77-year-old becomes the first Filipino to travel to all countries in the world

Odette Ricasa became the first Filipino to travel to all the countries in the world as she arrived in Kurdistan, Iraq on 25^th August 2022. 

At 77 years old, she has fulfilled a lifetime dream of visiting the 193 countries recognised by the United Nations. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, Odette was five countries short of finishing all the countries. She resumed her world travels this year to complete the remaining ones in this order: Sudan, Chad, Central African Republic, Libya, and Iraq. She also finished visiting all seven continents back in 2015.

Based in Los Angeles, Odette is an active member of the Philippine Global Explorers travel community, where she heads the U.S West Coast chapter. She is a modern-day renaissance woman, an author of six travel books, a successful artist with over one hundred paintings, a motivational speaker, and a prolific piano player. Her mini biography and travel stories are featured in the book “Galà: Adventures of the Most Well-Traveled Filipinos”.

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