At the age of 12, Jacky boarded a small aircraft, facing backward, and flew from her local airfield to Le Bourget in Paris to meet her pen pal. Thus began the life of travel to – at last count – 122 countries.
She joined Esplanade Travel in 1965 when it occupied offices on Charles Street, near the famous Esplanade on the banks of the Charles River. Since then, she has become a celebrated member of the travel industry, recently celebrating her 58th anniversary at Esplanade.
Her early travels in the 60s and 70s took her to the Ancient World, the Middle East and Asia. She has bought a picnic lunch for 25 people in rural Iran, ridden a motor bike in Bali, an elephant in Botswana, a camel in Egypt, a horse in the Andes, and driven a VW in Ethiopia. These incredible experiences helped earn Jacky the honor of being named to the original list of 100 Most Powerful Women in Travel by Travel Agent Magazine.
Her worldwide travels have given Jacky some rare opportunities such as dining with Chief Buthelezi in Durban, with President F. W. deKlerk in Johannesburg, and at Madame Sadat’s house in Cairo. Jacky has given lectures at the Explorer’s Club in Washington and is a member of the Travelers Century Club and ASTA.
Jacky was awarded the Presidential 1000 Points of Light Initiative, begun by President George H. W. Bush in 1989, for completing more than 2000 hours of volunteer service to the Talking Information Center. TIC is a radio reading service for the blind and Jacky has been reading the Saturday newspapers for more than 40 years.
Jacky’s Travel Advice
“Don’t ever put off a trip – don’t say you will do it another time – seize the moment and do as much as you can!”
Countries Traveled To
I’ve Just Traveled To:
South Africa, The Cook Islands, Australia
Where I’m Headed Next:
I Never Travel Without:
My passport – ever since a friend in England said if he knew I was carrying my passport, he would have taken me to Paris for lunch!
Jacky’s rich history in travel is full of amazing experiences: hitchhiking in Iran, eating steak tartare in the mountains above Port au Prince, Haiti, visiting a local school in Myanmar, and of course, each and every sunset in Africa. She will never run out of new places to go!
Jacky will use her personal travel philosophy in the trips she plans for you: “Don’t over-prepare and leave enough to be surprised. Make sure you include the things you really want to see, not just what you think you ought to see.”
