Pascale Landriault - a soul-led solo traveler
Pascale at sunrise atop Mount Sinai, Egypt.
Pascale is a digital nomad who has a soulful, spiritual approach to travel. As a transformational coach, healing channel, international retreat leader, and speaker, she creates heart-opening experiences and soulful spaces for those ready to explore new paths, step into their truth, and transform through travel and conscious living.
For Pascale, destination choices are driven by intuition and messages from the universe. She enjoys solo adventuring, and as a slow traveler, she stays for weeks or months at a time at given destinations. Her book, She Travels – Real Stories of Women Transformed Through Solo Travel, is a guide to inspire women to explore the world on their own and invite in the transformation that travel offers.
I met Pascale in an online space where we were both working on our books. The way she spoke about travel and its transformative power intrigued me. Here was another woman who wasn’t afraid to go alone and embrace the unknown, and like me, her experiences were not without their challenges. I was compelled that what she had to say about travel wasn’t about the logistics and gadgetry of a one-suitcase life but what was underneath the outer layers of the self.
When I interviewed her, Pascale was in Montréal, a home she returns to, after a chain of travel that included Bali, Morocco, and the Azores.
Where did you grow up?
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
How did travel start to be an activity you enjoyed?
When I was very young, my parents went on an around-the-world trip for more than a month. They had so many stories when they returned. The Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower were memorable. They also told a story about being in the desert. I’m not sure where they were, but they ran out of gas, so my dad came back with a pint of fuel on a camel.
As a family, our travels were closer to home. We went on regular road trips to Maine and Massachusetts. But I loved descriptions of faraway places and the adventures that people or characters had there. I also loved reading about travel. Tintin was one of my favorites. Once in art class at school, we had to make a collage out of a saying. I chose, “Always have new projects.” Everything I illustrated that quote with was about travel, so travel was always there as something that called to me.
My first trips abroad were to Europe and the Caribbean. When I was in college, I went on a year-long study abroad program in Paris. I went alone, but I knew people there from my university, so it didn’t feel like solo travel. It wasn’t until I was in my 50s when I went on what I consider my first solo trip – to Vietnam.
Tell me more about your book. What is it about and who is it for?
SHE TRAVELS: Real Stories of Women Transformed Through Solo Travel is about how travel can transform your life by helping you break free from fears and deepen self-discovery. These stories, which include mine and ten from other women, are about embracing uncertainty, trusting your inner guidance, and reclaiming your personal power through meaningful, transformative journeys. This book reveals how solo travel can shift your perspective, open your heart, and awaken your soul.
SHE TRAVELS aims to inspire women in midlife or older to get out of your comfort zones to explore the world and discover your true self.
Where do you live now?
In my heart. … Wherever I happen to be. … All over the world.
My foundation is in Montréal, which is where my two sons live. This is a place I come back to, but it’s cheaper to travel around than to have a permanent home here. Right now, I’m staying at a friend’s home while she’s out traveling.
(At the time I published this interview, Pascale was living in Sicily where the mountains meet the sea.)
What’s your favorite kind of travel experience?
I enjoy experiences that include communion with nature, people, and spirit.
What are some of your favorite places?
Bali, Thailand, Egypt, Morocco, Italy. I return to Bali often, and Italy is also a place I’ve done repeat visits.
Tirta Empul, Bali
Walk me through how you conceive, plan for, and undertake a trip.
I’ll get a nudge on where to go. That might be from a conversation with someone I know, overhearing a conversation, a message that arrives during meditation, or something like that. When I was ready to sell everything and leave, I had two ideas I was considering: get a Westfalia and drive or go to Bali. One day, I asked the universe to help me choose while I was in a store shopping for a sports bra. One bra caught my eye, and when I looked at it, I noticed the brand was Bali. That seemed like a clear message. To confirm the message, I sat in a van to get a feel for what that might be like. I went to Bali.
After I know where I’m going, I buy a one-way ticket. I’ll book lodging for a couple of nights to give myself a chance to feel out a place, but I don’t plan too much. I might have an outline of what I’d like to experience somewhere, but I don’t do too much detail. That’s always enough time for me to find where I want to be or to encounter the synchronicities that lead me to the place I’ll stay.
What are your favorite ways to explore a place? I’m curious how you like to get around and what kinds of activities you enjoy.
How I explore depends on the place. Walking is a great way to get around. You see the most that way and notice more than you would if you were traveling faster through a place. I’m active and like to do a lot of sports. In addition to walking, I also like to explore on a bike. Sometimes I’ll rent a bike. In Bali, I brought my bike, but I hardly used it. A scooter was a better way of getting around there. Public transit is usually a great way to explore a place, and I like that most places do not require me to have a car. I rented a car in Sardinia to visit the Nuragic sites, which was the best way for me to do that.
Wherever I find myself, I like to spend time in conscious communities and might go looking for kirtan or whatever’s there. I might attend a yoga class or go to the local gym. I love hiking, so I’m always looking for opportunities to do that. I learned to surf in Costa Rica and Bali. So yeah, whatever the local sports activities are, I’ll check them out. I’ll look for local workshops. Breathwork, meditation, art classes. Again, this is whatever activity is typical of the place where I am.
Also, when I’ve arrived somewhere and am looking for where I want to make a home for a while, that’s another way I enjoy exploring. I don’t have a plan just a question: where do I want to be? Maybe I’ll have a coffee somewhere to feel the neighborhood out. My compass is really how I feel.
It is challenging to sort out what it is I do when I go to a place because I’m living there. I’ll give an example. Let’s say you go to a place that doesn’t have a blender, and you’re accustomed to having a smoothie every morning. Either you go and buy a blender, or you don’t have a smoothie for two or three months and just try having whatever the local thing is. It’s interesting also to be open to that kind of experimentation. I’ll make do with whatever is there in the apartment, neighborhood, and country. It’s part of what I enjoy, embracing the local experience.
Here in Montréal, I ride a bike for transportation. I have a sister who lives out in the country. There’s a bike path that connects to where she lives, so I take the subway to its end and then ride my bike the rest of the way. It might be a 60km trip, but I get exercise with a destination.
This past winter when I was in Montréal, I rented a place in the countryside. I bought a car because I wasn’t close to transit. I resold the car six months later for approximately the same price as I bought it. Because it’s time consuming to buy and sell a vehicle, I’ll only do that if I’m staying in one place for a few months. Besides, in the city, I don’t really need a car.
Your book focuses on transformational travel. What is it about travel that lends to this kind of change?
When you’re away from what you know, that makes change inevitable. Certain places have a resonance for each of us. We can find ourselves drawn to a place, and once we’re there, the energy of that place has an impact on us. The place can be the perfect container for transformation to happen. It’s also different for everyone. Each of us has places we feel drawn to, and I believe if you’re receptive to your soul’s direction, you will find yourself in the place where transformation can occur.
Simply going solo can be a great way to prompt change because it makes you more available to the kinds of experiences that prompt change and help you grow. Transformative travel is about adaptability, widening our perspectives, being resilient, surrendering, and letting go of control and over-planning. It’s funny how once you have a plan, you tend to stick with it. But plans can also limit you.
My experiences go into other dimensions and other times and include past life trauma and healing. I recognize not everyone is going to have that kind of experience or even interest in seeking it out, but that’s what appeals to me. I’m big on inner feelings and inner connection.
Will you share a transformative travel example from your own experience?
One of my most healing travel experiences came in Sardinia. Before I left for Sardinia, I had detached from my things. I kept bare necessities that all fit in a suitcase and backpack, and I gave away the rest of my things except for a box of books, my winter sports gear, and some family photos. This Sardinia trip was to visit the Nuragic sites, and I rented a car. A friend came to meet me, and we stopped at a beach for a little while. I had all my luggage in the car, and when my friend and I returned from the beach, everything in the car was gone except my yoga mat and a pair of sneakers. My wallet, passport, money, crypto key and passwords, clothes…everything was gone. That took me through a dark night of the soul and brought up two painful events from my childhood that I hadn’t fully grieved.
Pascale’s one-suitcase approach to travel.
This wasn’t a transformative experience I had called in. It was delivered to me like a brick to the head. But the gifts it brought were precious — the release of long-buried grief and shame, an unshakable belief that no matter what happens, everything will be okay, and the deep knowing that there are angels on our path.
This Sardinia trip was a full surrender. I followed it with a trip to India that reaffirmed the transformative necessity of what happened in Sardinia by giving me hope and filling me with light. Both experiences were soul-led transformations that pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I’ve grown and evolved as a result.
Where are you headed next?
I don’t know. I don’t even know where I’ll be in two weeks.
It used to bother me when people asked where I was headed next, but now I’m really comfortable with “I don’t know.” I know that whatever happens, I’ll be ok and well guided. Travel has built that trust for me.
Connect with Pascale
Get your copy of SHE TRAVELS: Real Stories of Women Transformed Through Solo Travel
More information about Pascale’s Transforming through Travel coaching programs and retreats is available at PascaleLandriault.com along with a free Purification Meditation.
Find her on Facebook, Instagram @pascalelandriault, and LinkedIn
