Natasha Bourlin

Freelance Writer

Kamuela, HI

A natural-born nomad and freelance writer, Natasha specializes in sharing travel stories and tips to inspire readers' journeys.

Natasha Bourlin

Freelance Writer

Kamuela, HI

A natural-born nomad and freelance writer, Natasha specializes in sharing travel stories and tips to inspire readers' journeys.

The overwhelming plastic waste Hawaii visitors leave behind
Hawaii saw more than 9 million visitors last year. Those tourists’ first stops are often big-box and convenience stores, where they buy bottled water, plastic sand toys, single-use bodyboards, noodles, floaties and inner tubes for their trips. Plastics li
SFGATE
Deep Dives
Winner of 2023 Nevada Press Association Award
Edible Reno-Tahoe
There are four green sand beaches on Earth. Access to Hawaii's has been 'desecrated.'
There are only four green sand beaches on Earth, and Hawaii has one of them. Located at Hawaii Island’s South Point in the district of Kau, Papakolea Beach has rare olivine sands, created by a volcanic cinder cone. But the beauty of the area masks the iss
SFGATE
'I'm sovereign': The complicated reasons some Native Hawaiians oppose the COVID vaccine
Hawaii made headlines this summer with record numbers of new COVID-19 cases and deaths from the virus. Hospitals reached maximum capacity. Essential workers were stretched thin. David Ige implored potential visitors to reconsider their plans. The state has faced pandemics before, with dire consequences for its Indigenous peoples.
San Francisco Chronicle
'Your vacation is my home': Hawaii's residents are speaking out against tourists behaving badly
When visitors think of Hawaii and social media, they usually think of capturing the kind of images that make the state a popular hashtag on Instagram: beautiful beaches, magnificent sunsets and picturesque landscapes. For Hawaii’s residents, it’s far different. It’s a woman proclaiming that she’s from New York as she allegedly assaults a resident of Nanakuli in western Oahu.
San Francisco Chronicle
How the Eruption on the Island of Hawaii Has Transformed Travel Opportunities
Companies such as Blue Hawaiian have changed their tour options so travelers can check out new elements of the Big Island since the 2018 eruption. In 2018, Kilauea caused plenty of devastation—and also created new ways to experience the Big Island. Here’s how the local travel industry is tapping into the changed landscape.
AFAR Magazine
'Most beautiful place in the world': Hawaii destination Waipio Valley closes indefinitely
For decades, residents and visitors have traversed a steep, largely unpaved incline to the Big Island’s Waipio Valley, one of Hawaii’s most beautiful and sacred spaces. But in February, Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth shut down Waipio Valley Road indefinit
SFGATE
How a lockdown saved Hanauma Bay, one of Hawaii's natural treasures
For the first time in more than two centuries, the people were gone. Hanauma Bay, a stunning body of water that formed within a volcanic crater, is approximately 15 minutes from Waikiki. Its natural glory makes it one of Hawaii’s top tourist attractions.
San Francisco Chronicle
Featured
The sky's the limit with these luxe Tahoe adventures
If your soul is crying for a sky’s-the-limit experience of a lifetime, one needn’t look any further than Reno’s neighbor, Lake Tahoe. There is a plethora of exhilarating options when budget is no object for a Tahoe getaway. One of the most extravagant splurges is nestled on the banks of Tahoe’s east shore, just six minutes from Sand Harbor State Park.
USA Today
Battling COVID Cooking Fatigue
It may be another night of staring blankly into the refrigerator, wishing you didn’t have to cook dinner again. Since the pandemic-driven closures of many restaurants and watering holes began in early 2020, people have morphed into home chefs — not necessarily by choice. Cooking fatigue has settled in across the country.
Immersive Dining Reinvents the Concept of Dinner Theater
Chefs are using technology, interactivity, and storytelling to create multisensory culinary experiences around the world. Once upon a time, “dinner with a show” simply meant tacking on some live entertainment. But more recently, some creative chefs have been rethinking that old formula by imagining how diners might truly engage all five senses.
AFAR Magazine
Increasingly hip Midtown Reno has a glow that’s not from neon
Once, visitors headed to Reno to feed dollar bills into slot machines and play the tables. “Global cuisine” meant the casino buffet, and imbibing often consisted of the free cocktails offered to gamblers. Today, things have changed. South of the Truckee River and the neon-clad downtown area, Midtown has become the “it” place to meander in the Biggest Little City. This burgeoning neighborhood arose from entrepreneurs finding their way during the recession, with shops, restaurants, bars and tattoo parlors inhabiting early 20th century bungalows. An authenticity is found there, as if you’ve discovered the true Reno. Business owners recommend their competition with a smile, and a sense of camaraderie permeates the area, fostered by a group effort to create something special from something once considered seedy.
San Francisco Chronicle
The Frommer’s Travel Show for Sunday, January 27, 2019 Hour 1
Speaking on the AFAR Magazine Immersive Dining Article with Pauline Frommer, about 27 minutes in.
Frommer's Travel Show
Straw Bale Gardening
Use straw for simple gardening. Grow bumper crops in bales this spring. Horticulturist Joel Karsten began growing bumper crops in straw bales after college. Today, this bestselling author’s method has proven successful in nearly every global environment. He even teaches people in impoverished nations how to grow their own produce in straw.
Edible Communities
8 Most Romantic Couples’ Activities for Your Next Winter Getaway
It should come as no surprise that these great romantic experiences all involve getting outdoors – because sometimes, the world’s natural beauty is all the romantic inspiration you need. Read on to get inspired for your next winter getaway – and don’t forget that you can book your flights, accommodation, and your favorite romantic experiences all on TripAdvisor!
TripAdvisor
Conservation Advocates
Local women share how hunting is critical for our ecosystem. Sportsmen. Huntsmen. They’re terms that have been used for centuries, but they need some updating. After all, when it comes to this vital element of managing our lands, gendered terms really hav
Edible Reno-Tahoe

About

Natasha Bourlin

Food Stories

Beaches

Blogging

Content Creation

Travel Stories

Budget Travel

Creative Writing

Writing

As far back as I can remember, I was fascinated by how words can paint a picture in your mind. Early on, I learned that language is like a melody that takes the reader on a journey of the mind, and carefully chosen words are the notes.

By six, I was voraciously reading, devouring books as other children would candy. I honed and proved my grammatical prowess with aced grammar tests and spelling bee victories. The written word was at the heart of my youthful accomplishments, and formed a large portion of my heart itself.

Much of each year was spent visiting family in many different locations. During those sojourns, at least one short story would spring from the imagination of this only child that fancied herself a wordsmith.

Languages surrounded me as a child, and each had influence. My globe-trotting Russian father already spoke several by the time he got to English after moving to the U.S. My second-generation American mother went to French school growing up before also traveling the world as a flight attendant.

Cultural flavor and a symphony of verbal sounds scored my family gatherings. I reveled in them, tuning my ear to the myriad noises that humans used to communicate.

During the years, through travels and personal experience, I learned to differentiate and identify the various inflections and tones of the world’s many tongues. Through international travels, I also how communication can transcend language.

Writing was always an avocation. After achieving a degree in international relations that involved years of language and cultural studies and diplomacy training, I spent 15 years in public relations, event coordination and marketing before deciding to upheave my life and turn my avocation into a vocation.

Passport & Plume, along with my upcoming travel blog I Wander Off, were born of my heart and mind. Please join me as I take readers on textually and visually inspired journeys.