Barry Hoffner … Connecting The Dots
Barry Hoffner has traveled to 155 countries Barry should be much better known in the travel community than he is today. He showed up on my radar screen when we connected on Instagram. I follow many who are Chasing 193. Barry later became a generous supporter of Counting Countries via Patreon, and we connected on the phone where I began to learn more about his amazing and at times tragic life journey. Barry has already lived several lifetimes of amazing experiences with many to go. From exploring Europe as a 18 year old, to living as an expat in Paris for an investment firm in his mid-20s, to living in a dormitory learning Mandarin in the mid-1990s with his wife in Kunming, to living and working in Moscow with his family. Barry is the founder of Caravan to Class which has built 17 schools in the Timbuktu region and much more. And of course, much more. This is a reminder that I am partnering with SafetyWing, a travel insurance company. I have been using them personally for [...]
Riza Rasco … Embedding While Traveling
Riza Rasco has traveled to 192 countries. Riza Rasco Counting Countries Riza Rasco is a well-known person in the extreme travel community. And I have crossed paths with her twice, once for breakfast in the North End of Boston and for the multi-day Extraordinary Travel Festival in Armenia. She is a prolific and immersive traveler who is only one country away from completing her quest. Riza shares so many experiences, yet this podcast could have been double the time since there was so much to discuss. Riza shares some very personal moments from her life and how travel began to dominate. She shares her philosophy of travel, which should be more than taking selfies and checking boxes, but how you can give back to the community. This is a reminder that I am partnering with SafetyWing, a travel insurance company. I have been using them personally for over 2 years. And yes, there are a couple of reasons why … let me highlight a couple of the features. First, you can purchase insurance while you are [...]
Katelyn Jarvis … Giving Back In West Point
Katelyn Jarvis has traveled to 150 countries. Katelyn Jarvis Counting Countries Katelyn is one of many who has been on my radar screen for some time as we passed each other like two ships during the night on FB. I finally got to meet Katelyn in person at the Extraordinary Travel Festival in Yerevan and then learned more about her when she was nominated for the Nomad Mania Awards. So I thought now would be a great time to set up an interview and learn more about her travels. I was curious to learn more about Katelyn’s philanthropy and how she combined that with her travels. During our conversation, I was impressed to learn more about her efforts with her organization, Peace Stamps. I believe anyone Chasing 193 is an impressive person, when you are able to marry that with something even more meaningful, even better. This is a reminder that I am partnering with SafetyWing, a travel insurance company, and yes, I am an affiliate. I have been using them personally for over 2 years. [...]
Ildiko Szabo … Daydreaming Of Koalas
Ildikó Szabó has traveled to every country in the world. Ildiko Szabo Counting Countries I knew of Ildy for several years and had noted her social media presence, but it wasn’t until October of this year when I met her in person at the Extraordinary Travel Festival in Yerevan. I shared several conversations with her and recognized she would be a great guest for the podcast. And, voila, a month after the festival we were recording this podcast. I would like to thank Ildy, since this podcast was a challenging endeavor. To create 2 hours of recordings took us nearly 6 hours. And then in post-production another 6 hours. To say we had some technical difficulties would be an understatement. Ildy was very, very gracious with her time. And that is how the cookie crumbles, some episodes are straight forward and easy to publish, and well others suck up a ton of time. And just a warning, at times it might seem like the podcast is missing audio from our conversation since at times it appears we [...]
A Year In Review 2022
Looking back, I can confidently say this was an incredibly memorable year with some adventurous travels and the organization and production of the Extraordinary Travel Festival. (There are affiliates in this post.) I started off the New Year at my home in Bangkok and contracting Covid on my first night back while celebrating NYE with some friends. (I guess I deserved that.) Shortly, after I was quarantined for 10 days in my condo. Not how I envisioned the start of 2022. Several days after my quarantine ended, I left for a 2-month trip to West/Central Africa. Part of this trip was a continuation of a West Africa trip that was canceled in March of 2020 when Covid began its mad spread across the world. After my 8-country trip, I retreated to Thailand for a respite and an amazing roadtrip with my wife and dog to Phuket. As spring rolled in, I departed for a month trip to Armenia to organize the Extraordinary Travel Festival, followed by a visit to Cyprus, another new country. I then returned to [...]
20 Best Photos Of 2022
20 Best Photos Of 2022. I am back again with my annual wrap-up of my best travels from the year. It was another incredible year of travel, especially the first half of the year. The second half of the year was spent mostly planning the Extraordinary Travel Festival. As always, there are not really 20 photos in this post, but who wants to read a post about the best 23 photos? Please take a gander and feel free to share any comments. Thailand For those who read my blog, you might have noted my keen passion for the Sak Yant Wai Kru Festival at Wat Bang Phra. (You can read more here.) This was a stunning sunset providing the perfect backdrop for the temple. I had been to this same beach and lighthouse over 6 years ago, and it was the same brillant sunset I had recalled from years past. This is in Khao Lak, the skinny part of Thailand just north of Phuket. Talk about total upside. I arrived to Khao Na Nailuang Dhamma Park in [...]
