Take World writing retreats, the Deep South and Jamaica
Do nothing without intention in 2023. Travel included.
And with that, the first month of 2023 is almost complete. Where has the time gone? Here’s hoping your start to the year has gone smoothly and peacefully and that you’ve set realistic intentions that fill you with excitement and drive for the next few months ahead. I feel pumped for this year, in a hyper-focused sort of way. There’s a renewed sense of purpose and confidence flowing through me. Someone I met recently in New York said I have a ‘super positive energy’. In the first few years after my Dad passed and I struggled with identity issues, I felt as if I’d never be happy again so hearing that from other people is…quite nice.
Last year, it seemed, was all about extreme hedonism. So many of us missed out on regular living in 2021, so 2022 was all about making up for lost time, recouping the moments that slipped through our fingers like sand during the pandemic. (I actually don’t need an excuse to turn-up, ever, but that’s my excuse anyway). I had a great year spent mainly in Lisbon, with book and music festivals aplenty and a trip to Brazil, for an article I was writing on Afro-Brazilian culture for Lonely Planet, almost exactly this time last year. I was able to speak about the power and connection of solo travel for black and brown women, at festivals like Primadonna with my book, Black Girls Take World. I sustained my peace for the duration of the year.
This year, I’m raring to go. I have kickstarted my travels with a similar laser-focus but I’m moving faster. I want to sell my novel soon. I want to buy a flat. I want my travel writing to continue to be focused on themes that run through the African diaspora. After procrastinating for most of last year and really doubting my ability to produce an event that people might want to attend, I’ve FINALLY launched Take World writing retreats for women in Lisbon (which prioritises woman of colour). I’ve done a couple of TikTok posts about it and have been pleasantly surprised at how many people have already applied for a spot! I’ve wanted to create more community and connection for writers and POC in Lisbon and beyond for a while and this is the first step. I also need to get my novel done! So surrounding myself with other writers should help. I hope.
A Take World writing retreat will be all about providing time and space for women to write, with workshops and activities to spark joy and inspiration from me and other great writers. There will be some great Portuguese cuisine, daily yoga in front of some lush green mountains and of course, a shedload of accountability and encouragement - which is what all writers need. I’ve found the cutest, most romantic house just outside of Lisbon and I’m excited to get it all organised for May! If that sounds like your thing, please do check it out, as I’ll be going through applications next week.
I’m writing this post from a tree-lined balcony of a gorgeous resort called Lashings in Treasure Beach, Jamaica, having completed a solo expedition travelling through Negril, last week. In the distance, the sea is glittering like melted crystal in the sun, as a firm breeze offers a little respite from the heat. I’ve got a Magnum beside me and I’m waiting for my best friend, Aisling to join me here from London. I’m bathed in sunshine, and a lot of gratitude too. It feels like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. And Jamaica has exceeded all expectations. It feels like a place I’ve visited before, in my mind’s eye. Although I’ve travelled Colombia and Brazil alone, the idea of touching down in Montego Bay filled me with dread last week. I was anxious. But then I did my research and took the private bus service to Negril with no problems (check my video on how I did it here) and my week was magical.
I flew here, after snagging flights for $250(!) from JFK. And arriving in Jamaica feels like stepping into the pages of a borrowed story-book. Perhaps it’s because Brits consume an excessive amount of Jamaican culture at home, through reggae music, the proliferation of jerk chicken at restaurants everywhere from Glasgow to Guilford and the widespread commodification of ‘rasta’ culture which has only worsened in recent years as laws around marajuana-smoking have been relaxed around the world. Perhaps it’s because I lived in Brixton for a few years before moving to Lisbon. Perhaps it’s because so many of the songs I’m hearing on this island remind me of my Dad, a former punk, who loved Sister Nancy, Bob Marely, Junior Murvin and Jimmy Cliff but who never got to visit here before he passed in 2015. Either way, Jamaica feels like a homecoming.
Before this, I was in the States for a press trip through the American South, which was focused on exploring Gullah Geechee culture - African American descendants of slavery, whose cultures and communities span Charleston in South Carolina, to Jackonsville in Florida. I’ll be doing a fuller post on that soon, as well as linking to the video content and articles I’m producing, but I will briefly say: this trip helped me set the year with some serious intention! And I feel lucky to have attended.
It was an Intrepid travel trip, a company who make a point of offsetting all the carbon produced from their tours, and who work on the ground with local tour operators. And sure, it was a press trip, but it didn’t feel like one. I was with an all-female group of black and brown content creators, along with the MD of the whole company, his wife, and another Intrepid staff member. Everyone connected easily, there were cocktails and chit-chat between rousing musical performances and poignant speeches from tour guides about Charleston’s history, as well as visits to Martin Luther King’s former holiday house.
There was also something incredibly refreshing about being on a press trip, all about black history, with other like-minded black and brown creators. It’s rare that brands really get why that sort of thing is important, but it seems Intrepid do. I’ve worked with them in the past, and been sent to South Africa and Zimbabwe, as well as the Galápagos Islands, to write about it, and I look forward collaborating with them again in the future. (Side note: if anyone wants to know more about getting into travel writing perhaps I can start an ‘ask me anything’ on here? If people would like that, let me know!).
Anyway all this is to say, we are moving with nothing less than purpose and clarity in 2023. To paraphrase someone off Solange’s album, do nothing without intention guys. My journey this year is off to a flying start - I hope yours is too.