In September this year when Romaine Welds arrived in Antigua and Barbuda at the V.C. Bird International Airport, he announced that he had completed his adventure to visit all 195 countries in the world. The 37-year-old described himself as the first Jamaican to visit every country in the world.
The Jamaican-born who currently lives in the U.S. said he chose Antigua and Barbuda as his final destination because he believed it would be great to complete this journey close to home where it all started.
“I settled mostly on Antigua because it seems like a mini-hub in the Caribbean with lots of flight connections. As I wanted my friends and family to get flights easily to join me on this final journey, and also for the beautiful beaches – the choice fell on Antigua & Barbuda,” Welds was quoted by carribeannewsglobal.com.
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Welds migrated from Montego Bay, Jamaica to the United States of America in 2007. He developed an interest in traveling to other countries after he started working with an airline company as a ground operation agent at San Francisco Airport. Anytime he visited a country in the course of work, he got so elated upon his return home and would then be looking forward to the next trip.
Inspired to see the world, Welds decided to visit bucket-list places he would see on National Geographic. He then moved on to the Seven Wonders of the World followed by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries.
By 2016, he had achieved his then goal of visiting 100 countries by the age of 30. His next objective now was to visit all 195 countries in the world. All in all, he spent 15 years exploring the world. Before he visited a country, he would do research pertaining to visas, immigration, vaccine plans, and so on. The airline company where he works usually helped him in this regard.
Even though he touts his native Jamaica as the best place to live, he identified Cape Verde, Brazil and Bora Bora as some of his favorite countries stemming from his experiences there. Globetrotter Welds believes everyone should endeavor to go out into the world to explore its wonders and cultures.
“As a student in Jamaica, I used to love geography. It was my favorite subject, but never in a million years did I imagine that I would end up visiting every country in the world. It has been a life-changing experience. I’ve learned so much while traveling and meeting other inspiring globetrotters around the world and now finally, I have made it to the finish line, visiting 195 countries while working full time!,” he said in September.
Welds’ subsequent goal is to visit festivals and tribes around the world.
