About The Country Club

The Country Club exists to divert its members by recording and comparing members’ travels. There are 195 UN Member States/Official Observor, and we are trying to visit them all. Check our progress on the Club Ladder, to the right, or by clicking the link for the List of Countries Visited below that. Curious how we count? Click The Country Club By-Laws link.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The Real Country Club

Mr Secretary,

Like the real IRA I sometimes wonder if there should not be a “real” Country Club. The qualifying criteria would be that you paid for your own ticket and did not claim that beer on expenses. Now that would truly clear the hard core travellers from the expense account boys.

With humble respect,

Mr J.A. (Sandy) Sempliner

Monday, November 22, 2010

For the List of Counties Re-Visited

I have been meaning to update you on recent ‘re-visits’ and ‘expanded’ visits -
In October I went to Zanzibar for the first time and while Tanzania has been on my circuit for some time, the magic of the legendary island did not disappoint … nor did the Safari beers and South African wines.
Also in October I made my first ever legal visit to Ghana … yes, I have been to and imbibed of local nectars, bottled and not, but never before having transited a legal border with a visa …
It was hardly a visit as it was largely spent in the Airport Holiday Inn in a meeting – the Accra Airport Holiday Inn is still very much more Accra, West Africa than Holiday Inn, Generica. We did manage to fit in – no exaggeration – the most harrowing, scary, holy-shit-we-are-all-gonna-die taxi ride of my life! One of our local hosts decided to have a bunch of us – five taxis worth, plus one lost taxi – over to his house for dinner. His very nice house, deep in an Accra neighborhood, a la quartier ouest-africaine, would have taken us 90 minutes to 2 hours to reach had we labored through the absurd rush hour. Instead, a scene out of Too Fast Too Furious ensued in which these guys decided we would emulate a VIP motorcade – lights flashing, horns blaring, high speed overtaking with a game of chicken with each oncoming lorry – we are talking West African long-haul semis – as one of the drivers put it, with 5 cars, even the cops are afraid to stop us in case there really is a VIP in the group! It was 25 minutes of dusty, wrong-way around-the-roundabout, who can cut it closer, scariness followed by a delightful peanut stew with cold beers, wine and Talisker, and a much quieter trip home.
So no new countries, but memorable nonetheless!
Best,
Duncan

And in the 7th Year, He Traveled

Mr Peterson writes about a recent visit to Chile, bringing him to 63 countries and out of a three way tie for 11th, with Ms de Walden and Mr Karam.

"Winds from Patagonia"

I’m just back from a ten-day hiking trip to the famous Torres del Paine on the Chilean side of Patagonia.

Click here to see it: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=define:+sabbatical&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl

While there, I tasted some delicious reds, which we packed in for the hike. A highly recommended cabernet is the Montes Alpha. I also enjoyed several Austral cervezas under the famous “Paine Horns” that are featured on the beer can label.

As this is the start of a two-month sabbatical, more posts with new country entries will be coming in soon. . .

Kyle

Secretary's Note: Below is Mr P's original posting, lost until two months after this posting:

Mr. Secretary,


The good winds have carried me to a new country, Chile, where I have just enjoyed ten days of hiking and kayaking in the Patagonia wilderness. I recommend the Pale Ale from the Austral brewery and sipped one under the famous Horns in the Torres del Paine National Park. The Montes Alpha Cab is also quite nice after a long hike. I nearly bagged Argentina, only a few kilometers away, but will do so the next time I'm here.


I have two months off and restless feet - stay tuned.


Salud


Kyle

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Mr Peterson Maps!!!











Put your TravBuddy Map on The Country Club Pages

1. Go to http://www.travbuddy.com/
2. Register
3. Complete the Countries Visited Map
4. Copy and send me the html code for the small map.

Takes 5 minutes.

The Country Club Meets TravBuddy











Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Monday, November 8, 2010

Mr Clancy Joins Club, 20th Member

The Governors and Members of the Country Club today welcome Mr Clancy into our coterie. Mr Clancy enters in fifth place on the Club Ladder, at 81 countries. VTY, yr (very slow in updating our proceedings) sec'y

Back on the Ho Chi Minh Trail

Mr. Secretary,

It is with relief that I write to let you know I have finally broken what must be the longest drought in Club history. I am enjoying Hanoi and finally moved off of 69 countries by imbibing a "Bia Ha Noi" here last night. Given my new global mandate, I hope this is the first in a series of regular updates on new countries to come from me.

Yours in Transit,

Will