Let's acknowledge the elephant that has been in the room for some time. The world feels heavy right now. It has been hard not to get pulled under — into despair, into the headlines, into the particular kind of exhaustion that comes from caring too much to look away.
Last week I came across something that gave me a deep sense of hope and faith, and that I keep coming back to. Our friend of El Camino, Molly Berry — a gifted writer who packed up her family and moved them to Spain for three months — shared this about what it took to actually do it:
"There was never going to be a perfect time, the only given we have is that time will keep passing.
There will always be reasons excuses around finances, logistics, school, work, leaving the familiar.
Both fear and faith ask us to believe in something we can't see yet, and when we learn to trust the process step by step– that kind of commitment pays off in unimaginable ways.
It takes so much courage to pursue a future we have no proof of yet, but we still believe is possible.
Our 3 month family adventure in spain is a result of committing to a dream and not letting go until it happened– not about the perfect time or situation, it was about finding a way to do it together, now. So we did."
I've read it several times this week.
I hear versions of this in almost every conversation I have right now — with friends, with family, with the El Camino community. People trying to trust themselves. People weighing what it means to take a leap when the ground feels unsteady. People sitting on a dream or an ambition they've had for years, waiting for a tomorrow that feels more certain. I'm in it too. Trust.
Running a small business at this moment is particularly challenging. It's easy to look at the headlines and wonder if any of it matters. But building cross-cultural connections, creating space for joy and curiosity and awe, helping people feel more connected than apart — all of it is part of building toward the version of the world I want to see. I have to keep reminding myself that takes the same courage Molly is talking about. The courage to pursue a future we have no proof of yet, but still believe is possible despite the extraordinary circumstances. You have to operate day to day with an abundance of faith.
I hope you take some time this Sunday to reflect on what role you want to play and what act of courage you're ready to take. Whatever that may look like for you, whatever the world circumstances might be.
You deserve it. We deserve it.
Katalina
NEED TO RESET YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM.
Our sister property, Casa Violeta, is exactly what it sounds like right now — a place to exhale. Six hours from both US coasts, tucked into the tropics . If you're ready to step away from the noise for a few days, reply to this email and I'll send you a little gift to make it easier to say yes.
Casa Violeta in Granada, Nicaragua
THE WORLD IS STILL BEAUTIFUL. I promise.
And if you're ready to go further — to have your faith in humanity and in this world restored in the way that only travel can do — we'd love to have you join us on one of our 2026 journeys.
There is something that happens when you sit across from someone whose life looks entirely different from yours, in a place that asks something of you. The world gets bigger and smaller at the same time.
That is what we design for.
Applications are open for the following trips:
Brazil — São Paulo and Rio Japan — Rural, slow, and unlike anywhere else Italy— Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna India — Jaipur and Jodhpur Kerala, India — Backwaters and beyond Sri Lanka — The cultural triangle, tea country, and the east coast Vietnam — The north
We review every application to make sure the group is right. That's not a barrier — it's how we ensure the experience is right for everyone in the room. If any of these have been on your mind, now is the time. You can explore and apply here.
Hanoi, Vietnam. All El Camino trips come with a photographer
HOUSEKEEPING
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AUGUST 6, 2026 Hi everyone, People ask me all kinds of things about our trips — why we pick certain destinations, the pace, how it all comes together. But usually what they're really curious about is the other women in the group: who they'd be sitting across from over a long dinner, who they'd be leaning on for the last stretch of a hard hike, who they'd be soaking beside in a hot spring at the edge of a mountain, after a day neither of them will forget. A temple visit in Jaipur turned into...
JULY 2026 Hi everyone, One of the things I love most about this community is how multidimensional everyone in it is. These are women whose curiosity doesn't stop at one thing — it spills across careers, hobbies, passions, and places. This month's traveler spotlight is Sophia Dong, whose curiosity has taken her from a post-high-school gap year to careers across tech and real estate, and now to Georgia on an El Camino trip that reminded her why she keeps chasing the unknown. Ahead, she talks...
JUNE 2026 Ayubowan! It means "may you live long" in Sinhalese. It's the greeting we've been hearing everywhere — from hotel staff, from strangers, from the dancers we found ourselves moving alongside this morning in the city of Kandy. If you haven't guessed already or peeped our Instagram this week, we're a few days into El Camino's first Sri Lanka trip. We started in Colombo, where we visited an artist cooperative in the middle of the city that had one of the coolest listening rooms I've...