A decade’s pursuit of experience, from the Seven Wonders of the World to travelling to each of the seven continents, has left Shuntelle Paynter eager to see more — and keen for other young Bermudian women to follow.

“See your dream through,” the 32-year-old told The Royal Gazette after her return last month from Antarctica, the last continent on her odyssey.

“That’s been my mantra these last few years. As I got closer to the goal, it got harder. Antarctica was my biggest financial sacrifice, but the challenges aren’t just financial. Sometimes it felt like anything could go wrong.

“I’ve reflected on my time over the past ten years. There were always hiccups, but the only way was to see it through.”

Ms Paynter’s decision came in 2014 after she completed her academic qualifications.

She said: “I wasn’t ready to enter the workforce — I felt there was more out there.”

The forensic science student’s initial plunge — teaching English in Haining, China, which was profiled by the Gazette ten years ago — was an example of the rewards to be had from stepping out of your comfort zone.

It turned into an educational journey, with a commitment to manage her finances enabling Ms Paynter to see for herself the modern world’s seven wonders as a solo female traveller: the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal in India, Machu Picchu in Peru, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Petra in Jordan, the Colosseum in Italy, and Christ the Redeemer in Brazil — in that order.

It burgeoned into a quest to visit each of the world’s continents, which finished last month in the Antarctic.

Ms Paynter saw it as blazing a trail for others to follow.

“It’s important for people struggling to get out of their comfort zone to see people like themselves doing it,” she said.

“As a Black woman, especially coming from a really small country, it’s important to show other women that I’ve had my challenges travelling, but I was still going to continue on this journey.”

Ms Paynter’s hurdles ranged from confronting the expected cultural differences to getting deported from China over a visa snag, but she stuck to the wicket.

She said Antarctica proved as far from Bermuda as she could have imagined.

“It’s white, pristine, untouched, like nothing I’d experienced. You go through South American countries and they’re similar, but Antarctica couldn’t compare with anything I’d experienced. It’s sky, ice and water. That’s it.

“It comes with a hefty price tag, but it’s definitely worth every penny.”

As an “avid solo traveller”, Ms Paynter shares her journeys to empower other women to plan for bigger horizons.

“I learnt a lot about myself,” she said. “It came to a point where I would just book a flight and go. You have to be adaptable and flexible.”

Now, in 2025, back in Bermuda, Ms Paynter reflected on ten years of pushing herself through new experiences.

She said she found herself ambitious to try more, whether visiting all the countries in South America, or gorilla trekking in Rwanda.

Asked what she found the strangest in her travels, Ms Paynter was at a loss for words.

“After a while, it kind of feels like everything becomes normal,” she said.