Jeff Shea … has completed 193, summited the 7 peaks and much more!
[Download .mp3] There are tourists, travelers and then there are explorers. Jeff has an incredible travel resume, and at times when speaking with him I recalled explorers like Lewis and Clark or Shackleton during our conversation. After sailing across the Pacific in a small sailboat, he spent time in Papua New Guinea. He then began a 40 day adventure of walking and rafting across PNG. He spent months walking and exploring in South America. And Jeff shared his stories of exploration of untouched wilderness in Venezuela. These lands have been unexplored by man. Jeff hired an expedition crew of indigenous people, satellite phones, and collapsible canoes to explore this virgin land. Jeff is passionate about preserving the environment. Jeff has created World Parks Inc. whose purpose is to promote, support, facilitate the establishment of, and establish world parks, which will consist of large tracts of land on each of the continents, set aside and maintained by the international community, in the parks’ natural state, unencumbered by the inventions of modern man. We are all familiar with [...]
George Kashouh has summited six of the seven summits
Some people are chasing 193, others want to summit the seven highest summits on each continent, and some want to accomplish both. [Download .mp3] George has set two ambitious goals. First, he wants to summit the tallest mountain on each continent. Second, he intends to travel to every country in the world. He has made great progress so far, summiting six of the seven summits and has traveled to 78 UN countries. George has climbed the highest mountain on each continent, except for Mt. Vinson Massif in Antarctica, which is quite remote and expensive to climb. George has showed true grit. His first attempt at summiting Mt. Everest ended in failure, with the peak only being a couple hundred feet away. He was not deterred and the following year he successfully submitted Mt. Everest. This feat was accomplished at great monetary and time expense. George talks about his summit of Mt. Elbrus, which nearly ended in true disaster. George has an unusual list of countries he has traveled to. He has not been to Ireland or [...]
Quarantine On The Friendship Highway, Part V
Quarantine On The Friendship Highway, Part V. Happy days are here again The skies above are clear again Let us sing a song of cheer again Happy days are here again It was day five, and today we would gain our freedom. The government officials returned in the morning and called the group to the sparse lobby. They informed us that the Italian woman, which we had traveled with over the border into China, was not infected with H1N1. She was enroute to finally join us after five days of quarantine at the hospital. We danced and yelled, hugged each other, and smiled. Even the Yetis got into the action. I am sure they were happy to see us go. But nonetheless hugs and high-fives were passed out liberally. Half us ran to our rooms to maddeningly pack our bags while the other half whipped open the glass doors to smell freedom. The Italian woman, we hardly knew ya! photo credit: Leonard If you need to catch up from the beginning, click here to read [...]
Babis Bizas – 193 countries … and travels 300 days a year for several decades
Babis completed his quest for 193 in 2004, but has not slowed down at all. [Download .mp3] In the late 1970s, Babis backpacked the Hippy Trail which included Pakistan and Afghanistan. He eventually found his way to Sri Lanka and joined the crew of a Greek ship and travelled even further. Babis is one of the few who has traveled to both the North and South Pole. He shares with us an amazing tale of 19 hours in a helicopter traveling to the North Pole. And no travel career is complete without an arrest story. Babis found himself in a jail in Benghazi. Babis spoke about his favorite traveler, Frank Grosse Oetringhaus, who is a fellow 193er. He also shares an interesting perspective of why he is fond of William Baekeland, who he met and traveled with. Babis joined me from Greece while I was in Bangkok, please join in and listen to today’s episode. Be the first on your block to sport official Counting Countries apparel! You can purchase today on Amazon. [...]
Lethwei Fight Yangon Myanmar
Lethwei Fight Yangon Myanmar. Hard core. Brutal. That is Lethwei, the Burmese martial art. Many are familiar with Muay Thai in neighboring Thailand. When one thinks of Thailand; images of tuk-tuks, to-die-for beaches, Buddhist temples, all come promptly to mind. In the pantheon of Thai stereotypes, Muay Thai has an equal seat. Muay Thai traces its history back centuries in Thailand but today has transitioned into a high-level of commercialism. Virtually, anywhere a tourist travels in Thailand today, there is a ring set up whether on the beach or in a stadium with Muay Thai fighters at the ready. In addition to the ubiquitous fights, another cottage industry has developed. Muay Thai camps have sprouted throughout the country, giving foreigners the opportunity to train for the afternoon or for months, with some advancing into the ring for a fight. Myanmar (Burma) also has a long history of martial arts, Lethwei, which is a very close cousin of Muay Thai. Lethwei is a shy, reticent child in comparison to the uber-present Muay Thai. I had added watching Lethwei [...]
Artemy Lebedev – 193 countries … and exploring over 1500 cities
[Download .mp3] Being a lazy workaholic propelled Artemy to become one of the world’s most traveled people Artemy had exploration in his DNA. As a kid he traveled the metro in Moscow visiting scores of different theaters, satisfying his passion of cinema as well as exploring the nooks and crannies of his city. As an adult, he made a pact with himself ensuring that at least once a month he would partake on a trip, whether the neighboring town or across the world. This led him to be ranked 25th on the Nomad Mania list. Artemy is a very popular and successful blogger in Russia. Artemy organizes incredible contests and trips on behalf of his fans. He has brought his fans on explorations of the Pacific via a yacht. Another adventure had Artemy driving in the dead of winter to Norilsk. Norilsk is a city located north of the Arctic Circle and is in essence an island. It is typically reached via airplane or ship. Artemy and his crew traveled overland for two weeks covering 1000 [...]
