Meet The First Black Woman to Travel to Every Single Country and Continent in the World – Woni Spotts

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California-born, Woni Spotts’ love for travel began as a child when she accompanied her parents, who were in the entertainment industry, on international tours. This love was further deepened when she hosted a documentary at high school aged 15, from 1979 to early 1982, which allowed her to travel extensively and she set herself the goal of visiting every country in the world.

Despite being an accomplished musician, songwriter, pianist, and animator, Woni decided not to follow in her family’s entertainment footsteps and instead she decided to explore the world. Her father supplemented her education with a global perspective which often clashed with the accepted narrative taught in traditional schools. As time passed Woni refused to sit in a classroom regurgitating spoon-fed “facts” and decided to go into the world to discover the truth. This is where her journey of exploration began. She established a successful eCommerce company which not only helped her fund her travels but also gave her more freedom and control over her time.

In September 2018 Woni reached the goal of visiting every country and continent in the world and received an official travel certificate from the Traveler’s Century Club on April 19^th 2019. During the mid-2000s, Woni toured Monaco, France, and Southern Europe. Between 2014 and 2018, Woni visited Germany, Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Italy, Vatican City, Turkey, The UK (England, Scotland, Wales) Ireland, Iceland, Lieichtenstein, Switzerland, Canada, Belize, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Samoa, Australia, India, Cambodia, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, Tanzania, China, Mongolia and Kazakhastan.

Some places of particular interest that she visited were not officially countries including:
Greenland, Antarctica(4 territories), Tahiti, Easter Islands, The Galápagos, Hawaii, Transnistria, Western Sahara, Socotra, Tibet, and The Canary Islands. Nearly 40 years and 33 countries later, the journey has been completed. 195 countries visited as well as 22 territories.

“I am a life-long vegan and a fierce defender of animals and the earth, and I am committed to elevating vulnerable people worldwide. I want my story to inspire and encourage others to explore and also cherish/take care of this planet by sharing the incredible stories of the people that I met along the way in a book that I am writing about my travel experiences”. – Woni Spotts