Call You When I Land: A Memoir

A soul-stirring memoir from seasoned travel journalist Nikki Vargas, whisking us through the countries that brought her new love, self-discovery, and inspiration to launch the first feminist travel publication Unearth Women

At twenty-six years old, life looked a certain way for Nikki Vargas. She’d settled in New York City ready to join the ranks of the Carrie Bradshaws of the world, had landed in a promising advertising career, and was newly engaged to her college sweetheart. As a child of two Colombian immigrants – the poster parents for making something out of nothing – Nikki was bred for the hustle. But between corporate happy hours and wedding dress fittings, she couldn’t shake a deep underlying sense of imposter syndrome, a voice telling her that she was playing the part in someone else’s dream life. So, she bought a plane ticket: first to Bogotá. And then to Panama. And then Iguazú.

What begins with a freelance travel writing assignment spins into a whirlwind, globe-spanning journey that would transform Nikki’s life. From the cascading waterfalls of Argentina to street food tours in Vietnam, Nikki uncovers shocking truths about her family, comes face to face with a new love interest – or two – and ultimately turns a no-name blog into the internationally celebrated venture of Unearth Women, the first ever female-centered, female-founded travel publication. But jetsetting away from your problems is rarely as romantic as it seems, and Nikki soon must come to terms with the sacrifices – financial, physical, personal – that such a lifestyle demands of her.

Told in transporting detail and candid reflection, Call You When I Land takes the familiar story of a woman going abroad to find herself and turns it on its head, as the act of traveling becomes, for Nikki, a career, a commitment, and a tool to champion women’s voices across the world.