Sahara Rose DeVore is someone I've been connected to in the travel industry for over four years, but we've never met in person.

She's a fellow Wisconsinite, founder of the Travel Coach Network, and the creator of the world's first ICF-accredited certification program for travel coaches. She's traveled solo to 84 countries--and not from privilege, but from sheer determination, working five jobs while finishing college to save enough for that first one-way ticket. Her story is a reminder that the desire to travel will find a way.

But this episode isn't really about the countries. It's about the why behind the wanderlust. Sahara has spent years studying the psychology of why we travel, and the conversation we had honestly changed how I think about the trips I plan, the travelers I lead, and my own deeply personal reasons for doing this work.

We're talking about what we're really searching for when we book a flight, how travel builds confidence in ways nothing else can, what to do with post-travel depression when you land back in reality, the difference between using travel as escape versus using it as a tool for transformation, and how to actually bring those hard-won lessons home with you instead of losing them in the laundry pile.

Sahara also shares something she rarely talks about publicly — the real, raw reason she started traveling in the first place.

Links & Resources (Sahara)

Learn more about Sahara: https://thetravelcoachnetwork.com/

Follow Sahara on socials: @saharaRosethetravelcoach and @thetravelcoachnetwork

Links & Resources (Laura)

Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey

Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips

Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast

Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com

Check out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcast

Join our Facebook group for women: @lolalovestravel

Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you're listening.

What happens when everything goes catastrophically wrong while traveling abroad? You get the best stories of your life.

In this episode, I sit down with Jenna Farber, a travel industry professional who represents luxury safari operators across Africa, but whose real education in travel came from years of beautifully messy cultural exchange programs in Latin America. From living with host families in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador to navigating language barriers that led to truly catastrophic miscommunications, Jenna shares the kind of vulnerable, hilarious travel disasters that most people are too embarrassed to talk about.

If you've ever been too afraid to share your embarrassing travel stories, or if you've been playing it safe because you're terrified of looking stupid abroad, this episode is your permission slip to embrace the chaos and laugh at yourself. Because the truth is, your most mortifying moments are often the ones that shape you most as a traveler and give you the best dinner party stories for the rest of your life.

Links & Resources (Jenna)

1. Find Jenna on Instagram
2. Find Jenna on Facebook

Links & Resources (Laura)

1. Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey
2. Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips
3. Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast
4. Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com
5. Check out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcast
6. Join my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel

Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you're listening.

Emmanuel LaRoche is the kind of person who makes you look at a vanilla bean, a jar of honey, or a tincan of caviar completely differently. He's a flavor industry insider, a podcaster, and now a two-time author, and this conversation genuinely changed how I think about the ingredients in my kitchen.

We talk about Emmanuel's fascinating journey from growing up in France, learning to cook quiche Lorraine from his mom, landing in the flavor and fragrance industry, and going to Madagascar for vanilla but staying for so much more.

Emmanuel's second book, A Taste of Madagascar, is part travel log, part ingredient deep-dive, and part love letter to the farmers, beekeepers, and entrepreneurs who rarely get credit for the extraordinary things we eat every day. He also shares what responsible food travel actually looks like, both in your own grocery store and halfway around the world, and why understanding where ingredients come from can genuinely change lives, including your own.

Upcoming Trips Mentioned:

1. Mexico City Foodie Tour Waitlist
2. Japan Waitlist

Links & Resources (Emmanuel)

1. Learn more: flavorsunknown.com
2. Podcast: Flavors Unknown
3. Book: A Taste of Madagascar
4. Conversations Behind the Kitchen Door
5. Instagram/Facebook/TikTok: @flavorsunknown
6. LinkedIn: Emmanuel LaRoche

Links & Resources (Laura)

1. Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey
2. Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips
3. Follow our podcast IG: @type2travelpodcast
4. Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com
5. Check out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcast
6. Join my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel

Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you're listening.