Calmly he informed the passengers that the jumbo jet had lost one of its two engines and was turning back to Lima for a bumpy ride and an emergency landing.
Alarms went off. Smoke filled the cabin. The plane slumped into a skewed angle, flying sideways. "It was just like the movies," Williamson said, "except no one was screaming."
 Teresa Rodriguez Williamson impishly looks up from a scenic spot in Half Moon Bay, holding her book "Fly Solo: The 50 Best Places on Earth for a Girl to Travel Alone." |
"Even today, I get sick to my stomach when I think about it," said the vibrant Williamson, her normally sparkling eyes dimming. "I felt so regretful about my life and the choices I'd made."
Then she "made a deal with the Universe: Get me on terra firma and I'll quit my day job and empower women."
Today, a grateful Williamson, 38, has fulfilled that vow.
She did so through tangodiva.com, her online travel magazine, and her new book, "Fly Solo: The 50 Best Places on Earth for a Girl to Travel Alone" (a Perigee Book, an imprint of Penguin, 347 pages paperback, $15.95). Both are sparkling venues that invite lone women travelers to see the world and enjoy it safely.
"To empower women!" exclaimed Williamson, when asked her goals for her book and magazine.
Her love of travel was not diminished by the near-crash. "I hear a lot of 'I'm afraid to go by myself,' or 'I could never do that.' You can - but there are steps you need to take. My goal is to get women packin'."
She envisioned the magazine as "a place where women could connect with one another around the world." It's a virtual meeting place, where travelers share details about places they've visited, tips and recommendations.
"The book is a complement to all of that," she said. "This is chick nonfic(tion). We tend to wear labels. I say, how about leaving the labels and packing the designer labels?"
With each chapter starting off with a photo of a "travel diva" from somewhere around the world, the book affirms Williamson's travel style of informed preparation.
It starts with the four things she says can make or break a trip:
• Culture. How much do you want to learn?
• Activity. How much or little? That will influence how you pack.
• Weather, "the all-important thing people don't think about."
• Social. How much people contact do you want? In Dublin, Ireland, she said, you can pub-hop 24/7, but "if you go to Budapest and are a high school teacher and don't want to talk to a friggin' soul, you don't have to."
Then it delves into places to go and what to see, written in a lighthearted by informative style.
Each chapter includes why the place qualifies for inclusion, how it rates in those four make-or-break areas, what to read before you go, accessories to take, and her list of the "Ten Best Experiences" there.
"You gotta do your own research," she emphasizes.
A Bay Area native, she lived in Australia for five years, working with televised dating game show "Blind Date." It was her job to monitor the dating couples - and it gave her the travel bug.
Returning to the United States, she lived in Los Angeles for a decade and then discovered the Coastside when husband Tim's consulting job brought them north.
She dreamed of writing a book to empower women, but wasn't sure what form it would take until Hal Louchheim, a teacher she met through Stanford University's Continuing Studies classes, gave her the key: Start by building a Web site and garnering a following.
Sept. 11, 2001 fueled her dream further. "I don't want women to be afraid of flying," she said. "It's a big, beautiful world out there."
With her 2003 trip to Peru and her own near-catastrophic flight, her fragmented dream coalesced.
Her book is available at Bay Book Company, and she plans a book-signing/fund-raiser from 2 to 5 p.m. on April 22 at Abundance in Half Moon Bay. To RSVP, contact Williamson at jetset@tangodiva.com.
"Now," she said, "I'm driven by purpose."
She gets the most from her life, by "making every day an Erma Bombeck day" by donning her prettiest clothing and jewelry, or taking long rides on her Arabian horse, Fortune's Luck, or planning her next trip.
"People say, 'I'll do that afterwards,' but it's when 'afterwards' stares you in the face that you realize you don't have afterwards, that your life shifts," she said.
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WILLIAMSON'S PICKS ON THE COASTSIDE
By Stacy Trevenon--[ stacy@hmbreview.com ]
In her book, "Fly Solo: The 50 Best Places on Earth for a Girl to Travel Alone," Teresa Williamson touches on Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Oceana, North America, Central American, South America - and the Coastside.
On Page 283, the self-proclaimed "travel diva" lists four of her favorite spots on the coast to visit, and what she recommends to do once you're there.
"Hide away in Half Moon Bay," it begins. "Rent a car and drive south down the breathtaking Highway 1 (or Devil's Slide, as the locals call it.)" And it goes on from there to her picks for places to stay:
• Old Thyme Inn, which she calls a "gorgeous B&B with decadent beds and hot tubs in the rooms."
• Half Moon Bay Inn, which she calls a "darling corner inn in the heart of Half Moon Bay, (with a) great bar and restaurant."
• Ritz-Carlton, where she advises readers to "Play golf, practice tennis or relax at one of the best spas on the West Coast."
These suggestions are tucked into her list of the "Top 10 Extraordinary Experiences" to be found in San Francisco. It's No. 8.
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