First recorded woman to explore every country on earth

Cassie de Pecol managed to travel to 196 nations, costing her 111,000 dollars. However, she managed to pay for the entire trip from savings and sponsors, allowing her to complete her journey in eighteen months and twenty-six days. 

Growing up, Pecol had a chaotic education, switching from home-school to public school and taking college courses in high school, which is one of the main reasons she wanted to travel. Traveling encompassed her childhood, so she decided to continue with it in adulthood. 

Cassie de Pecol seemed like an average girl on the outside, but on the inside, she was a young soul with a strong desire to travel.  Therefore, she managed to study abroad in three countries during her college education, and during her fourth year of college, she decided to take traveling into her own hands. Pecol dropped out of college and started her 196 Expedition, a journey to every sovereign nation in the world.  She ended up visiting 25 countries before she even turned 25 years old.  

After all of Pecol’s travels, she formed a list of her favorite countries. These included the USA, Antartica, Peru, Pakistan, Iceland, Oman, Bhutan, Mongolia, and Maldives. Many people were surprised by her choice, however, Pecol explained how each country had a unique and lasting impression on her. For example, in the Maldives she loved the clean beaches and clear water, in Oman she adored the unforgettable mountains, and in Bhutan she admired the serene society. She explains how traveling opens people’s eyes to new cultures and ethnicities that people don’t usually see.  

Pecol used her very own blog to lure travel companies to have her advertise their products so that she could use the money for more explorations. This tactic does not work for everyone, but in Cassie’s case, she was able to work with almost 20 different sponsors. Some of the more well-known organizations she worked with were Eno, Cliff bar, and AIG. Not only did she use large companies to sponsor her, but she had athletes like Michael Phelps model for her. To achieve this, he said he would sponsor a part of her trip, if she could photograph him. 

She survived 21 days in a jungle on the television show Naked and Afraid, inspiring her to continue exploring the world. This incredible accomplishment snatched people’s attention and gave her more sponsors to work with.  

This extraordinary adventure called Cassie’s life, inspires people all around the world, specifically women, to discover the hidden treasures of life.