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Travelers: beautiful and brave. Women - travelers and explorers of different eras

When we talk about brave adventurers, fearless travelers and conquerors of new lands, we usually mean men, bearded and stern, who go on a journey, driven by ambition or thirst for thrills. However, stories are known of women who broke the centuries-old tradition, left the hearth and set off on adventures. Traveling women traveled the world and led a hectic life full of adventures, because they wanted to expand their horizons, follow loved ones, or simply because they could not sit at home.

Lady Hester Stanhope (1776-1839)

Lady Hester Stanhope

Lady Hester Stanhope was born to Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope in 1776. Passion for travel manifested itself in Lady Hester already in early age when she tried to take a boat to France, but was quickly intercepted by adults and returned home. An active, independent and intelligent girl, Esther in 1803 became the hostess, and then the secretary, in the house of the future Prime Minister of Great Britain, William Pitt Jr. After his death, Esther was given a pension for her efforts. It was this income that gave her freedom of movement.

For some time, Lady Esther lived in London, then moved to Wales, and then permanently and went to Athens. According to rumors, when Esther Stanhope arrived in the Greek capital, Lord Byron threw himself into the sea to greet her. She was supposedly supposed to become a secret agent and spy on Napoleon. But British diplomats put an end to these plans, and Lady Esther and her little family were forced to go to Egypt. On the way to Cairo near Rhodes, the ship fell into a severe storm, Lady Esther and her companions escaped, but all their belongings were lost. Lady Stanhope was forced to wear men's clothing which she continued to do for the rest of her life. She visited Gibraltar, Malta, the Ionian Islands, the Peloponnese, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon in two years. Lady Hester was the first European to visit some of the Eastern cities, where she met with a very warm welcome.

The emir received her cordially, and from then on she called herself "Queen Esther", and nothing could shake her convictions.

Last years Lady Esther Stanhope spent her life in a secluded mansion in the mountains near the Lebanese city of Sayda on the Mediterranean coast.

Annie Smith Peck (1850-1935)

Annie Smith Peck

Annie Peck has been interested in science since childhood, and before the age of thirty she received a master's degree in philology. Knowledge of the classical languages - Latin and Greek - enabled her to become the first woman to study archeology at the American School of Classical Studies in Greece. For the first time, Peck woke up with an interest in mountaineering only at the age of 44, when she saw with her own eyes the power and grandeur of the Matterhorn. She began to train hard and soon conquered the mountain.

Returning to America, Annie Smith Peck devoted all her time to mountaineering, conquering the peaks of South America and trying to find the highest mountain in the New World. In 1904, she climbed Mount Sorata in Bolivia, and in 1908 she became the first person to climb Mount Nevado Huascaran (6768 m) in Peru (Peru), the northern peak of which was subsequently renamed in her honor. Annie Smith wrote several books about her ascents, lectured about her adventures and continued to climb into old age.

The climber made the loudest ascent in 1909: 61-year-old Peck conquered the top of Koropun in Peru, hoisting a flag on it with the slogan "The right to vote for women!". Annie Smith Peck made her last ascent at the age of 82.

Gudridur

Gudridur

Gudridur was born in Iceland around 980 AD. The story of her life was brought to us by the great Icelandic sagas. Gudridur was destined to travel a much greater distance than most of her contemporaries. The father took Gudridur to the colony in Greenland, founded by Eric the Red, and married Thorstein, the son of Eric. Together with her husband and other Viking settlers, she traveled west from Greenland. The path of this expedition lay in Vinland - as the Vikings called North America. Unfortunately, this expedition was not successful, and Thorstein died on the way back.

Returning to Greenland, Gudridur remarried. Together with her new husband, Thorfinnr, she made another attempt to get to Vinland and establish a settlement there. The Saga of Greenland describes the two years that this Icelandic colony existed in the New World. Gudridur gave birth to the first European child in the land of the New World - the son of Snorri. The Greenland Saga is about a strange people, the natives, whom the colonists call "skrelings". At first, the Scandinavians traded with the Skrelings, but then enmity began between them, the victory in which remained with the Scandinavians. However, fearing more serious attacks and war, the Scandinavians returned to Greenland. Together with her fellow tribesmen, Gudridur converted to Christianity. When her husband Thorfinnr died, Gudridur decided to make a pilgrimage to Rome, where she met the Pope and told him of her adventures. Returning to Greenland, she became a nun and the remainder of her long and interesting life spent in seclusion.

Harriet Chalmers Adams (1875-1937)

Harriet Chalmers Adams

Love for travel and nature Adams inherited from her father, who, having no sons, often took Harriet with him on horseback rides in the mountains. At the age of fourteen, she accompanied her father on a year-long expedition on horseback through Mexican territories. Shortly after Harriet married engineer Frank Adams, he was invited to work in Mexico. For lovers, this time turned into a long honeymoon. Chalmers visited all the ruins of the Aztec and Mayan settlements, many of which were discovered shortly before. Harriet was fascinated by Latin America, and at her request, Frank accepted a position with a mining corporation, which allowed them to travel freely throughout South America.

Wanting to document her travels, Harriet learned to take photographs. It was the magnificent photographs and the ability to captivate readers and listeners with stories about what he saw that made Adams one of the most famous travelers of his time. Over time, she learned to turn her impressions into articles for magazines and even gave lectures about what she saw. Her reporting on South America is best known, but Harriet Chalmers also visited Asia, and when the First World War became a war correspondent. Since at that time a woman could not become a full member of the Geographical Society, Harriet Chalmers Adams founded the "Society of Women Geographers" and became its first chairman.

Freya Stark (1893-1993)

Freya Stark

In an obituary, Freya Stark is called "the last romantic traveler." It is a romantic look at the world so loved by the readers of her travel reports. During her long (Freya Stark lived to be a hundred years old) and adventurous life, she traveled almost the whole world. Her childhood and youth were spent in Italy, where she lived with her grandmother. At the age of 9, she was presented with “1000 and 1 nights” and little Freya “fell ill” with the East.

In her youth, due to health problems, she spent most of her time at home, with books: she read a lot, studied languages. At the age of 13, Freya had an accident at a factory, spent several months recovering from skin grafts, and during this time she learned Latin. Then the girl devoted herself completely to her hobby - she studied Persian and Arabic, and in the late 1920s. went to the Middle East. In her second book, The Valley of the Assassins, Freya Stark recounts how she became the first European to set foot on the land of Luristan, Iran, and how she first saw the destroyed castles of the Assassins. Returning from this expedition, Freya published the first of nearly thirty travel books that are also a success with the modern reader.

In addition, in Egypt, Freya Stark created a democratic political group to combat fascist propaganda spread by German agents. After the war, she continued to travel and write, for which she was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1974.

Nellie Bly (1864-1922)

Nellie Bly

Nellie Bly is one of the most famous names on the list of female travelers, but originally Nellie Bly was called differently - Elizabeth Cochran. Most of the travels and adventures of journalist Nellie Bly are associated with her work in the New York World newspaper. This was the era of "sensational" journalism, and Bly's first report was devoted to exposing the conditions of the patients in the lunatic asylum for women. Posing as a mental patient, Bly voluntarily went to the clinic and experienced all the “charms” of isolation on the island from her own experience. The patients were fed spoiled rancid food, the nurses were cruel and indifferent, and the conditions of detention were not suitable for people. Bligh's article was a breakthrough in the field of investigative journalism, provoked a scandal in society and served as an impetus for the reform of psychiatric hospitals.

Nellie Bly's next adventure brought her worldwide fame. She became the only woman who wanted to break the record of the hero of Jules Verne's novel "Around the World in 80 Days" Phileas Fogg. Nellie Bly set off on November 14, 1889 with the only "trump card" - a special foreign passport signed by the US Secretary of State. Her journey began with seasickness, but ended in triumph.

In France, Bly met with Jules Verne, who believed that she would be able to complete the trip around the world in 79 days, but not in 75, as she had hoped. Bly crossed several seas, went through the Suez Canal, visited Colombo and Aden, visited a leper colony in China, bought a monkey and returned back to New York, spending 72 days 6 hours 10 minutes 11 seconds.

Louise Boyd (1887-1972)

Louise Boyd

Louise Boyd was born into a wealthy family and later used her large inheritance to explore the Arctic regions she loved so much. Boyd became the first woman to fly over the North Pole (in 1955). Traveling in Europe after the death of her parents in 1920, Boyd spent some time in Svalbard, where she fell in love with the beauty of the ice. Her first Arctic expedition took place in 1926; she was engaged in film and photography of the Arctic flora and fauna. Boyd's polar bear hunting earned her the nickname "Diana of the Arctic". She was also called the "Ice Woman" for her adventurous exploration of Greenland. Boyd not only studied fjords and glaciers, but also discovered an underwater mountain range in the Arctic Ocean.

Louise Boyd's most famous expedition is her participation in the search for the famous Antarctic explorer Roald Amundsen, who disappeared while assisting a downed Italian airship. Boyd flew ten thousand miles in her plane, but Amundsen was never found. For participation in this search expedition, Boyd - the first woman who is not a subject of Norway - was awarded the Order of St. Olaf by King Haakon VII. Boyd returned to the United States and led five expeditions to Greenland, for which she was especially noted by the Geographical Society. Greenland has an area named Louise Boyd Land in her honor.

Kira Salak (1971-

Kira Salak

It seems that the golden age of adventure and discovery has long passed, and travel has become a pleasant pastime for women. But the life of Kira Salak, a journalist and professional adventurer, proves that there are still many unexplored places and “dark spots” in the world.

Salak worthily continues the traditions of famous women travelers. After completing her PhD in Literature and Travel Reporting, Kira Salak embarked on a long journey through Papua New Guinea. She turned this experience into the book Four Corners. Since then, she has written many books. Her daring adventure was in the Congo, where she followed the trail of mountain gorillas. Salak was smuggled into the country by Ukrainian arms smugglers. Kira wrote an article about this trip, for which she received several professional awards. In the city of Bunia, Salak met with several child soldiers from the local militia.

There is not a trace of the Victorian sentimentality traditionally expected of British journalism in her style, but Salak describes phenomena that leave no room for such emotions. In her less shocking reporting, Kira Salak reveals a fascinating world that we, who live in an age when traveling is easy and pleasant, often do not notice.

Gertrude Bell (1868-1926)

Gertrude Bell

Gertrude Bell has many accomplishments but is best remembered today for her role in establishing the nation state in post-World War I Iraq. Bell was in many ways a first: the first woman to earn a master's degree in history from Oxford; the first woman to write a document for the British government. She made two trips around the world. Once, while climbing a mountain in Switzerland, Bell got into a snowstorm and hung on a safety rope for two days.

Bell found her true calling when she traveled to Tehran to visit her uncle. In the Middle East, she taught local languages and studied archaeology. Many archaeologists working in the Middle East at the time were also agents of British intelligence, such as Lawrence of Arabia, whom Bell met at the excavations.

In 1915 she worked again with Lawrence, in Cairo, at the British Arab Bureau. Her knowledge of the Middle East found wide application in times of peace. In Basra, Gertrude Bell met and made contacts with many important local people, including the future kings of Iraq, Abdullah and Faisal. At post-war conferences on British influence in the Middle East, Bell advocated Iraqi self-government and for some time was an unspoken adviser to King Faisal. Gertrude Bell is buried in Baghdad, the capital of the nation she helped create.

17:44 6.03.2009

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Everyone can name at least one traveler, and who knows the famous female travelers

Thousands of books have been written about great travelers and hundreds of films have been made. These men conquered the oceans, crossed the mountains, discovered new lands and lived in wild tribes. Everyone can name at least one traveler, but what about famous female travelers?

In Russia, there is only one universally known traveler - the brave frog from Garshin's story. Such a state of affairs may amuse someone, but basically it can only cause righteous anger among the fair sex. Let's not give feminists another reason to shout about discrimination, but let's take a short digression into the history of women's wanderings around the world.

The first travelers to win back from men the right to travel the world on their own and join geographical communities with their own discoveries were English women, and this happened in the 18th century. It was then that Lady Mary Wortley Montegrew, who was interested in geography, resolutely tucked up her skirts and went on a trip to Europe, Asia and Africa, and then described her impressions in a book. But at first, women travelers were not taken seriously, their initiatives were not supported, and books were considered reading matter for bored socialites who had not yet come up with such a whim as traveling somewhere other than “on the waters”. Plus, it was unheard of audacity and emancipation.

However, following the English women, American women began to travel around the world, and by the end of the 19th century, a woman who climbed Mont Blanc or went to study Syria no longer surprised anyone. Now the routes and studies of female travelers are of the same importance and deserve the same attention as their counterparts of the stronger sex. However, the names of most travelers remain unknown to the general public. Therefore, we are talking about some brave girls who can stop a galloping horse, and the sea is knee-deep, and do not frighten polar bears.

Alexandra Tolstaya
An English aristocrat, a member of the Royal Geographical Society, is not a namesake, but the real heiress of Count Leo Tolstoy. Adventurous and daring Alexandra has two great passions - travel and horses. In 1999, for the first time in modern history, she repeated the route of the Great Silk Road from Turkmenistan to China. The expedition, then led by Alexandra, consisted of four female riders and one male guide. On the way, Alexandra wrote a research book.

Her next route ran from Russia to Mongolia, and then she again decided to follow the historical path and repeat the legendary transition of 1935 from Ashgabat to Moscow (then the horse expedition covered 4,000 kilometers in 84 days), and even chose horses of the same breed - Akhal-Teke. From the first time, the idea failed due to the state borders that have changed since that time, and Alexandra's expedition managed to reach only Orenburg.

The stubborn girl returned to England, but two years later she nevertheless brought the matter to an end and triumphantly completed the route in Moscow at the Zhukov monument after eight months of travel. Alexandra lives in several countries at once and never stays anywhere for a long time, but she considers Russia and England to be her main home. Tolstaya organizes and travels all her expeditions with her husband - after conquering the Great Silk Road, she married the very only male guide - a professional equestrian, master of sports in show jumping Shamil Galimzyanov.

Kristina Khoynovskaya-Liskevich
A unique Polish traveler who became the first woman in the world to circumnavigate the world solo. Christina is a shipbuilding engineer by education, a sea captain by profession, and a yachtsman by passion. Such a woman simply cannot but be an extreme person.

The conqueror of the oceans began her circumnavigation in 1976 in the Canary Islands in the port of Las Palmas. Christina sailed on an ocean yacht with the cheerful name "Mazurka", the design and construction of which was led by her husband. From the Canary Islands, she went in the direction of Barbados, to the Caribbean Sea and the Panama Canal, then to the Pacific Ocean, Tahiti, Fiji, Australia, the Indian Ocean and the southern coast of Africa.

Two years after the start, Khoynovskaya-Liskevich returned to Las Palmas, she was greeted with a standing ovation in the port. On the water, Christina spent a total of 401 days, the rest of the time was spent calling at ports. Upon her return, the polka immediately became a legend, her name was entered in the Guinness Book of Records, and she herself wrote a book about how she coped with dangerous and hard work and how she managed to emerge unscathed from all storms, overcome reefs and escape from hurricanes.

After the Chojnowska-Liskevich circumnavigation, the ocean began to beckon women, and 10 years later, another navigator, Australian sailboat designer Kay Cotty, made an even more risky journey - she circumnavigated the world in 189 days without a single port call!

Lyubov Sluchevskaya
The Russian traveler has become famous recently. In 2006, she single-handedly crossed five countries in Africa, starting in Hurghada and ending her trip on the island of Zanzibar in Tanzania. Sluchevskaya's expedition was cultural and ethnographic and was carried out as part of the project of a traveling exhibition of drawings (which she herself came up with) "Africa - a Friendly World." The traveler traveled through Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania with a backpack containing drawings of Russian children, and she organized exhibitions in each country.

The traveler was not at all ready for the fact that the inhabitants of African countries would so actively want to participate in the project that by the end of the journey she was already carrying drawings of not only Russian, but also African children. Love made the return journey along the same route, and the whole journey took her four months - she moved there and back on foot or hitchhiking. The path was easy for her: she says that in the first month and a half she adapted to both the climate and the local food and learned to be ready for anything, and the border guards did not put up any obstacles for her, as they knew about the purpose of her journey. The most unpleasant thing happened at the end of the journey - in Tanzania, she was attacked by three bandits who took away a bag with personal belongings and documents. Returning, Sluchevskaya conceived a new and more dangerous route for the future: Morocco, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal.

Liv Arnesen and Ann Bancroft
The Norwegian Arctic explorer has more than once deserved the title of "The first woman in the world who ...". In 1991 the former school teacher Liv Arnesen became the first woman in the world to organize and lead the first women's expedition to Greenland. True, this cannot be called a full-fledged expedition - she set off on a journey with two companions and traveled only three days, then the women returned because of the hurricane. But a year later, Liv and her friend hit the road again and this time crossed Greenland in 23 days. Liv then became the first woman to ski alone to the South Pole. She walked for fifty days at temperatures from -40 to -60 degrees, dragging a sled with 85 kilograms of equipment and a 15-kilogram backpack.

Four years ago, 51-year-old Liv teamed up with 50-year-old American Ann Bancroft, and they conceived a joint desperate crossing of the Arctic Ocean. Ann by that time already bore the title of the first woman in the world to reach the North Pole by dog sled. The travelers planned a 100-day expedition with direct communication with Norwegian radio listeners, but they had to interrupt the route due to shifting Arctic ice - along with broken equipment, they were evacuated from a drifting ice floe. Before the route, the women were sure that their main problem would be encounters with polar bears, and not a broken ice floe. Despite the failure, Liv and Ann have not given up on their idea and are planning to repeat the trip.

Marlo Morgan
The American Morgan was not going to become famous as a traveler, but her life turned out that way. A medical doctor by training, she has been involved in government reform of medicine in Australia. And one day, her Australian colleague suggested that Marlo make a trip deep into the continent to the indigenous tribes. As a result, the American woman, who by that time had already retired, lived with the Australian Aborigines for four months. They met her unfriendly, burned all her things along with the equipment and money that she brought with her.

The natives called themselves a tribe of "true people" and did not want to take anyone in, but Morgan managed to win them over. The woman adopted their way of life: she ate their food, went hunting with them, took part in rituals and ceremonies. Upon her return, the traveler wrote a book about this tribe. True, she believed that she lived in a wild tribe completely unknown to Australian geographers, ethnographers and authorities, and she thought that she was making a real discovery. And although she was wrong about this and the tribe was known, the book still became a bestseller ...

When I just left on a trip to Southeast Asia, many people asked me if I was afraid to go alone, not on a package tour, but on my own? I traveled alone for only a month, but during this time I managed to make sure that solo travel- it's just an amazing experience and there is absolutely no need to be afraid to go if you do not have the right company (and even if you are a girl). Today I want to talk about the amazing women travelers who proved to everyone that everyone can conquer the world!

Potanina Alexandra Viktorovna (1843 - 1893)

Our compatriot, was born in the Nizhny Novgorod province. Together with her husband, she traveled to little-known regions of Central Asia. Alexandra took part in 4 research expeditions — Northwestern Mongolia, Northern China, Eastern Tibet And Central Mongolia. The information obtained during the expeditions formed the basis of her works about the local nature, as well as the life and life of the peoples of Central Asia.

Alexandra David Neel (1868-1969)

Born in France, from a very young age she was interested in traveling, and in her youth she even ran away from her parents in Spain on a bicycle (of course, she was soon returned home). But the most interesting and impressive journey she made in Tibet, and in those days when the borders of Tibet was closed to foreigners. She managed to do this solely due to the fact that she traveled to Tibet on foot from China, dressed as a Tibetan beggar woman. Accompanying her on this extraordinary adventure was Lama Yongden, whom she later adopted. Returning to France, Alexandra wrote a book about her journey, which is called - "Journey of a Parisian Woman to Lhasa" — amazing book I advise everyone to read it!

Nellie Bly (1864-1922)

Real name - Elizabeth Cochrane(Nellie Bly is a creative pseudonym), not only a traveler, but also a famous American journalist pioneer of investigative journalism. Inspired by Jules Verne's novel Around the World in 80 Days, she set out to see if it was really possible to travel around the world in 80 days. 16 years after the release of Jules Verne's novel, the brave journalist set out on her journey along the route described in the book. And what would you think? She really did it! And the whole journey took her only 72 days, one of which she spent to visit the author who inspired her - Jules Verne! After returning, she became a national heroine, because in those days it was difficult to imagine that a woman could decide on such an adventure - women could not study at the university or vote in elections, they did not even have the right to dispose of their property!

Annie Cohen Kopchowski ("Londonderry") (1870-1947)

Annie was born in Riga, but as a child she emigrated to the United States. Annie became famous for being first woman to circumnavigate the world by bicycle! Before the trip, Annie's family was in dire need of money, and that is what pushed her to such a brave act. In Boston, two gentlemen argued whether a woman could cycle around the world? The winner was promised a prize - 10 thousand dollars. And Annie was on her way. She was allowed to use the water mode of transport, but on land it was possible to get only by bicycle. The route of the bike ride included routes from New York to Chicago, from Jerusalem to Colombo, from Mexico to Texas. After 15 months of non-stop travel, Annie returned to Boston, entering the world history of women travelers.

Well, what about our contemporaries? And among them there are many brave travelers, I will tell you about some of them.

Rosie Swale-Pope

British Rosie Swale-Pope too traveled around the world but not even on a bike, but on foot! The whole journey took her 5 long years, and the distance she covered was already 32 thousand km. The travel route passed through Europe, Russia, the USA and Canada. Rosie began her journey in 2003, at the age of 57 (!) after the death of her husband. Despite the complexity of such a route, this trip helped her to love life again.

Jessica Watson

One of the youngest travelers an Australian navigator. Incredibly, she went on a trip around the world when she was only 16 years old! The journey lasted 210 days, during which time Jessica alone traveled 42,000 km on her yacht. The route was chosen as follows: Australia - New Zealand - Fiji - Kiribati - Cape Horn - South Africa - Australia. Despite the fact that at that time she was the youngest traveler who made a non-stop around the world, they decided not to include her in the Guinness Book of Records so as not to provoke other young travel enthusiasts to such a dangerous adventure. By the way, Jessica wrote a book about her adventures - The Power of Dreams.

Laura Dekker

It was she who was recognized as the youngest navigator who made a solo trip around the world! The Dutch traveler originally wanted to go around the world when she was only 14 years old! But the Dutch authorities did not allow her to do this, even imposing a judicial restriction until Laura reaches 16 years of age. And so, in 2011, she set off on her yacht "Guppy" to the sea. Laura's parents are yachtsmen, and they taught Laura all the tricks of sailing a yacht. A year and one day later, in January 2012, Laura completed her circumnavigation, becoming the youngest traveler to circumnavigate the globe.

Ellen MacArthur

In continuation of sea voyages, I would like to tell you about Helen MacArthur, who in 2005 made circumnavigation of the world in record time - 71 days. Ellen got into Guinness Book of Records in the nomination of the fastest solo circumnavigation of the world on a sailing ship. After returning Helen was awarded the Order of the British Empire. Now Helen is involved in charity work.

Alexandra Tolstaya

Briton Alexandra Tolstaya, the real great-niece of Leo Tolstoy, graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Master of Arts degree in Russian. But she is famous not only for her relationship with the great writer. In 1999, Alexandra, together with 3 friends and a guide, went on a journey along the Great Silk Road through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China. Upon returning from a horse trip, Alexandra wrote the book "The Last Secrets of the Silk Road." After the conquest of the Silk Road, there were other horse trips - from Baikal to Mongolia, from Moscow to Ashgabat (crossing the Kara-Kum desert).

Gerlinda Kaltenbrunner

But not only the sea and the plains were conquered by brave women! Austrian Gerlinda Kaltenbrunner conquered all 14 highest peaks of the planet! And she is the only woman in the world, climbed to All 14 eight-thousanders without an oxygen tank! Gerlinda conquered the first peak in 1998, it was Mount Cho Oyu in Nepal, then there were Annapurna, Lhotse, Everest and other peaks over 8000 meters high. The latest in this list was the most dangerous peak in the world - K-2 (according to statistics, for every 4 climbers who reach the top, there is one dead), which Gerlinda climbed in 2012.

Edurne Pasaban

Another famous climber - Spanish Edurne Pasaban, which is also conquered all 14 of the greatest mountains, on the last of which - Shisha Pangma she climbed when she was 36 years old (2010). And she did it before Gerlinda Kaltenbrunner, but using an oxygen mask. So they divided the palm among female climbers in half - Edurne as the first woman to conquer all 14 eight-thousanders, and Gerlinda as the first woman to conquer them without using an oxygen cylinder. After completing the record ascents, Edurne is not going to stop there, planning to continue to conquer different peaks, no less difficult than the eight-thousanders.

Sara Outen

In 2009, Sarah crossed the Indian Ocean by boat, becoming the first woman and the youngest sailor to make such a voyage. A in 2011, Sarah went on a trip around the world in which she moves to bike, kayak and kayak. The journey began in London, after crossing the English Channel in a kayak, Sarah cycled Europe and Asia, cycled and kayaked through Japan, crossed the Pacific Ocean by boat, then cycled almost all of Canada. The journey is not over yet, you can follow Sarah's movements on her official website. Now Sarah is approaching the US border, after which she plans to cross the Atlantic Ocean by boat and return to London.

Video interview with Sarah Outen during her trip to Russia:

When I just left on a trip to Southeast Asia, many people asked me if I was afraid to go alone, not on a package tour, but on my own? I traveled alone for only a month (then there were 8 months of traveling with my husband), but during this time I managed to make sure that independent travel is just an amazing experience and there is absolutely no need to be afraid to go if you don’t have the right company (and even if you — young woman). Today I want to talk about amazing women travelers who proved to everyone that everyone can conquer the world!

2. Alexandra David Neel (1868-1969)

3. Nellie Bly (1864-1922)

4. Annie Cohen Kopchowski (Londonderry) (1870-1947)

Well, what about our contemporaries? And among them there are many brave travelers, I will tell you about some of them.

5. Rosie Swale-Pope (1947)

6. Jessica Watson (1993)

7. Laura Dekker (1995)

8. Helen MacArthur (1976)

9. Alexandra Tolstaya

10. Gerlinda Kaltenbrunner (1970)

11. Edurne Pasaban (1973)

12. Sarah Outen (1985)

In 2009, Sarah crossed the Indian Ocean by boat, becoming the first woman and the youngest sailor to make such a voyage. A in 2011, Sarah went on a trip around the world in which she moves to bike, kayak and kayak. The journey began in London, after crossing the English Channel in a kayak, Sarah cycled Europe and Asia, cycled and kayaked through Japan, crossed the Pacific Ocean by boat, then cycled almost all of Canada. The journey is not over yet, you can follow Sarah's movements on her official website here: http://www.sarahouten.com/the-mission/journey-tracker/

In the days of Jeanne Baret, being a woman meant spending as little time as possible outside the home and devoting all the time to household chores and raising children. This setting did not suit the 26-year-old Frenchwoman, and, inspired by Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night, she decided to pretend to be a man for a while in the hope of deceiving everyone.

So she got on the ship to the botanist Philibert Commerson, who was going to study foreign plants, and therefore was preparing to circumnavigate the world. Jeanne did a great job with men's work, helping to manage the ship and exploring new lands with Philibert, so her companion did not suspect something was wrong.

However, Jeanne's secret was revealed when the team got to the island of Tahiti, where the natives recognized a woman among the sailors. Philibert had to say goodbye to his faithful assistant, and she returned to her homeland already on another ship and in her own guise. Nevertheless, it is Bare who is called the first woman to circumnavigate the world.

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Nellie Bly, 1888

The next circumnavigation of the world with the participation of a woman took place more than a hundred years later. Even more risky Nellie Bly decided to repeat the experience of Jeanne Baret. In addition to the dream of traveling around the world (and the girls could still only dream about this), Nelly also took up an unfeminine business - journalism. And she did not write about fashion salons and dog grooming, but about uprisings, unemployment and the plight of workers in factories. Interest in this profession woke up when Bly read an outrageous article in one of the newspapers of her native Pittsburgh, stating that the mental development of women was significantly inferior to that of men. The angry feminist sent a letter to the editor, and instead of being angry with the reader, he offered her a place in his editorial office. By the way, Nellie Bly is a pseudonym (at that time, girls rarely performed under their real names, and more often they completely covered themselves with men's ones). The real name of the traveler is Elizabeth Jane Cochran. With each new material, Nelly touched on more and more sensitive topics and, finally, went to Mexico to describe the poor life of the local population.

However, such results did not suit the girl's employers, who believed that the girl should understand and write only about needlework, motherhood and culinary recipes.

In search of a more understanding leader, Nellie went to New York, where she got a job with Joseph Pulitzer himself. New boss did not consider gender an obstacle to work, so he allowed the girl to carry out all her bold ideas. That is how the idea to get into a psychiatric hospital came up in order to study the life of patients and doctors from the inside. Pretending to be mentally ill, Nelly managed to get into the hospital, and later write a report on the abuse of patients. Bligh's article caused a huge resonance in society and encouraged the state to finance medical institutions. Nelly received the title of "Lady Sensation" and was preparing for a new feat. This time, she came up with the idea to repeat the round-the-world trip described in Jules Verne's novel, and do it in less than 80 days. Nelly circumnavigated the globe on steamboats and trains in 72 days and, moreover, stopped by France along the way to chat with her idol, Jules Verne.

After her journey, Bly became a celebrity in America. But fame rather weighed down than pleased her: she could no longer engage in investigative journalism, because the status of incognito was almost impossible to maintain. The girl briefly took up the manufacture that she inherited from her deceased husband, but she could not succeed in this business, so she returned to writing again. In 1914, she even went to the front to publish some war reports. However, in the history of the 19th century, Nelly remained the first woman to complete the fastest trip around the world.

Annie Cohen-Kopchowski, 1895

Annie Kopchowski, an American, also had the goal of proving that women can do anything. So she gladly (although not without fear) bet with wealthy men from the Boston club that she could travel around the world on a bicycle in 15 months. This stunt was bold, not only because at that time women were the epitome of elegance and went exclusively in long dresses, which made riding difficult, but also because Annie had never ridden a bicycle before the argument. But that didn't stop her. As well as the fact that she had to leave her family for the first time for a long time - her husband and three children.

But all the risks of the girl were justified. Annie won the bet and, after her grandiose journey, became a symbol of a new, independent woman, introduced wide trousers (in which she accomplished her feat) into fashion and received 10 thousand dollars for winning (at that time a fairly large amount, considering that the average annual income American at the time was $1,000 a year). By the way, according to the terms of the deal, the adventurer did not have to travel all the way on two wheels: during the journey, she also sailed on a ship and moved on foot. After the trip ended, Annie began working as a journalist (she wrote under the pseudonym New woman) and shared her stories with readers of printed publications for a long time.

“I am a new woman, if that characterizes my conviction that I can do what I can do any man», - so Annie said about her act.

Decades later, her feat still inspires many. In 2007, one of the traveler's descendants published the book Around the World on Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry's Amazing Journey, and four years later, writer Evelyn Perry presented a play dedicated to Annie.

Gertrude Bell, 1897

But Gertrude Bell did not stop at one journey and circled the Earth twice in her life. From childhood, the Englishwoman showed an interest in learning, and especially in history. The teachers at the London school where Gertrude studied advised her to continue her studies, and Bell became one of the students at Lady Margaret's Oxford College. For that time, this was an incredible success, because girls were reluctantly taken to higher educational institutions.

During summer holidays her uncle, the British ambassador to Romania, often took her with him on trips to the East. Therefore, after graduating, Gertrude happily indulged in a new passion - travel, during which she met the secretary of the embassy, Henry Cadogen. A romance began between young people, but this story ended tragically: a year later the young man died of cholera. Gertrude was in despair and tried by all means to forget her fiancé. She began to study Arabic, read the Koran from cover to cover, traveled all over Europe far and wide - then her two trips around the world took place. But Bell still considered the mysterious East to be her favorite place. Her travels were not limited to mere idle curiosity. Studying the eastern peoples, who at that time lived restlessly, constantly fighting with each other, the girl tried to help them come to an agreement, taking on the role of a peaceful negotiator. This activity did not go unnoticed by British intelligence, which in 1915 recruited the girl into their secret service. So Bell became the first female officer.

During her travels, Gertrude compiled detailed maps of a large part of Mesopotamia (from Syria to the shores of the Persian Gulf), opened the Baghdad Archaeological Museum (without her, all the treasures of the East would have been stolen across different countries), helped found a new state, Iran, and wrote its constitution. Such an eventful biography attracted Hollywood producers, who recently shot the biopic Queen of the Desert (that's what the brave traveler was called during her lifetime) with Nicole Kidman in the title role.

Alexandra David-Neel, 1911

While Gertrude Bell enjoyed the loneliness of the desert, her contemporary Alexandra David-Neel adored Tibet with all her heart, to which she devoted more than one book and travel.

The novels of Jules Verne were the favorite literature of the Frenchwoman since childhood, so the girl dreamed of traveling to other countries. Parents did not share Alexandra's enthusiasm, therefore, as a teenager, she ran away from home several times to Belgium, Spain, England and Switzerland. Nevertheless, the father and mother managed to force their daughter to study, and Alexandra graduated from the Brussels Conservatory. It was there that Alexandra met the founder of the Theosophical Society, who told her about Tibet. The girl was on fire with the idea to go there, but she didn’t have a job at that time, and her parents weren’t going to pay for another crazy whim.

Then the traveler decided to leave for Tunisia, where she was offered a job in one of the theaters. There, Alexandra met the railway engineer Philip Neel, who in 1904 became her husband. Alexandra was clearly lucky with her husband: he not only acted as the main sponsor of his beloved's trips, but also approved of all his wife's travels. Philip and Alexandra hardly saw each other, their entire marriage was sealed by a long correspondence, which was conducted until Neel's death in 1940.

Having received an endless source of funding, the girl went to conquer India. Then she traveled to Japan, Korea, China and finally Tibet. For a European girl, this was akin to a miracle: Tibet was guarded from foreigners, and she was mistakenly allowed into the holy of holies, mistaking her for a local resident. In total, she spent 14 years in Asia, which she told about in her numerous books.

Almost until her death in 1969, Alexandra was full of energy. She made her last ascent of the Alpine pass at the age of 82.

Amelia Earhart, 1928

From an early age, Amelia Earhart was fond of sports and also went crazy with the travels described in adventure books. The most favorite subjects at school for Amelia were geography, history, literature.

In 1917, Amelia dropped out of college and enrolled in a nursing course. She went to work in a military hospital to help those who arrived from the front. At that time, Amelia was seriously thinking about a career as a nurse, but close communication with the pilots of the local airfield changed her plans.

After the end of World War I, interest in aeronautics did not fade away. In 1920, an American woman visited an exhibition of aircraft, and three days later she flew one of them as a passenger. A year later, Earhart decided to take sailing lessons.

She quickly managed to master the technique and learn how to perform the most difficult tricks in the air. And in 1922, Amelia also set a record: she climbed to a height of 4300 kilometers. By the way, this record has not yet been broken by any woman.

In 1927, Amelia met Amy Guest, a wealthy American who dreamed of crossing the Atlantic by air (by that time only one man, pilot Charles Lindbergh, had succeeded in doing this) and needed an experienced companion. For her purposes, she chose Amelia and invited her on board. And, although Earhart hardly sat at the helm (the ship was entrusted to one of the hired pilots), the 20-hour trip from the US to the UK was to her taste.

Thanks to this trip, Amelia became famous and used it for good deeds. She was one of the founders of the international organization of women pilots, proposed the idea of organizing regular transatlantic flights and conducted research on aeronautics. In parallel with this, Amelia continued to master the airspace and traveled from one end of America to the other, and in 1932 she fulfilled her cherished desire and flew over the Atlantic on her own.

In 1937, Amelia went around the world with her navigator. Two months after the start of the journey, communication with the aircraft was interrupted over one of the islands in the Pacific Ocean. Amelia and her colleague were never found. Earhart is still considered one of the most famous women in the United States, and she has received awards for her services in America, Belgium, and France. Every year books are written about her and films are made. In the comedy Night at the Museum 2, she was played by Amy Adams, and in the biopic Amelia by Hilary Swank.

Marguerite Grace, 1929

Thanks to her work in London's leading newspapers, Margaret Grace managed to secure a seat on board an airship in 1929. It was the first round-the-world flight in the history of aeronautics, and Grace became the first woman to fly around the world. For 20 days, the ship, making short transfers, covered 34 thousand kilometers.

This adventure made Grace incredibly popular in England, and offers to collaborate with leading publications rained down on her.

Continuing the theme of travel, Grace traveled to the cities of China and Ethiopia, making reports (including military ones) from there.

Freya Stark, 1931

Freya Stark was a sickly child since childhood: she had heart problems, she was constantly sick. However, because of this, Freya did not plan to become an outcast and close within four walls and decided that traveling would be her joy. Most of all she was fascinated by the mysterious East. Therefore, on the way to her dream, Freya studied Arabic at the school of oriental studies and only after that she set off to conquer the unknown world. She went to Beirut, visited Lebanon and Baghdad, and then saw Lebanon. Stark became the first European woman to visit the south of the Arabian Desert, because, despite the fact that by the twentieth century there were almost no unexplored places on the map, the countries of the East were still considered a dangerous place.

After the Second World War, the girl continued her oriental adventures and visited Turkey, China and Afghanistan. Despite her poor health, Freya lived to be 100 years old, giving the world more than 25 books with detailed description their travels.

“Waking up completely alone in an unfamiliar city is one of the most pleasant sensations in the world”, - so Freya spoke about her thirst for a change of place.

Rosie Swale-Pope, 2002

Rosie was always interested in traveling, but when she met businessman Clive, her dreams of distant lands faded into the background - she was so much in love. They got married and lived in Wales for 20 happy and quiet years. However, the death of her husband (he got cancer) completely turned Rosie's boat full of calmness: she was in despair and did not know how to live on.

In 2002, Rosie remembered her old dream of conquering the world and decided to run a charity run in support of cancer patients. Moreover, 57-year-old Rosie was preparing to make this trip all alone.

“I was completely heartbroken. But the future journey gave hope and strength. I knew I couldn't just run around the world like that. It is necessary to work out the route. And I settled on a small tour of Holland, Germany, Poland, the Baltic States, Russia, Alaska, Canada, America, Greenland and Iceland, Rosie admitted.

Rosie prepared thoroughly: for 16 months she ran every day with a heavy backpack on her shoulders (she had to drag a cart with dishes and clothes along the way) and learned the necessary languages (Dutch, German, Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian and Russian).

As a result of this unique race, which lasted five years, the heroine wore out 52 pairs of sneakers, had pneumonia, broke her hip and covered 32 thousand kilometers.

Upon returning to her native England, Rosie wrote the book A Little Run Around the World.

Laura Dekker, 2011

But Laura Dekker did not put off her journey on the back burner and went to seafaring at the age of 15. The fact is that the girl herself was born during a round-the-world trip: she was born when her parents (Dutch yachtsmen) were in the port of the New Zealand city of Whangarei. It is not surprising that Laura was interested in sailing from childhood and quickly mastered the management of the ship. During school holidays, she even went on a yacht to England a couple of times.

In 2009 (at that time the yachtswoman was 13 years old), Laura announced that she would go around the globe alone. The mood of the young Laura did not like the Dutch authorities, and they forbade her to leave the country: Dekker was waiting for a too dangerous test, besides, she had to quit school for a while. And when the girl still tried to swim away, she was detained. But a year later, the authorities took pity on the adventurer and gave her the go-ahead. In January 2011, Dekker went on a solo voyage, and exactly a year and one day later, having circumnavigated the Earth, she returned back, having traveled 50 thousand kilometers. She became the youngest navigator to circumnavigate the world alone.

True, the young star never got into the Guinness Book of Records: this story caused too many scandals in her native country. And the question whether teenagers can make such serious trips alone is still debatable.

Text: Nadia Zubreva

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