Extraordinary Travel Festival Update #5
A Conversation With ITC Sudan To learn more about the Extraordinary Travel Festival in October 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia, please take a look at our website. www.Extraordinarytravelfestival.com To buy a ticket, use code ETF to save $50. https://extraordinarytravelfestival.com/tickets/ And please take a look at our friends and sponsor in Sudan, ITC Sudan. https://extraordinarytravelfestival.com/tickets/
Cameroon – 151st Country
Cameroon – 151st Country. To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries. Cameroon is my 151st country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! Cameroon is a country located in Central Africa packed with over 25 million people and 250 different languages. Cameroon was initially a German colony in the 19th century and after WWI, it was portioned between France (mostly) and the UK. It became an independent nation in 1960. The world’s 53rd largest country is a geographically diverse with rain forests, savannahs, deserts, beaches, and mountains including Mt. Cameroon at 4,100 meters. Over 70% of the nation is involved in subsistence farming. Two thirds of the nation practices Christianity with a quarter following Islam. I spent two weeks exploring Cameroon. It is a vast country with some brutal roads. I was partially based in Cameroon’s largest city, Douala. I spent time in the English-speaking part of Cameroon, Limbe, and visited the waterfall in [...]
Nigeria – 150th Country
Nigeria – 150th Country. To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries. Nigeria is my 150th country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! Nigeria is most populous country in Africa with over 200 million people. Indigenous civilizations date back over 4000 years ago. Modern Nigeria came into fruition in the 19th century under British colonial rule. Nigeria became an independent state in 1960, followed by a brutal civil war in the late 1960s. For the last 20 years, Nigeria has been ruled by a democratic government. Nigeria is comprised of 250 ethnic groups which speak 500 distinctive languages with English being the official language. Nigeria is split somewhat evenly with Muslims mostly in the north and Christians in the south. And this West African country is the largest economy on the continent which is powered my oil revenues. I spent two weeks road tripping from Abuja, the bland capital, to Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous [...]
Jorge Serpa … Worst Day On The Road
Jorge Serpa has traveled to 98 countries. Jorge Serpa Counting Countries Jorge caught my attention when I came across his blog. He is a true global citizen with an early move with his his family to Mozambique from Portugal followed by Venezuela and then attaining his higher education in the US. Between his career and his marriage to a US diplomat, Jorge has lived all around the world. Jorge has a passion for the road and the sea. He loves a great road trip whether it is overland on a big bike or a 4x4 or on his sailboat while on the open seas. We discuss balancing travel, family, and work. And of course, we touch on future goals. I would like to thank everyone for their support of Counting Countries, especially my Patrons: Phillip Jones, Simen Flotvik Mathisen, Ted Nims, Bisa Myles, Thor Pedersen, and Adam Hickman for supporting this podcast. They help pay for the production of this podcast. You can support this podcast by going to Patreon.com/CountingCountries. You can also support Counting Countries be [...]
Cassie De Pecol Lawsuit
Conversation With Lauren Wolfe Of Travelers United I am your host Ric Gazarian. This is another special episode from counting countries. Expect to hear a traditional deep dive episode next week. But this episode is timely. It coincides with the publication of a Washington post article on April 15 in regard to Cassie De Pecol. She is well known in the extreme travel community for claiming to be the first woman to travel to every country in the world. Unfortunately, that claim is untrue, and now Cassie De Pecol is being sued by Travelers United, an advocacy group that works on behalf of consumers. The 100 plus page document lays out in great detail the numerous times De Pecol makes these false claims amongst many other questionable actions. I speak with Lauren Wolfe, an attorney at Travelers United, who is an avid traveler herself. We overview the legal complaint made against De Pecol in detail. I was in Bangkok for the recording, Doha airport to edit, and Lauren joined me from Washington DC. Please listen in and [...]
Liberia – 149th Country
Liberia – 149th Country. To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries. Liberia is my 149th country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! Liberia shares some commonalities with its West African neighbor. While Liberia was populated with indigenous people, in the early 19th century, some freed African American slaves returned to the African continent to make their home in Liberia. In 1847, Liberia declared its independence, making it the first independent nation on the continent. The official language is English and nearly 90% of the nation practices Christianity. The capital, Monrovia, is named in honor of US President Monroe, a supporter of Liberia. And you will note, the Liberian flag looks quite similar to the US flag, red, white, and blue. Another border crossing from Sierra Leone, which was both time consuming and somewhat costly in bribes. Highlights of my visit was an impromptu visit to West Point, a lower income, dense neighborhood on [...]
