ESL Blogs

 Hi guys, this week's post I'll talk about a recordist when the subject is travelling, called Charles Veley.

 Charles Veley is an american 46 year-old  precocious millionaire who spend 2000's seeking to visit as many as countries he could. For that, he used an Excel spreadsheet and U$$2 billions dollars in investment, taken from his company. In his own words: " My focus is meet targets. On one hand, travelling is fun. On the other hand, a TO-DO list".  In 2004, he turned up on Guiness World Book by visiting seventy countries in three years. At that time, he's already known about 193 nations which compose the ONU.

 Betimes, he found his own travellers' club entitled (Most Travelled People) which has already  12.000 registers.

 Nobody has beaten Charles' achievement so far, just to know, he travelled 2.882.291 km and almost a hundred destinations. It was , according his reckonings, 827 territories, republics, provinces, federations, islands, insurgent states and enclaves. It misses only 45 destinations for Veley saying that he ran the entire world. He says: "My  preferred destination is always the next one."

 In the 90's, he established a software company which reached out to worth about U$$ 24 billions. With so much money in his pocket, he started a period in his life which lasted 10 years, buying  two round-trip tickets all over the world. At that time, he was married and have already had three children.

 But, not always Veley had a life of travelling. At 20, that new-yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn had never went out from USA, as he went on holidays to Spain in the company of his parents. However, when he failed in becoming a figter plane pilot, he found out that he was in love with history, geography, culture, people and new experiences, says him.  Before such failure in becoming a figter plane pilot he gave yourself a 3 month big travel pack through Europe. Since then, he always travels when it is possible for him.

 He flew through about 100 commercial airlines, and also embarked in scientific expeditions, military planes and freighters. He tell us in his adventures around the world that he had to swim towards Clipperton Islands, french possession to 1.280 km from Mexico, in the Pacific Ocean, due to burocratic issues which didn't allowed him to berth in  Mexican coastline.

  He got reach the most visited countries record out, when visiting  Bouvet Island, in the South extreme of the globe, to 1600 km of the frozen continent - Antarctica. To getting there, he caught a ride in a helicopter of researchers. Bouvet Island is considered one of the most isolated and inhospitable places in the world. In that occasion, he said: " It was the climax of  my globetrotter life."

  And, regarding to the most beautiful places in the world, what would it be them, in Veley's view?

 First, Lord Howe Island, in the Sea of Tasmania, to 1600 km  to the south of Australia. Second, Kauai Island , in Hawaii.

 After travelling through so many interesting places, spending the money earned in his software company,  Veley needed to go back to his missing company in the USA. Nowadays, he keeps travelling between two american cities up. San Francico - where It is his home - and Washington - where It is his company of software.

 Veley also wants to know the 4% remaining of the world, that percentage includes: Bjornoya Islands (Norway), Karakalpakstan ( sel-governing republic of Uzbekistan), Minami Torishima ( under the sovereignty of Japan, but integrated to Ogasawara Islands) and naval base of Guantanamo ( north- american jail in Cuba).

 To end my weekly post up, a sentence by Charles Veley:

 " I'm not a millionaire anymore, but I'm still young. I don't have no more doubts I'll reach any travel goal during my life out."

* Here's a link to an interview with Charles Veley on (islands.com) - " Is this Reigning World Champion of Travel?" : < islands.com/blogs/reigning-world-champion-travel> If you are interested in, then It worth reading it!

 So, Cheers English clubbers! See you soon.