About Soulful Traveling

When I stepped off the airplane in Accra, Ghana that hot, sultry night in 1999, I felt like I had stuck my head into a raging furnace. Never before had I felt such heat, such humidity, and after dark! It was a bit unnerving to face the sea of black-as-night faces with beautiful, white smiles, beckoning me to a taxi with loud, boisterous West African-accentuated voices. Never-the-less, I was delirious with the excitement of leading my first of six Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Programs, six-week research projects in developing countries for 15-20 K-12 educators from New Mexico. I was green. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. I had ever been out of the United States except for short trips to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, during my college years, the details of which are best left undiscovered. But I knew I wanted to create an experience of a lifetime for participating teachers. I learned a lot of hard lessons in that first program and wasn’t really sure I wanted to do a repeat. Never-the-less, do a repeat, I did, many times over. Those adventures literally opened up a world of exploration and excitement for me, as a facilitator of unique learning experiences for teachers, then later, as a K-12 public school administrator, for high school students, in rural areas of developing countries, including going back to Ghana, on to China, Brazil, Mexico and Cuba. I developed lifelong friendships and collegial relationships in each of the areas I traveled, and it is to those places to which I return, again and again.

After retiring from public education administration, I returned to the world of facilitating transformational experiences for travelers in the places I love. I prepare private travel experiences for individuals and groups who are ready for exclusive, unique journeys of self-discovery while exploring some of the most beautiful and interesting places on Earth. The travel experiences I offer my clients are enriched with the friendships I’ve made over the years, professionals who serve as our leaders while in-country, and who become your friends when you travel with me. We interact with the locals in every program and support community projects, projects identified by the residents as important ventures within the area. Reflective time is built into each program to really dig deep into the significance and implications of the experience and develop meaningful relationships within the group as well as within the community. Being in nature is the foundation of each program, embracing what we learn about the local flora and fauna by tapping into the glory and magic of all of our senses within the environment.

About Vannetta

As a lifelong New Mexican, I have had the wonderful opportunity to grow up and live in nature, surrounded by beauty and isolation. My roots run deep in my state. Both of my parents were native New Mexicans. My mom’s family were West Texas cotton farmers and moved to eastern New Mexico where she was born. My dad’s family homesteaded and ranched in the late 1800’s in southwestern New Mexico. I am proud to be a fifth-generation New Mexican farmer and rancher, and appreciative to be passing that heritage on to our children and grandchildren.

Vannetta’s Capstone Project

Link: Change Your Life Through Wine, Travel, and Personal Transformation

Description: This project is created this pro by Jeanne Savelle and Vannetta Perry. We created this project for several reasons. We were paired together for the TTC course and discovered we have a few wonderful commonalities so decided to do the project together. We both love Brazil and want to return. Vannetta has long experience leading groups in Brazil and wants to begin taking groups there again. She wants to expand and deepen her commitment to Brazil through transformational travel, providing a deeper cultural experience for her travelers while supporting local communities. Jeanne worked in Brazil and wants to visit the wine regions, never having been there. She wants to blend her transformation coaching, her love of wine, and transformational travel into a unique experience that can take travelers to new places within themselves, allow them to travel with intention and purpose, and enjoy a different type of wine experience: one that connects with the land and people instead of a tour bus and wine bar.

The purpose of the project is to expand individual vision and possibility by offering an experience of learning, connecting, and opportunities for insight to ultimately drive change, for travelers and the planet.

Our intended outcomes are diverse. We expect our travelers to have fun, learn about themselves and about wine and its connection to the land and to regenerative agricultural practices. We know they will connect with other travelers and with the local community, have quiet time and space to expand their vision for themselves and their place in the world as they learn and reflect upon their individual actions and impact on Planet Earth.

We have applied multiple aspects of the TTC course by incorporating aspects of PATH and HEART, pre- and post- travel connection and commitment, the Power of Quiet, and regenerative/sustainable agricultural practices in each component of our program.

A Word From Vannetta