Growing up in Northern California, Marika spent her formative years adventuring with her family, traveling from Canada to Baja California, camping along the coast, backpacking in the Sierras, and whitewater rafting wild and scenic rivers. These trips weren’t always easy, but the pull of exploration was clear early on and always worth it.

“These were do-it-yourself river adventures: an army-surplus raft (christened The Rubber Chicken for its habit of flipping just half the boat at a time), a handmade frame, second-hand oars and paddles, and a lot of hoopie keeping everything together.

Everyone pitched in at every stage—from pumping up the raft and setting up the porta-potty to baking Dutch-oven dessert and listening to tall tales told on the river. We worked hard and shared the rewards: the satisfaction of a challenge met, and the quiet awe of moving through extraordinary landscapes by non-mechanical means. Hard work, hard reward.”

Those early experiences shaped a life spent in motion. Creativity, hard work, and moments of awe—often paired with good food in remarkable places—became guiding themes. When Bill, Marika’s father and founder of INCA, began bringing people together through travel, Marika joined him, drawing directly from those formative river journeys.

“These skills became the foundation of our company, translating naturally to a rugged, cross-Andean horse trek. They translated to the Galápagos as well, which, in the early days, was a similarly raw experience to rafting—somewhat primitive yachts set within a truly phenomenal natural world.”

As INCA grew, so did Marika. From guiding early treks to studying physics and art at UC Santa Cruz, and then returning to INCA, exploration, both literal and metaphorical, remained central. Along the way, she developed a deep understanding of adaptation and how new ways of thinking take root, lessons she believes can be shared by all.

She offers this guidance for creating something without a clear roadmap:

“Look at places without preconceived notions of what a destination or experience should be, especially those shaped by how others choose to present it. Listen instead to the people on the ground: those who live there, work there, and move through those landscapes every day. What inspires them? Then bridge your ideal clients’ desires with the growth you hope to offer them, which most often happens when people are gently challenged or irresistibly seduced by awe. The ability to meet uncertainty with adaptability, a can-do spirit, and thoughtful problem-solving is essential.” 

Innovation, it turns out, begins with listening, fully and openly, and then carrying what we learn outward, like the concentric ripples formed when a stone meets the surface of a pond. And now more than ever, we might need Marika’s advice in an ever-changing world. Unlike the early days of INCA and the personal adventures along the West Coast, today’s travel landscape is much more informed. Trails have mostly been blazed; off-the-beaten path is a trend, and so much can be known about so many places with little effort in research. To Marika, that does not mean we don’t adapt; it just means the challenge is different. And for anyone who is struggling with the changes of global travel, Marika offers this: 

“Today, in the age of social media, there are few places left undiscovered or unpromoted. Back then, the challenge was sparking excitement about a place people had never heard of, often well outside their comfort zone, and simply getting them there was a meaningful part of their growth. Now, the challenge is different: to present a destination in an uncommon way, one that allows for transformation through how the place is thoughtfully developed and how deeply a traveler is invited to immerse themselves within it.” 

Perhaps the next frontier to be explored is not external, but internal. If we follow Marika’s thinking here, the same places can reveal new excitement when approached with a fresh perspective and a newly calibrated internal compass. This is the intention guiding INCA as it enters its 51st year: to continue bringing guests to extraordinary places with renewed purpose.  

Written by Jasper Roberson-Schulz