Trekking the Planet

Book excerpt: In 2011, 25-year corporate veteran Sandy Van Soye had a dream to travel with a purpose. Out of this vision came the Trekking the Planet expedition. Sandy and her husband Darren left their jobs and traveled 14 months to 53 countries on six continents, bringing the subject of geography to life through stories, pictures, and videos from the road. Following their travels were 55,000 students in 20 countries. Darren and Sandy traveled to such places as the Phongsali province of Laos, the countries of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the Tigray region of Ethiopia, and the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil. An integral part of their journey was a goal to complete 500 miles of demanding trekking in 12 of the most remote locations on the planet. More than just about their expedition, Trekking the Planet is the story of Sandy's perseverance in making her dream come true. This was put to the test while trekking in difficult conditions, narrowly missing a plane crash in Nepal, and being bitten by a vampire bat in Brazil. This book not only details these challenges, but how the dream of traveling with a purpose ended up giving back in its own special way, changing her life forever.