After visiting 180 countries in just over 15 months, one woman is on a quest to set a Guinness World Record for fastest female to travel the world.
Cassandra De Pecol, from Washington, Connecticut, embarked on her journey in July 2015 and is now nearing the end of her epic mission to visit all 193 sovereign nations plus Taiwan, Kosovo and Palestine.
The 27-year-old has already travelled every country in the continent of Oceania, Europe and North America, and has nearly completed Asia, South America and Africa, according to her website.
Having a passion for adventure, Cassandra started to plan for the trip of a lifetime – officially called Expedition 196 – on her 25th birthday.
The mission behind her travels is designed to promote peace through sustainable tourism. She does this by speaking with university students about the importance of incorporating responsible travel practices and promoting sustainable and regenerative tourism, according to Lonely Planet.
She also collects samples from waterways around the world and sends them to a lab for Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation.
Most recently, Cassandra checked into New York after ticking off Cuba.
But as dreamy as it all sounds, travelling the world in record time isn’t easy – having already travelled 180 countries in 15 months and taken 254 flights, that’s an average of only 2.5 days spent in each country.
And it’s estimated she’s already burned through $198,000 (£161,880) in a bid to break the record – but a range of on-the-road sponsors are helping to lighten the financial load.
And Cassandra says she makes it work. After six months, she had gotten used to the pace, but the first six months came with challenges.
She told Lonely Planet: “At that point I had been traveling for 1.5 months straight with no breaks. I burnt myself out and I quickly realized that I needed to respect my body and slow down”.
She added that knowing she has such a short time encourages her to pack her schedule with lots to do. For three days in Jordan, she was able to meet with high school students near Amman, see the city’s archaeological sites and bazaar, head to Petra and the Dead Sea.
What an inspirational journey.
We’re rooting for you, Cassandra!
