If traveling off the beaten path is your thing, come learn why you’ll be adding beautiful Saudi Arabia to your bucket list. When Ava Kabouchy was offered a teaching post at Princess Nourah University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, three months later she found herself on a plane headed to one of the world’s strictest Islamic nations. Ava looked past the restrictions to see the beauty and adventure around her—red sands, white sands, camel caravans, desert camping trips with close friends, swimming in the Arabian Gulf, shopping for handicrafts in souqs (markets), sharing Arabic coffee with Bedouins, paragliding over the southwestern mountains— traveling within the Kingdom and the surrounding countries. By the time she left four years later, restrictions were easing; and when she returned recently it was to a changed country! Come learn of Ava’s adventures in Saudi Arabia and plan your own journey! Instructor Ava Kabouchy has traveled extensively for work and pleasure and upon ending a long career in teaching and in other fields, went to southwest France to study the French language and culture full time; there she came across references to the Camino de Santiago and decided to see what it was all about. She has now been on two Caminos in Spain, one in France, and another in Portugal. She has published travel articles on the Camino de Santiago, Saudi Arabia, France, Iceland, and coming home to Portland, Maine.