Episode 126

Counting Countries with Avid Traveler Ric Gazarian (Who’s Been to 181)

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Traveling to the end of the Earth and back

Ric Gazarian is an avid traveler who has visited all seven continents and 181 countries on his quest to visit every country in the world. He is also the host of the popular long-format podcast Counting Countries and the founder of the Extraordinary Travel Festival.

Travel with us to some of the world’s lesser-known places like Abkhazia and Mauritania and hear what Ric learned about humanity by visiting 181 countries.

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What you’ll learn in this episode:

  • Chasing 193: the quest to visit every country in the world

  • Exploring Abkhazia, a de-facto nation between Georgia and Russia

  • The hospitality of the Caucasus region

  • Desert life in Mauritania and riding the Iron Ore train

  • The Amazigh culture, identity, and quest for self-determination (why you shouldn’t call them Berbers)

  • The nature of borders and national identity

  • How we should think about visiting countries with inhumane record

  • Why Ric founded the Extraordinary Travel Festival

  • What Ric learned about humanity from visiting 181 countries

“At the end of the day, borders are fiction. They were drawn by man at some point and they have changed over the decades, the centuries, the millennia.”

— Ric Gazarian

Chasing 193

Check out our full interview on YouTube →

Extraordinary Travel Fest

Ric is the founder and co-organizer of the Extraordinary Travel Festival, the largest gathering of avid, accomplished, and adventurous travelers in the world.  The first event was held in Armenia in 2022, and the second in Bangkok in 2024.  

Learn more about the Extraordinary Travel Fest here.

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