“I think the universe has a way of responding and if your intentions are ‘I want to explore. I want to connect to more of humanity,’ then I think the reward outweighs the risk.” - Ashley Company Once upon a time Ashley Company was an inexperienced solo traveler exploring Latin America, where she bungee jumped on accident in Costa Rica, found herself with nowhere to stay one night in Nicaragua, and discovered an authentic African town in Colombia. Eventually Ashley made her way to Africa, where she now leads wildly popular travel excursions full of authentic interactions and purpose-driven fun. Listen in for laughs, inspiration and so many useful travel hacks. Ashley Company is a social entrepreneur who's traveled more than half the world to 100+ countries. As an inspirational author and storyteller, she is known for delivering impactful talks about Black identity, Africa tourism, cultural competence, and women in leadership. Ashley is the founder of Jelani Travel and the non-profit Jelani gives, which curate life changing experiences for Black women and girls , and impact thousands of people across the globe through purpose driven travel. Today on Travel Itch [00:00] - Intro [01:16] - ‘Travel saved me,” breaking a family cycle [04:06] - Ashley finds out that to travel, she must first go alone [09:48] - Ashley gets stuck in the rain at night in Nicaragua with no where to stay [13:00] - Ashley bungee jumps on accident [16:33] - Traveling Africa can be difficult, Ashley’s sets out to make it accessible [19:32] - A Kenyan restaurant in North Carolina is her launch point to a new career [23:14] - Ashley’s ideal Africa travel itinerary [27:46] - Ashley’ shares 3 of her favorite travel hacks [30:53] - Bringing to live her travel companies, Jelani Travel and Jelani Gives [33:39] - What’s next for Ashley Company and her travel companies? Ashley’s Quotable Moments “I believe that when we change the way that we see Africa, we can change the way that we see ourselves.” “I knew that there was more. Once you show somebody that there's something more out there, they have something more to fight for and to be motivated and inspired by. That is why I say travel changed me.” “I was like, well, if I'm going to go do this by myself then I want to pick the friendliest place in the world. I literally Googled it and it said Costa Rica.” “I found Afro Mexicans, Afro Peruvians, Afro Ecuadorians. Even though Black people were in all these places, Black Americans were not. I didn’t see one other person like me in all that time I traveled.” “There are so many things you can do in order to travel without being rich because I've been to over half the world's countries and I'm not rich.” Like this show? Please leave us a review here – even one sentence helps! Post a screenshot of you listening on Instagram & tag us @pangwanglegear so we can thank you personally! Never miss an episode of Travel Itch and get 10% off when you sign up for our Pang Wangle newsletter at Pang Wangle outdoor and travel wear. Go far. Bite free. Episode Resources: Ashley Company | Shop travel books and merchandise Ashley Company | Jelani Travel Ashley Company | Jelani Gives Ashley Company | Instagram Ashley Company | Youtube Pang Wangle Links Pang Wangle | Shop eco-friendly travel wear Pang Wangle | Instagram Pang Wangle | TikTok Ashley + Pang Wangle in Africa! uezNGdCJufhncbHXlsQy…