Hi there, I'm Lale Arakoglu with another episode of Women Who Travel, where I'm talking to one of my favorite guests, Jessica Nabongo, who in 2019 became the first black woman to visit every country in the world and document her travels.

We'll be dipping in and out with flashbacks

from our conversation two years ago. But her travel style and goals remain the same. It's all

part of her identity. I am always in control of my life and what my life looks like.

And someone who really understands and values the human spirit

and the diversity of experiences and trying to remove value judgments of good and bad and understanding

the value is in the diversity.

You know, I was trying to remember that the last time we spoke, and I think it was around September 2022. And we were all, we were definitely all back traveling then, but I felt like we were kind of

still finding our feet. I'd done a couple of trips,

and you were definitely back out there. But how's the last year and a half been? How have your

travels been? Oh my goodness. I feel like I've been doing so much in the last year and a half.

I did 95 flights, so I was all over the place last year. I was in Brazil,

the Maldives, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana. I ended the year in Uganda. So most

recently I just came back. I spent one month in East Africa spending time with family in

Uganda and then resting and relaxing

in Zanzibar and in Kenya. You don't stop. So 95 flights in one year, like I think that I rack up

my mileage, but that is on another level. And you've already visited every country in the world.

Yeah. I mean, you are a professional

traveller. You made history by becoming the first black woman to visit every country in the world.

We've talked about it so much on this podcast, but you always have more stories. And then you've kept

going. What's your advice to trave travelers who want to do what you're doing

and see the same value in connecting with people who live in the place they're visiting,

...