wanted to see the places before I agreed to stay there. It really helped to read at least two different guidebooks for each major destination, but since they are cumbersome to carry, I consolidated by writing notes from one into the other — or I just tore out the parts I wanted. I mailed books for later destinations to myself via an American Express office or a friend in the preceding country. Sometimes you can also find the books you want in used bookshops, or trade with travelers going in the opposite direction.

Three months before my departure, I made sure all of my travel documents were in order. I renewed my passport, having learned the hard way on a previous trip that several countries do not permit entry with a “soon to expire” (within six months) passport. Dealing with your passport and visa paperwork early allows you to avoid paying hefty charges to speed the process if you’re doing it last minute.

Two months prior to departure, I contacted my local health department’s immunization division for information about required medications or precautions for each of the countries I planned to visit. I took malaria pills with me just in case but followed Bill Dalton’s advice in The Indonesia Handbook and never took them as a preventive measure for fear of getting sick unnecessarily.

I consulted Consumer Reports for the best companies to use for travel insurance and settled on Travel Guard International, Inc. I purchased their deluxe plan, which cost me $243 and included insurance for trip cancellation, $5,000 for medical insurance, $500 for lost baggage, and $50,000 for life insurance. (These days, a standard plan for a trip like I took runs about $250 and deluxe is about $500). Another good choice is Travelers’ Emergency Network (TEN).

Managing Money

My no-frills trip cost about $6,000, including transportation, in 1992. My out-of-pocket expenses varied from $500-$1,000 a month (which would be about $700-$1,500 a month today). Europe was five to 10 times more expensive than Africa and Asia. Many people have told me that traveling with a partner would have cost less (because you can split the costs of lodging), but of course traveling with a partner can also cost more because you are less likely to be invited to stay in someone’s home.

I took $500 worth of French francs (since that was my first foreign stop), an American Express card, a debit card, and a MasterCard. I wish I had taken a supply of U.S. dollars in ones and fives because many non-European people like to do business in dollars and give much better prices when they see U.S. cash. I discovered it’s cheaper and easier to use my debit card to get cash than to hassle with traveler’s checks (you get the best exchange rate and are charged a low transaction fee). I found MasterCard was the most widely accepted credit card.

I asked a trusted friend to handle my finances while I was gone (it’s also possible to use a bonded bookkeeper or financial manager), and I prepared detailed instructions for her. I had a rubber stamp made so she could endorse and deposit my incoming checks.

I set up an automatic payment system to cover the minimum payment due on my MasterCard each month. I also made arrangements so that my MasterCard would pick up possible overdrafts on my checking account. I paid off all my other bills with the exception of my mortgage, for which I wrote out checks to have the person handling my finances mail monthly. I took several personal checks to mail back to cover unexpected expenses that arose at home.

I gave my friend an itinerary with contact names, set up a phone messaging service and registered with the American Embassy in many of the countries I visited for more than a week.

Departure Strategies

Since I couldn’t find a friend to rent my house, I placed a listing with the local university’s faculty housing office. They located an instructor who needed a place to live for the length of time I was going to be gone. (I reduced the rent to offset pet-care duties.)

I set up an apartment-sharing agreement instead of a strict sublease, to protect myself in case I needed to return home in an emergency. I prepared detailed house and pet-care instructions, which included a chart of daily, weekly, and monthly activities, and put it up on the refrigerator door. I also left a list of repair people to call just in case, as well as a list of all the things in a state of disrepair.

I prepaid my water bill to create a substantial credit on my account so no payments would need to be made during my absence. I transferred the phone, gas, and electric service into the housesitter’s name. Since that meant I no longer had a phone line, I had no access to my long-distance privileges, so I acquired a nonsubscriber long-distance calling card.

I moved all of my personal belongings to a secure off-site location and hired a housekeeper and a lawn maintenance person on a biweekly basis to help with the upkeep of the house and yard.

I groomed my dog and stocked an ample supply of food, medicine, and flea combatants. I registered my credit card number with my veterinarian so that the caretaker could take him for help without worrying about bills.

I loaned my car to a friend in exchange for her paying the cost of my insurance and maintaining the car on an established schedule. Our written agreement also included information regarding what to do in case of vandalism, an accident, or necessary repair.

Traveling Alone

I considered finding a travel partner but felt that it would be hard to find someone with the time, money, and interests similar to mine.

On the road, I met local people and fellow travelers, hooked up with friends, contacted friends of friends, and checked in with the members of my international hospitality exchange club.

I was never bored or lonely. If I found myself stuck in a train station or airport, there were almost always interesting folks to talk with. I always kept a book, a journal, my needlepoint kit, cassette tape player, and a small travel game to entertain myself if company was unavailable or undesired.

Traveling alone led to some very intense personal encounters. Many people feel safe sharing their innermost secrets with strangers they figure they may never meet again. I was continually amazed with the deep connections and openness I experienced with other travelers and locals during my seven-month sojourn.

So while I ventured out into my odyssey solo, I was never alone for long.

Globetrotting 101

Go Girl! Globetrotter Elaine Lee divulges her round-the-world escape plan.

Course Curriculum:

• Laying the Groundwork »
• Doing the Details »
• Managing Money »
• Departure Strategies »
• Traveling Alone »

Diva Tours follow in the steps of the award-winning documentary series: they are fun, adventurous and offer varied degrees of physical challenge; they explore cultures, and include visits with our contemporaries abroad who are creating change in their communities and the world. By uniting travel with the spirit of historical and modern day heroines, we offer a unique travel experience that speaks to the diva within all of us.

So ditch those domestic duties and act on those international instincts! Dust off your passport (or get your very first one!) and chuck the hiking boots and salsa heels into your travel bag. You deserve a pilgrimage that will embolden your soul and engage your mind. Adventure Diva Tours invites you to join us in 2009.

Adventure Diva Tours featured on NBC’s Today Show!

Adventure Diva Tours

DIVA TOURS! Join us on the road…

shots round the world

Slideshows

Get the lowdown about Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for Women Who Are Changing the World as a handy, printable PDF.

(If you don’t have Adobe Acrobat’s Reader, you can download it here).

Reviews and Praise

Want to know what people are saying about Adventure Divas? Click on for the media buzz and what’s landed in our mailbag.

Photo Opps

Looking for some photos to accompany your press coverage of Adventure Divas? Send an image request and let us know your angle so we can send along ours.

Press Inquiries

For review copies, or to book television, print or radio interviews contact at Random House.

Buy the Book

Order Adventure Divas in hardcover or paperback from Powell’s, BookSense, or Amazon.

dossier

our global search continues for women who are composing their lives—and whose actions, individualism and vision will rule the future

the t.v. trail

plan it here: we serve up wisdom from the road, packing lists, links, and even tours to help make your trip happen…

a trip through the diva marketplace

the high-minded lowdown from holly morris and the diva blog crew

Thanks for stopping by. We (a.k.a “Adventure Divas") hope you’ll come often to learn about our latest exploits, commune with fellow travelers and explore the world of Divadom. But first, a few details: By visiting Adventure Divas’ website, you (a.k.a “user") are accepting these terms of service and our privacy policy.

Which are:

Your Use of the Site
You are free — encouraged, even — to use the website in all responsible, legal, and considerate ways. But we won’t tolerate illegal uses (such as posting copyright infringing materials on the message boards, “spamming” other users, etc.) or conduct that may interfere with other users’ enjoyment. In other words, we reserve the right to refuse access to anyone, for any reason, so be nice.

What We Own
Adventure Divas owns or licenses this website, all its elements, and all rights (including without limitation copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent and other proprietary rights). If you provide anything for display or use on the website, you agree that you are assigning and transferring all rights in that submission to Adventure Divas in perpetuity, and that Adventure Divas will be entitled to use the submission any way it chooses.

“ADVENTURE DIVAS®”, “DIVAS,” “DIVADOM,” and other marks and logos appearing on the Website are registered and/or owned by Adventure Divas and are claimed by Adventure Divas throughout the world. You’ll need our permission to copy, distribute, publish, perform, modify, download, transmit, transfer, sell, or license, reproduce, create derivative works from, post, publicly display, frame, link, or in any other way exploit any of the content on the website, in whole or in part.

Billing and Refunds
This is our policy for stuff you buy from us:
Adventure Divas will ship your order within fourteen days of receipt, by the manner of shipment noted on the order page.

If the item you ordered is in any way damaged, we will replace or refund your purchase and pay the additional the cost of shipping by USPS regular mail. If your purchase is not damaged but you wish to return or exchange it, you must cover the shipping costs to return that item and we’ll refund the cost of your purchase, or send an exchange if it is available. You’ll find our contact info at the end of these terms.

The terms above apply only to items purchased directly through Adventure Divas website and not purchases made on our affiliates’, sponsors’ or advertisers’ sites.

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Adventure Divas does its best to ensure the information and services we provide on this site are useful and accurate. We want you to be satisfied.

That said: YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR RISK.

Which means: ADVENTURE DIVAS, AND ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, LICENSORS, AGENTS OR AFFILIATES AREN’T LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY LOSSES INCURRED IN CONNECTION WITH USING THE SITE ­ INCLUDING DIRECT OR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OR LOSSES. ALSO INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF REVENUES, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS, EVEN IF ADVENTURE DIVAS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR LOSS.

Your only remedy for any breach of this agreement by Adventure Divas is a refund of any money paid to use the website. We are not responsible for, and shall have no liability with respect to, the content of third party websites that are linked to or from the site. Some states, however, don’t allow the exclusion or limitation of liability to the extent outlined above, so this provision may not apply to every user as written.

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* (a) You will use the website only as authorized in these terms and
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Without limiting the foregoing, Adventure Divas (without investigation or other inquiry) has no knowledge that the content of the Website infringes any third party copyrights.

This disclaimer of warranty may not apply to all users.

Etc.
This agreement shall be governed by the law of the State of Washington, U.S.A., and applicable to contracts entered into and performed within the State. Any dispute under this Agreement must be brought in the courts having jurisdiction in Seattle, Washington. The parties agree that this is the entire agreement between them, and no other agreement, oral, implied or written, shall have any force or effect. This agreement is a licensing agreement, and in no way creates any other relationship between the parties. If any court holds a term of this agreement to be invalid, it shall be construed in such a way to give it the maximum allowable effect and validity, and all the remaining terms of this agreement shall be given full force and effect. Failure to enforce a term of this agreement shall not be deemed a subsequent waiver of that term or other terms.

Adventure Divas reserves the right to discontinue, delete and change the content available on the website. The website and its software may be “Restricted Computer Software” under the laws of the United States and/or other countries, and therefore you agree not to use, distribute or disclose the website in violation of any such laws (including without limitation rights restricted to the United States Government, and export limitations).

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Adventure Divas is committed to maintaining the privacy of its users’ information, and to protecting the integrity of its website. We provide you with all of the information available to us about the uses of your personal information from the website; however, you should be aware that Adventure Divas takes no responsibility for the practices of third party advertisers, sponsors, or other entities providing content, links or information on the site. You should check with each of such third parties for information about their privacy policies before providing them with your personal information.

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What kind of information are we talking about?

* Information from you: Adventure Divas receives information from you at various times, including when you register and participate in the message boards, send us an email, enter a contest or buy something at the Adventure Divas store.
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What do we do with this information?
Adventure Divas is committed to keeping your personal info secure.

* Email lists: We will maintain your email address on our email lists unless you ask us to delete it. We reserve the right to sell our email lists to third parties, but you can opt out by sending an email to mail@adventuredivas.com with “do not sell” in the subject line.
* Message Boards or Chatting: Be aware that all information you post to a message board or a chatroom is publicly available, and Adventure Divas will not be responsible for its dissemination or use. We do not monitor our message boards or chatrooms for inappropriate behavior ­ you’re on the “honor system” (see the terms above). But, if you specifically request that we remove a posting to a message board, we will remove it as soon as reasonably possible.
* Contests: We may gather personal information from you as part of a contest or game on the site. We will only use this information for that contest or game, and we won’t provide it to third parties (other than those assisting Adventure Divas with the management, production or results of the contest or game).
* Purchases: You will have to provide us with credit card information in order to make a purchase from our website. We use PayPal services for your credit card purchases. In order to make a puchase through PayPal you must create a PayPal member account. PayPal has its own policies about privacy and use, and you should read them carefully before making a purchase. You can do so here. Adventure Divas shall not be liable for any breaches or violations of your privacy rights by PayPal. For your information, here’s what PayPal has to say about its safeguards: “PayPal is committed to handling your customer information with high standards of information security. Your credit card and bank account information are stored only in encrypted form on computers that are not connected to the Internet. We restrict access to your personally identifiable information to employees who need to know that information in order to provide products or services to you. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations to guard your nonpublic personal information. We test our security systems regularly and also contract with outside companies to audit our security systems and processes.” More information about PayPal’s security is available here. Finally, if you’re looking for help with signing up for or using PayPal click here. If you have a problem with an order you have placed through PayPal, please email us.
* Tracking information: Adventure Divas may, on occasion, use information about you and your preferences for our own marketing and promotional purposes ­ for instance, to give our sponsors information about what kind of folks like our site and what they do when they’re here. We’ll also send you an offer now and then on behalf of one of our sponsors as part of one of our email updates. Adventure Divas uses WebTrends Live to analyze traffic to this web site. WebTrends Live does not create individual profiles for visitors. Unlike some tracking services WebTrends Live does not have a database of individual profiles for each visitor. WebTrends Live only collects aggregate data. For more information about WebTrends Live privacy policy, please click here.
* Minors: We will not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13 years of age, or under 18 years of age for purchases. If you’re under 13, before we collect any info, we’ll need parental consent.

Click here for our policy on participating in our message boards.

Adventure Divas, Inc. | 1122 E Pike #1347, Seattle, WA 98122 | 206.328.9519 | mail@adventuredivas.com

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In Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for Women Who are Changing the World Holly Morris ditches desk life and sets out to prove that adventure is not just a vacation style but a philosophy of living — and to find like-minded, risk-taking women around the globe. With modest backing and a whole lot of chutzpah, Morris tracks down artists, activists, and politicos — women of action who change the rules, and sometimes the world around them.

In this pilgrimage fueled by curiosity, ideology, and full-on estrogen power, Morris has paved the way for each of us to set out to explore the world. Buy the book on Amazon.com

"Fascinating...Morris offers vicarious thrills and more than just a little bit of inspiration of desk-bound people everywhere.” - Chicago Tribune

“Ever insightful and unpretentiously brilliant...a literary gem that takes many steps beyond the labels ‘travel writing’ and ‘memoir.’” - Free Lance-Star

The Book

Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for Women Who are Changing the World is out now!

Adventure Divas ® is a broad enterprise that unites adventure travel and modern-day heroines to create fresh new media for television, the web, and print.  On our up days we call ourselves a girl-driven media empire. On our down days… well, we just drink more coffee.

The PBS television series captures the humor, debacle and discovery inherent in low-rent travel and explores cultures with divavision — that is, through the lens of the independent women whose vision, individualism and actions will rule the future.

The web site is a home for like-mindeds to join our exploration, as well as to connect and exchange information — whether it’s a recipe for Kiwi tea cakes or the ingredients for accessing the diva within. There are also strategies for planning your own pilgrimage, profiles and essays, and avant-garde travel advice.

Though the web may be virtual, Divadom ® is real and universal. Divas come in all colors, shapes and sizes — slender, regular, super & super-plus — and we’re pretty much everywhere. That’s the Empire part.

The publication of the book Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for a New Kind of Heroine, the release of our PBS documentary series on DVD, the launch of Divawire (blog), and Science Divas are some of our recent efforts to ignite the world-wide fires of divadom….

The Empire

Discover what drives the Adventure Divas’ empire.

This page currently is just a repeat of the “pins on map” page. Think we should write orig. content for this page and then link to the pins on map section for each country.

The Divas PBS series explores cultures through the lens of Diva Vision… Cuba, India, NZ, Iran… The Road Ahead… Science Divas…

Should there also be a Diva Tours link from this section?

The Shows

Here’s a blurb about the Divas series…

Your Pilgrimage

• Global Gigs   
• Inga la Gringa   
• Globetrotting 101   

Destinations

• Take Me To… Afghanistan China Cuba Greece India Iran Mongolia New Zealand Peru United States