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 [...]
Sierra Leone – 148th Country
Sierra Leone – 148th 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. Sierra Leone is my 148th country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! Sierra Leone is another West African country on the Atlantic Ocean. Over 8 million people live here with over 80% of the country practicing Islam. While this area was inhabited, the Brits established a colony in 1808 for returning Africans who were freed slaves. The country gained its independence in 1961. Sierra Leone was subject to a brutal civil war in the 1990s and early 2000s and then one of the centers of the Ebola outbreak in the 2010s. I crossed into Sierra Leone on my 6 country West African road trip and ended up in the capital Freetown which sits in the hills set on the beach. I was provided a introduction to the city via a tuktuk. I also visited both Banana Island and Bunce Island, to [...]
Guinea – 147th Country
Guinea – 147th 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. Guinea is my 147th country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! Guinea or Guinea-Conakry, not to be confused with its neighbor, Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is also located in West Africa on the Atlantic Ocean albeit much larger with over 12 million souls. Guinea was a former colony of France and it gained its independence in 1958. Over 85% of the population practices Islam with 24 ethnic groups. The official language is French with an additional 24 indigenous languages. The economy is driven by agriculture and mining. I entered Guinea overland from Gabu, Guinea-Bissau. The roads were brutal resulting in a 14 hour drive to Labe, a town of 200,000 in the Guinea Highlands. Bu luck, I was a guest of a wedding in a local and remote village. The other highlight was a private performance by a group of Griots, the minstrels of [...]
Guinea-Bissau – 146th Country
Guinea-Bissau – 146th 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. Guinea-Bissau is my 146th country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! Guinea-Bissau is a country of less than 2 million people located on the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa. GB gained its independence from Portugal in 1973 being led by freedom fighter, Amilcar Cabral. GB per capita income is one of the lowest in Africa and its economy is primarily powered by agriculture such as fish and cashew nuts. GB is comprised of many tribes with the two biggest being Fula and Balanta. Portuguese is the official language, but the majority of people actually speak a creole version of the language. And there is a number of local languages also spoken. The top three religions are Islam, indigenous beliefs, and then Christianity. I crossed into GB via a land crossing after picking up the Guinea-Bissau visa in southern Senegal in the town [...]
