Travel that Touches Your Soul

From the Mat to the World: Soul Nourishing Adventure Travel with The Travel Yogi

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 08:45:00 -0700

What if your next trip left you feeling more energized than when you left home — nourished instead of depleted, present instead of checked out? That's not a fantasy. That's exactly what today's guest designs for travelers all over the world.

Kilty is a yoga educator from Kāneʻohe, Hawaiʻi who traded a career in civil and environmental engineering for a life on the mat — and eventually, a life on the road. She now works with The Travel Yogi, the original yoga adventure travel company, helping design and lead immersive small-group journeys that weave together movement, culture, nature, and meaningful human connection. Whether she's guiding a group through Sri Lanka, Iceland, or the remote glaciers of Greenland, Kilty's approach is the same: the adventure comes first, and the yoga holds it all together.

Guest Bio

Kilty Inafuku is a yoga educator from Kāneʻohe, Hawaiʻi who believes that what happens on the mat is practice for how we show up in everyday life. She studied Civil and Environmental Engineering at UCLA before leaving the engineering world to pursue yoga as a career and lifestyle, training with Jay Co and Jason Crandell. Kilty teaches vinyasa-based yoga and works with The Travel Yogi, helping scout new destinations, build itineraries, and lead transformational small-group travel experiences around the world. In 2025 she added Greenland to her growing list of extraordinary destinations — and calls it one of the most profound places she's ever been.

Host Bio

Karen Cleveland is the creator and host of Travel That Touches Your Soul. She is a safari host, spiritual teacher, and animal communicator devoted to helping people reconnect with what matters most through meaningful travel. Her work centers on connection with animals, land, culture, and inner truth, and the quiet inner knowing that says, this is the kind of life I came here to live.

Episode Topics and Timestamps

Travel that energizes instead of depletes — and the company making it happen (00:00)
Welcome and introduction — Karen introduces Kilty Inafuku and The Travel Yogi (00:18)
From engineering to the mat — how Kilty left UCLA and never looked back (01:00)
How yoga on the road differs from yoga at home — and why self-reflection is the common thread (04:00)
The Travel Yogi difference: adventure first, yoga as the grounding thread (05:31)
All levels welcome — what vinyasa means and how teachers adapt for every body (07:17)
Small groups, local guides, and why it feels like a friend showing you their home (09:27)
The personalized trip app — packing lists, gratuity guides, fun phrases, and more (13:00)
Upcoming trips: Sri Lanka in March and Iceland in October (08:20)
Greenland — glaciers, silence, and a native culture that reminded Kilty of home in Hawaiʻi (14:40)
Galapagos — where the animals walk right up to you (17:27)
How each destination shapes the itinerary: slow food in Italy, perfume-making in France, rafting in Patagonia (18:37)
Traveling responsibly — local guides, boutique hotels, and doing good where they can (20:37)
Where to find The Travel Yogi and upcoming trips (21:21)

The Travel Yogi https://www.thetravelyogi.com

Instagram & Facebook: @thetravelyogi

Join our email community to receive notice of upcoming trips, new podcasts, and find out the "Top Travels of 2026 to Soothe Your Soul" https://mailchi.mp/soulful/travels or https://soulful.travel

Be sure to Subscribe and review the podcast!

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/travel-that-touches-your-soul/id1865822112 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IMDYh43NAVhKXXfoUUNls

iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-travel-that-touches-your-315490361/

Facebook: Karen https://www.facebook.com/karentcleveland

Travel that Touches Your Soul https://www.facebook.com/RevKarenCleveland/

Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/safarisandsacredjourneys/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soulfultravelchannel

Pickleball, Purpose & Travel With Heart: How Melinda Alcosser Is Changing Lives Around the World

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 08:45:00 -0700

What happens when you combine one of the fastest-growing sports in the world with a deep commitment to community, connection, and conscious travel? You get something unlike anything you've seen before. Today's guest has taken pickleball far beyond the court — into schools in the Dominican Republic and headed all around the world.

Melinda helps heart-centered people and communities design travel experiences that support their journey of connecting, honoring, caring for self, one another, and this sacred home we call Earth. From pickleball adventures and women's retreats to regenerative family travel and youth-focused journeys, everything Melinda creates is infused with what she calls "with heart" — the belief that travel, at its best, is an act of love.

Guest Bio

Melinda Alcosser is a travel designer, educator, and the founder of With Heart Travel and the Carpe Dinkum pickleball travel series. With a background spanning 14 years running an experientially-based middle school, humanitarian work, and travel coaching, Melinda brings a rare depth of purpose to everything she creates. She designs immersive group experiences for women, families, and pickleball players of all levels — weaving community giveback, personal growth, and genuine cultural connection into every itinerary. She is also a certified experience designer through the Transformational Travel Council and is building With Heart Incorporated, a nonprofit arm dedicated to making travel accessible to all. When she's not on the road, she's dreaming up the next way pickleball can change a life.

Host Bio

Karen Cleveland is the creator and host of Travel That Touches Your Soul. She is a safari and wildlife tour host, spiritual teacher, and animal communicator devoted to helping people reconnect with what matters most through meaningful travel. Her work centers on connection with animals, land, culture, and inner truth, and the quiet inner knowing that says, this is the kind of life I came here to live.

Episode Topics and Timestamps

Pickleball travel with a purpose — and the photo that says it all (00:00)
Welcome and introduction — Karen introduces Melinda Alcosser (00:10)
The "with heart" experience — visiting a Dominican Republic school and why it became the trip highlight (01:12)
How Melinda's pickleball trips work — all levels welcome, coaches included (07:36)
The Dream Team Pickleball Academy in Uganda and the Carpe Dinkum Giving Club (09:00)
The origins of pickleball — and why Melinda's husband may have been there at the very beginning (12:00)
Three buckets: pickleball travel, women's retreats, and youth & family journeys (18:04)
The Transformational Travel Council and why regenerative travel changes everything (19:00)
Awaken Your Spirit at Sea — January 2026 aboard the Royal Clipper in the Grenadines (22:00)
With Heart Incorporated — Melinda's vision to make travel accessible for everyone (24:04)
Where to find Melinda and upcoming trips (24:47)

Upcoming Trips

🏓 Carpe Dink’em Pickleball in Cancún — December 3–8, 2026 https://all-travel.com/pickelball-cancun-dec-2026/

⛵ Awaken Your Spirit at Sea aboard Royal Clipper — January 9–16, 2026 https://app.tern.travel/trips/2559333/landing_page/edit

With Heart Travel https://www.withhearttravel.com

Travel and Pickleball https://www.travelandpickleball.com

Join our email community to receive notice of upcoming trips, new podcasts, and find out the "Top Travels of 2026 to Soothe Your Soul" https://mailchi.mp/soulful/travels or https://soulful.travel

Be sure to Subscribe and review the podcast!

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/travel-that-touches-your-soul/id1865822112

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IMDYh43NAVhKXXfoUUNls iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-travel-that-touches-your-315490361/

Facebook: Karen https://www.facebook.com/karentcleveland

Travel that Touches Your Soul https://www.facebook.com/RevKarenCleveland/

Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/safarisandsacredjourneys/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soulfultravelchannel

How to Find the Real Italy: Small Villages, Big Connections with Elizabeth Heath of Villaggio Tours

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 08:45:00 -0700

Have you ever seen photos or videos of tiny Italian villages — the laughter, the food, the friendship — and wondered how to find that for yourself? Today's guest did exactly that, and she now lives it every day. Elizabeth Heath moved from Florida to a hilltop village of 200 people in Umbria, Italy, and after 15 years immersed in the culture, she created Villaggio Tours — small-group immersive experiences where strangers become friends, grandmothers teach you to make pasta, and going-away dinners end in happy tears.

Welcome to Travel That Touches Your Soul podcast and video channel, where I bring you the people and places around the world to help you connect with something greater than yourself and fulfill your heart's desires. I'm Karen Cleveland, and today's guest is Elizabeth Heath.

Elizabeth founded Villaggio Tours with a mission to connect travelers with the authentic rhythms of rural Italian life — the harvests, the feasts, the folklore, and the families. She lives in Allerona, Umbria with her husband Paolo, a traditional stone mason, in a restored 13th-century home that now serves as Six Keys Guest House, the home base for all her tours.

Guest Bio

Elizabeth Heath is the founder of Villaggio Tours and co-owner of Six Keys Guest House in Allerona, a medieval hill town of roughly 200 residents in Umbria, Italy. Originally from Florida, Elizabeth came to Italy to pursue a PhD in anthropology and archeology, fell in love with the land and the people — including her husband Paolo, born and raised in Allerona — and never left. After 15+ years immersed in rural Italian life, she now leads intimate small-group tours that weave together food, harvest traditions, history, and genuine human connection. Her tours include cooking classes in a real Italian grandmother's kitchen, truffle hunts on private reserves, olive and grape harvests, visits to a 17th-century noble family's palazzo, and day trips to some of Umbria's most dramatic and lesser-known sites. When guests leave crying, she knows she's done her job.

Host Bio

Episode Topics and Timestamps

Those Italian village photos — and how to actually live that experience (00:00)
Welcome and introduction — Karen introduces Elizabeth Heath and Villaggio Tours (00:43)
From Florida to Umbria — archeological digs, a summer in Orvieto, and meeting Paolo (01:32)
Life in Allerona — a medieval hill town of 200 inside a curtain wall from the 1100s (02:27)
Why field archeology is a young person's game — and how Elizabeth still shares her passion (03:20)
The going-away dinner — family, friends, food, and why guests cry when they leave (04:00)
Paolo, the family, and the difference between performing Italian culture and living it (05:23)
Harvesting grapes with a friend — and how everything begins and ends with food (07:11)
Olive oil from tree to mill to table — and what an olive oil tasting actually teaches you (08:00)
The first Villaggio Tours group — launched with one Facebook post in 2023 (09:00)
Truffle hunting on a private reserve with trained dogs at dawn (09:51)
The cooking class — fresh pasta, ravioli, and lunch with wine in a grandmother's kitchen (10:59)
Six Keys Guest House — the 13th-century home Paolo restored stone by stone (11:41)
Dining in a nobleman's palazzo that's been in the same family since the 1600s (13:21)
The ethnobotanical hike — edible plants, abandoned farmhouses, and ruins on a Vatican map (15:57)
Civita di Bagnoregio — the dying city with a population of five (18:25)
One-day cooking class options for travelers already in the Orvieto area (20:12)
Upcoming tours — April springtime, May folk festival, September island + countryside, fall harvest, Venice (23:31)
Where to find Villaggio Tours and Six Keys Guest House (26:00)

Villaggio Tours https://www.villaggiotours.com

Six Keys Guest House https://www.sixkeysumbria.com

Join our email community to receive notice of upcoming trips, new podcasts, and find out the "Top Travels of 2026 to Soothe Your Soul" https://mailchi.mp/soulful/travels or https://soulful.travel

Be sure to Subscribe and review the podcast!

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/travel-that-touches-your-soul/id1865822112 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IMDYh43NAVhKXXfoUUNls iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-travel-that-touches-your-315490361/

Facebook: Karen https://www.facebook.com/karentcleveland Travel that Touches Your Soul https://www.facebook.com/RevKarenCleveland/ Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/safarisandsacredjourneys/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soulfultravelchannel

The Secret to Happiness: What Finland Taught Us

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 08:45:00 -0700

The Secret to Happiness: What Finland Taught Us

What is the secret to happiness? My guest today went searching for that answer in the United Nations' happiest country in the world — no, not Disneyland, but Finland — and not only found the answer, but also went through her own personal soul-touching moments and transformations in the process.

Doni founded the women-only tour company Girls' Guide to the World in 2009 with a mission to empower women of all ages to explore the world. She has led thousands of women across 80 countries on journeys that blend cultural immersion, personal growth, and sisterhood. Her story is one of transformation — including how travel shaped her purpose, and how she now creates journeys that touch women's souls in return.

Guest Bio

Doni Belau founded the women-only tour company Girls' Guide to the World in 2009 with a mission to empower women of all ages to explore the world. Girls' Guide to the World now offers 85 tours to 51 countries. As an intrepid traveler who has explored over 80 countries herself, Doni has used her destination knowledge to curate a diverse portfolio of trips catering to a wide range of interests, from cultural immersion and culinary tours to active adventures and wellness retreats. Each itinerary is thoughtfully crafted to spark curiosity, foster authentic connection, and create lasting memories. Doni's diverse experiences, from television production to humanitarian work in South Africa, have fueled her passion for creating transformative journeys that blend personal growth with the joy of exploration. With over 15 years of experience in the travel industry, Doni's in-depth understanding of destinations, travel trends, and evolving consumer desires ensures that each tour offered prioritizes connection, personal growth, and unforgettable experiences. When not leading trips, she divides her time between France, New Orleans, and a sailboat named Relish — a testament to her adventurous spirit.

Host Bio

Karen Cleveland is the creator and host of Travel That Touches Your Soul. She is a safari and wildlife trip host, spiritual teacher, and animal communicator devoted to helping people reconnect with what matters most through meaningful travel. Her work centers on connection with animals, land, culture, and inner truth, and the quiet inner knowing that says, this is the kind of life I came here to live.

Episode Topics and Timestamps

• What is the secret to happiness? The question that launched a journey to Finland (00:00)

• Welcome and introduction — Karen introduces Doni Belau and Girls' Guide to the World (00:20)

• The Arctic Snow Hotel in Rovaniemi — ice bars, ice sculptures, and -13°F nights (01:20)

• Two Finland trips — one chasing Northern Lights, one chasing happiness (05:00)

• Reindeer rides, husky mushing, and why these dogs live for this (06:29)

• The boat sauna in Tromsø — hamam, cold plunge, and hot tub in the snow (10:55)

• Northern Lights magic — why your phone camera sees them better than your eyes (12:10)

• The summer happiness research trip — meeting the nine Nordic Queens (13:48)

• The countryside farmstead — ancient rye bread, matriarchal tradition, and the old ways (15:00)

• The group dynamic — solo travelers, sisterhood, and "meet as strangers, depart as friends" (17:27)

• Free education through PhD and nearly 50% female government representation (21:00)

• The sauna and cold plunge — what Finland has known for centuries that we're only learning now (24:00)

• Trust in government — the factor that silenced the whole room (28:07)

• What Doni brought home — why travel truly eliminates prejudice (33:40)

• Upcoming trips — Finland, Italy's Dolomites, Sicily, Galapagos, Madagascar, Molokai, and more (36:32)

• How to find Girls' Guide to the World and join The Traveling Sisterhood (39:43)

Girls' Guide to the World website

https://www.girlsguidetotheworld.com/

Email info@girlsguidetotheworld.com

Join our email community to receive notice of upcoming trips, new podcasts, and find out the "Top Travels of 2026 to Soothe Your Soul" https://mailchi.mp/soulful/travels

or https://soulful.travel

Be sure to Subscribe and review the podcasts!

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/travel-that-touches-your-soul/id1865822112

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IMDYh43NAVhKXXfoUUNls

iHeart https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-travel-that-touches-your-315490361/

Facebook:

Karen https://www.facebook.com/karentcleveland

Travel that Touches Your Soul https://www.facebook.com/RevKarenCleveland/

Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/safarisandsacredjourneys/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@soulfultravelchannel

No One Dines Alone: Culinary Travel with Global Palate Adventures

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 02:15:00 -0700

Cooking classes, markets, vineyards, and the kind of stories you can taste.

Are you the kind of traveler who learns a culture through markets, meals, and what locals are sipping at the next table. Then this episode is for you. Karen Cleveland sits down with Susan Reinke, Founder and Director of Global Palate Adventures, to talk about travel that revolves around food, wine, and the people behind it all.

Susan shares stories from intimate cooking experiences, from a home kitchen up five flights of stairs in Parma, to a high intensity professional kitchen in San Sebastián, and even a Barcelona cooking day that turned into a citywide adventure during a strike. Along the way, you’ll hear how her “no one dines alone” approach creates real community, why one cooking class per trip is often the perfect amount, and what’s coming up next, including Charleston, Japan, Portugal, and South Africa with wine country and safari.

Guest Bio

Susan Reinke is the Founder and Director of Global Palate Adventures, a small group travel company for food and wine lovers who want to understand culture through what people grow, cook, and share at the table. She launched Global Palate Adventures in 2015 as a natural extension of her career in foodservice and agriculture marketing through her company, Food Marketing Resources, where she works with agriculture organizations to increase their foodservice business.

Over the years, Susan has traveled extensively across the U.S. and abroad, taking cooking classes in kitchens from Spain to Thailand, wandering local markets, meeting producers, and collecting the kinds of stories that only show up when you slow down and listen. Her trips attract curious travelers, chefs, marketers, and passionate food people, plus plenty of solo travelers who quickly become part of the group. Her motto says it all. No one dines alone.

Host Bio

Episode Topics and Timestamps

• A question for every obsessed foodie. Markets, meals, and culture (00:00)

• Susan’s origin story. From food marketing to Global Palate Adventures (00:13)

• Kitchen adventures around the world. Parma apartments and pro kitchens (01:22)

• The market to kitchen flow. Ingredients first, then cooking together (02:20)

• Barcelona pivot story. A strike, a long walk, and bonding over fish prep (03:13)

• How the Bordeaux class worked with language barriers and translation (04:28)

• How much moving around is ideal. Fewer hotels, more depth (05:17)

• Who comes on these trips. Chefs, food people, curious travelers, and solos (06:12)

• Why South Africa. Wine country plus safari, plus penguins (07:00)

• Repeat destinations and demand. Sicily, Portugal, and why people return (08:25)

• Portugal food stories. Seafood, tinned fish, and legendary custard pastries (09:14)

• Shock foods. Crickets in Oaxaca and durian in Thailand (10:58)

• Why farmers matter. Muddy boots, real stories, and respecting the work (17:05)

• What Susan wants guests to take home. Culture, memory, and new friends (18:49)

• Upcoming trips. Charleston, Japan, Portugal waitlist, South Africa (20:54)

• Japan preview. Markets, street food, and seeing it made right in front of you (22:02)

• Where to find Susan and how to vote on future destinations (24:28)

Global Palate Adventures website

https://globalpalateadventures.com/about/

Quarterly newsletter for trip announcements

https://globalpalateadventures.com/about/

Join our email community to receive notice of upcoming trips, new podcasts, and find out the "Top Travels of 2026 to Soothe Your Soul" https://mailchi.mp/soulful/travels

or https://soulful.travel

Be sure to Subscribe and review the podcasts!

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/travel-that-touches-your-soul/id1865822112

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IMDYh43NAVhKXXfoUUNls

iHeart https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-travel-that-touches-your-315490361/

Facebook:

Karen https://www.facebook.com/karentcleveland

Travel that Touches Your Soul https://www.facebook.com/RevKarenCleveland/

Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/safarisandsacredjourneys/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@soulfultravelchannel

Mentioned in this episode:

Where the Journey Continues

This is a short pause in the journey. A moment to remind you that the conversation does not end when the episode does. If something you heard on the show stirred your curiosity or touched something deeper, the website is where those threads continue to unfold. At SoulfulTravel.travel, you will find upcoming episodes you may not have heard yet, along with past conversations worth returning to. You will also discover soulful journeys and tours being led by trusted colleagues. Experiences rooted in connection, respect for place, and meaningful encounters with people, land, and wildlife. If you are traveling with me to experience wildlife, you may not know that I am also an animal communicator. I teach animal communication classes that invite you into a deeper way of listening and relating with animals. These classes are open to everyone. You do not need to be traveling to participate. The website is also where you will find details about upcoming classes, future journeys, show notes, and special giveaways mentioned on the podcast and video channel. If something in you feels called to explore a little further, this is a gentle place to begin. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. I look forward to connecting with you again, when the moment is right.

Safe, Solo, Mindful Travel for Women in India with Mariellen Ward

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 01:45:00 -0700

Taking a leap of faith after 40, into an unfamiliar world.

In this episode of Travel That Touches Your Soul, Karen Cleveland sits down with award-winning travel writer, blogger, and tour operator Mariellen Ward, founder of Breathedreamgo and India for Beginners. Mariellen shares the deeply personal story of leaving her life in Canada after 40 and traveling solo through India for six months with no plan, no safety net, and no idea what awaited her.

Through yoga, pilgrimage, elephants, ashrams, cities, jungles, and sacred rivers, India became her “soul culture.” Nearly two decades later, Mariellen now helps other women travel India safely, mindfully, and with cultural respect.

This is a conversation about courage, surrender, reinvention, and what becomes possible when we stop waiting for permission and say yes to the unknown.

Guest Bio

Mariellen Ward is an award-winning Canadian travel writer, blogger, and tour operator specializing in transformative journeys to India. She is the founder of Breathedreamgo, inspired by nearly two decades of travel across India, and India for Beginners, a custom tour company designed to help women travel India safely and deeply.

Her work promotes mindful travel, cultural immersion, and solo travel for women. Mariellen has been published by BBC Travel, National Geographic Traveller India, and Condé Nast Traveller India. In 2019, she received India’s National Tourism Award for Best Foreign Travel Writer.

Though Canadian by birth, Mariellen calls India her soul culture and now lives in Jaipur, where she creates insider experiences connecting travelers to artisans, history, spirituality, and everyday life

Host Bio

Karen Cleveland is the host of Travel That Touches Your Soul. She curates conversations with travelers, guides, and change-makers whose journeys create deep connection. Through animals, land, culture, and spiritual insight, Karen explores how travel can awaken something essential within us and invite us into a more meaningful life.

25% Discount on Jaipur Crafts, Shopping & Artisans Tour

https://indiaforbeginners.com/shopping-tours-in-jaipur-and-delhi/

Breathedreamgo Travel Blog

https://breathedreamgo.com/

India for Beginners. Custom Tours for Women

https://indiaforbeginners.com/

Follow Mariellen on Social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Breathedreamgo

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breathedreamgo/

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/breathedreamgo/

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@breathedreamgo

Join our email community to receive notice of upcoming trips, new podcasts, and find out the "Top Travels of 2026 to Soothe Your Soul" https://mailchi.mp/soulful/travels

or https://soulful.travel

Be sure to Subscribe and review the podcasts!

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/travel-that-touches-your-soul/id1865822112

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IMDYh43NAVhKXXfoUUNls

iHeart https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-travel-that-touches-your-315490361/

Facebook:

Karen https://www.facebook.com/karentcleveland

Travel that Touches Your Soul https://www.facebook.com/RevKarenCleveland/

Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/safarisandsacredjourneys/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@soulfultravelchannel

Mentioned in this episode:

Where the Journey Continues

The Power of Travel to Create Awe and Renewal. Tour of Nepal with Stacey of LHAdventure Travel

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 01:30:00 -0700

How a physician and coach turned grief and transition into awe-filled adventures that restore perspective, vitality, and connection.

In this episode, Karen Cleveland sits down with Stacey Funt, founder of LH Adventure Travel, to explore the transformative power of travel for the mind, body, and soul. Stacey shares the deeply personal story that changed everything. Becoming an empty nester. Losing her father and her husband’s father within weeks. Facing the age her mother died. Then hearing the unmistakable pull toward Nepal.

Stacey takes us into the sensory, spiritual reality of Kathmandu, a crematorium that reframed grief through the lens of life’s cycle, a Hindu place of worship that revealed pure devotion, and a five-day Annapurna trek that became a moving meditation back into aliveness. From there, her work was born. Awe-filled adventures that blend wellness, nature, culture, and community for women and couples ready to come home to what truly matters.

Guest Bio

Stacey Funt is a physician, health coach, global traveler, wife, and mother, and she believes deeply in travel’s ability to transform us. Mind, body, and soul. With training in Lifestyle Medicine, Stacey understands how daily choices shape our well-being, and she brings that wisdom into the world through Lifestyle Health Adventures, the heart of LH Adventure Travel.

Her mission is to create awe-inspiring adventures for women and couples that immerse guests in nature, support whole-person health, and foster meaningful connection. Stacey’s trips are designed with intention. Moderate movement. Nourishing whole foods. Restorative experiences like spas, yoga, and sound healing. And most importantly, a sense of community that helps travelers feel held, seen, and expanded.

Host Bio

Karen Cleveland is the creator and host of Travel That Touches Your Soul. She is a safari host, spiritual teacher, and animal communicator devoted to helping people reconnect with what matters most through meaningful travel. Her work centers on connection with animals, land, culture, and inner truth, and the quiet inner shift that happens when you feel part of life again.

________________________________________

Episode Topics and Timestamps

• What do physician, coach, traveler, wife, and mother have in common. Meet Stacey (00:00)

• A season of loss and transition. Empty nest, grief, and the question, is the best behind me (01:30)

• The call to Nepal. Training, preparing, and returning to life through a single decision (02:30)

• Kathmandu’s energy. Smog masks, raw beauty, and being surprised by a city you didn’t expect to love (03:20)

• The crematorium visit. A Hindu perspective on death as cycle, release, and sacred duty (03:56)

• How new beliefs can heal even when they are not yours. Perspective as medicine (04:44)

• The underground temple and holy day surprise. Experiencing devotion without language (07:22)

• The five-day Annapurna trek. 10,000 feet, steps for hours, and solitude as healing (10:00)

• Prayer flags, snow-capped peaks, and awe as a doorway back to your own life force (11:40)

• Joy in community. Dancing with locals during a New Year celebration (15:00)

• The mission behind LH Adventure Travel. Wellness plus adventure, designed for real women and real lives (17:00)

• What Stacey builds into every trip. Movement, nourishment, restoration, and sisterhood (17:55)

• Nepal and Bhutan. Why it sold out, what’s coming next, and how Stacey plans trips (19:00)

• Travel as a marker of life transitions. The deeper reason we go (21:10)

• A final video moment. Unexpected connection with a Sherpa and a love dance (22:15)

LH Adventure Travel

https://lhadventuretravel.com

Contact Stacey

info@lhadventuretravel.com

Follow Stacey

Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/stacey.funt

Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/LHAdventuretravel

Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/lhadventuretravel

Join our email community to receive notice of upcoming trips, new podcasts, and find out the "Top Travels of 2026 to Soothe Your Soul" https://mailchi.mp/soulful/travels

or https://soulful.travel

Be sure to Subscribe and review the podcasts!

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/travel-that-touches-your-soul/id1865822112

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IMDYh43NAVhKXXfoUUNls

iHeart https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-travel-that-touches-your-315490361/

Facebook:

Karen https://www.facebook.com/karentcleveland

Travel that Touches Your Soul https://www.facebook.com/RevKarenCleveland/

Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/safarisandsacredjourneys/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@soulfultravelchannel

Mentioned in this episode:

Where the Journey Continues

Walking Mentorship in Portugal and a Transformational Travel Experience on the Fisherman’s Trail

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 01:15:00 -0700

Portugal’s Vicentina Coast. A river crossing. And the kind of mentoring you can only hear when you slow down and walk.

Have you ever had a mentor? Or heard about mentorship programs at work? Now imagine mentorship that happens while walking in nature, day after day, in a place powerful enough to quiet your mind and tell you the truth.

In this episode, Karen Cleveland sits down with Dana and João, the founder of Walking Mentorship, to explore a transformational travel experience on Portugal’s Vicentina Coast, along the Fisherman’s Trail. Dana, a mom, athlete, educator, philanthropist, and cancer research advocate, shares how her “say yes” approach led her into a week of walking, journaling, reflection, and community.

João explains the method behind Walking Mentorship. Slow down, reconnect, gain perspective, and take action. Then they bring it to life through the episode’s signature story. A river crossing that became both epic and harmonizing, a vivid metaphor for moving from vision into real, embodied change.

Guest Bio

Dana Smith

Dana is a mom, athlete, educator, philanthropist, advocate for cancer research, and travel enthusiast. Her current travel motto is simple and brave. Say yes to new experiences that promote self-growth, excitement, and discovery. In 2025, one of her favorite experiences was joining Walking Mentorship on Portugal’s Vicentina Coast, where a powerful river crossing became a defining moment of accomplishment, teamwork, and joy.

João Perre Viana

João is the Founder and pioneer of Walking Mentorship, an approach that combines walking in nature with individual and group mentoring to inspire personal change and strengthen organizations from within. Born in Portugal, João finished high school in the U.S. and completed his MBA in Belgium, then built a senior management career across Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa.

With 15+ years of international mentoring experience, João focuses on change management, business transformation, and personal development. He launched Walking Mentorship in 2015, an innovative project decades in the making. João is also a guest lecturer and an active member of multiple mentoring and governance organizations, including the Transformational Travel Council and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council.

Host Bio

Karen Cleveland is the creator and host of Travel That Touches Your Soul. She is a safari host, spiritual teacher, and animal communicator devoted to helping people reconnect with what matters most through meaningful travel. Her work centers on connection with nature, culture, and inner truth, and the quiet courage it takes to step forward when you do not know exactly how the path will unfold.

________________________________________

Episode Topics and Timestamps

• What is a “walking mentorship”. And why it changes the mentoring dynamic (00:00)

• Meet Dana and João. Why Dana said yes, and why João designed this work (00:34)

• Walking Mentorship explained. Slow down, reconnect, gain perspective, take action (01:28)

• Portugal’s Fisherman’s Trail. The Vicentina Coast and the rhythm of a week-long walk (03:49)

• The river crossing story begins. Watching tides, preparing to cross, choosing courage (04:44)

• Step by step in the water. Packs overhead, steady footing, senses waking up (08:00)

• How João evaluates safety. Current, timing, and using a drone to scout conditions (10:28)

• The metaphor. Making your ideal future real, then walking into it anyway (12:00)

• Joy on the other side. Playfulness, celebration, and group energy spreading outward (16:41)

• When the walk gets hard. Injury, support, and someone carrying your backpack (26:26)

• Walking Mentorship formats. Immersive walks, corporate programs, and one-to-one journeys (20:55)

• Travel as a force for peace. The Russian and Ukrainian moment João can’t forget (23:42)

• The weather as teacher. Life happens, and the path becomes real (31:53)

• Where to find Walking Mentorship, and what’s next for Dana and Karen (33:09)

Resources Mentioned

• Walking Mentorship

walkingmentorship.com

Join our email community to receive notice of upcoming trips, new podcasts, and find out the "Top Travels of 2026 to Soothe Your Soul" https://mailchi.mp/soulful/travels

or https://soulful.travel

Be sure to Subscribe and review the podcasts!

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/travel-that-touches-your-soul/id1865822112

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IMDYh43NAVhKXXfoUUNls

iHeart https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-travel-that-touches-your-315490361/

Facebook:

Karen https://www.facebook.com/karentcleveland

Travel that Touches Your Soul https://www.facebook.com/RevKarenCleveland/

Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/safarisandsacredjourneys/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@soulfultravelchannel

Mentioned in this episode:

Where the Journey Continues

Beyond the Medina: Insider Access to Morocco Travel with Siham

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:30:00 -0700

Enter the Morocco most travelers never see. Where insider access awakens connection and every moment transforms you from within.

In this episode of Travel That Touches Your Soul, we open a doorway into a Morocco guided not by checklists or crowds, but by relationship, trust, and lived experience. Host Karen Cleveland is joined by Siham Lahmine, founder of Morocco Travel Organizer, whose work is rooted in authentic connection and deep cultural respect.

This conversation reveals what becomes possible when travel is shaped by listening rather than rushing. From farm to cave cooking experiences and personalized perfume creation, to tea ceremonies inside family homes and storytelling through food in Fes, Siham shares how true insider access transforms both traveler and host. This is a journey into Morocco’s heart. Human to human. Soul to soul.

Host Bio

Karen Cleveland is the creator and host of Travel That Touches Your Soul. She is a safari host, spiritual teacher, and animal communicator devoted to helping people reconnect with what matters most through meaningful travel. Her work centers on connection with animals, land, culture, and inner truth. Karen believes travel is one of life’s great teachers when approached with presence and respect.

Guest Bio

Siham Lahmine is the founder of Morocco Travel Organizer and a respected leader in high end, deeply customized travel in Morocco. With a Bachelor of Arts in English Studies from Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdullah University in Fes, Siham combines academic insight with lived cultural wisdom. Her itineraries go far beyond luxury. They are designed as life changing experiences rooted in Morocco’s food, traditions, landscapes, and people.

Known for her profound knowledge of Moroccan cuisine, Siham was among the first in the Fes region to offer farm to table cooking classes inside private homes, including her signature farm to cave experience with mint tea served underground. Her work supports families and communities directly, especially women who have never worked in tourism before. Through volunteering, mentorship, and advocacy, Siham is deeply committed to women’s empowerment and cultural preservation. Her vision is clear. Travel as a bridge between cultures and a mirror for self discovery.

Episode Topics and Timestamps

• Entering the Morocco most travelers never see. Why insider access matters (00:00)

• Designing travel through listening and personalization (02:00)

• Tea ceremonies inside family homes and cultural meaning (03:00)

• Supporting women and families through ethical tourism (06:30)

• Food as storytelling. Fes cuisine and regional differences (10:30)

• Spices, honey, and traditional healing wisdom (13:00)

• Morocco’s natural diversity. Desert, mountains, beaches (17:00)

• Practical travel guidance for first time visitors (22:00)

• Why connection is what travelers remember most (16:00)

• How to plan a journey with Morocco Travel Organizer (26:00)

STOP Making These 7 Costly Morocco Travel Mistakes

Free downloadable guide

https://www.moroccotravelorganizer.com

Contact Siham directly

siham@moroccotravelorganizer.com

Plan a customized Morocco journey

https://www.moroccotravelorganizer.com

Follow Morocco Travel Organizer

Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/moroccotravelorganizer/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sihamlahmine/

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEX7TYKKobqtoL8NTjhSg6w

TripAdvisor. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293733-d26828603-Reviews-Morocco_Travel_Organizer-Fes_Fes_Meknes.html

Join our email community to receive notice of upcoming trips, new podcasts, and find out the "Top Travels of 2026 to Soothe Your Soul" https://mailchi.mp/soulful/travels

or https://soulful.travel

Be sure to Subscribe and review the podcasts!

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/travel-that-touches-your-soul/id1865822112

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IMDYh43NAVhKXXfoUUNls

iHeart https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-travel-that-touches-your-315490361/

Facebook:

Karen https://www.facebook.com/karentcleveland

Travel that Touches Your Soul https://www.facebook.com/RevKarenCleveland/

Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/safarisandsacredjourneys/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@soulfultravelchannel

Mentioned in this episode:

Where the Journey Continues

Travel that Touches Your Soul -The Doorway Episode

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 02:30:00 -0700

A random meeting with a wild giraffe changed the direction of my life forever, and you will hear all about it in this first episode of Travel that Touches Your Soul.

In The Doorway Episode: A First Glimpse you’ll hear what makes this podcast and video channel extraordinary, it takes you far beyond sightseeing buses and tourist markets to find the places that touch your soul. You'll be invited to come with me into the moment that sent me on the path of guiding transformational safaris and now, journeys around the world.

You will meet the top transformational travel experts and change makers from around the world that guide other people through meaningful journeys. In the future, there will be videos from the field and you'll hear the sounds that we hear as we make these journeys, so tune into this episode and see what it's all about, then join us when Season One officially drops in January 2026!

Find more at soulful.travel

Welcome to Travel that Touches Your Soul

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 02:30:00 -0700

What if just one trip could awaken your soul and change your life forever? It can, it happened to me connecting with wild places and wise beings have a way of waking up parts of us we forgot existed. Imagine standing eye to eye with a wild animal that sees you, or meeting and talking with people that opens up something deep and meaningful inside you.

If your soul is craving something deeper, you're in the right place. This is travel that touches your soul. Welcome. Let us begin the journey.