STORIES: from my travels to every country in the world

by Alvaro Rojas

Minutes after midnight, on December 6th, 2019 Alvaro Rojas became the youngest Spaniard to Visit Every Country in the World. A feat only 200 people in History had achieved before.

This is the compilation of stories and pictures from every single country. From his detention in Afghanistan to almost drowning in Zanzibar or ran over by a car in Congo. Castaway in remote Pacific islands, sneaking into war-zones and navigating some of the most corrupt borders in the World.

An arduous, but fruitful journey inspired by a newspaper headline. “More people have been to Space than visited Every Country in the World.” Having visited 40 countries, he was instantly hooked. A few years later, when the time was right, he took the leap and quit his cozy corporate job as a CFO in an Oil and Gas company to pursue his life goal. Why go through all of these crazy adventures? Why spend the money, the time, and risk it all?

Genres: Travel

408 pages, Paperback

Published June 19, 2020

About the author

Minutes after midnight, on December 6th, 2019, I stepped foot in Cape Verde and became the youngest Spaniard to Visit Every Country in the World. A feat only 200 people in History had done before. I am the first person from Madrid to visit every country, and one of the youngest verified people to ever do it. Don’t take my word for it, check out the independent auditors of NomadMania!
Over 13 years of traveling independently to every sovereign nation and thousands of stories and adventures, from my detention in Afghanistan to getting run over by a car in Congo, almost drowning in Zanzibar, being stranded in remote Pacific islands, sneaking into war-zones and navigating some of the most corrupts borders in the World.
An arduous, but fruitful journey inspired by a news headline: “More people have been to Space than have visited Every Country in the World.” Having visited around 40 countries, I was instantly hooked. A few years later, when the time was right, I took the leap and quit my cozy corporate job as a CFO in an Oil and Gas company to pursue my life goal.
As a Business and Law graduate, with study abroads in the US and France, and former expat in Angola and Gabon, starting my own travel business after visiting every country was another dream come true. The World never ends, and I will make it my mission to continue exploring it, inspiring and helping others to do the same, and working with travel brands all over the globe. “Wanderreds” started in a rundown hostel in Taipei as an Instagram alias, adding my last name in English “Rojas = Reds” to my “Wander” spirit. Today, I’ve worked with over 150 brands in + 90 countries.

Reviews

[Marta García Martínez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book and great pictures! It is very interesting if you like to travel and want to know certain countries that are almost unknown. Some stories are not so interesting, but overall, really good book and easy to read!

[Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book by Alvaro, whom I have been following on his journey to every country in the kast years. It so nice he finally published his book. If you're interested in travel you should read it!

[Cándido Palomo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compré este libro en marzo del 2021 y por diferentes razones solo lo he leído en un fin de semana del mes de noviembre. Me atrajo saber que Álvaro Rojas es el español más joven en visitar todos los países del mundo, aunque eso es más bien negativo pues da a entender que engulló los países ya que visitarlos bien toma más tiempo y Álvaro es demasiado joven para haber visitado los países en calidad. Pero me decepcionó que escribiera el libro en inglés (que no es su lengua nativa y por ello comete errores de bulto) y no en español. Los capítulos son prácticamente todos demasiado cortos, de unas pocas líneas por país de los casi 200 que están registrados en las Naciones Unidas (el de Tanzania es triste pero el de la India es muy divertido). Sin embargo, hay que reconocer que las fotos son magníficas, mucho más que el texto.
Se nota que el autor no es un mochilero pues con muchísima frecuencia se aloja en hoteles de lujo (en casi todos lo hace de modo gratuito gracias a promocionar en instagram los hoteles), lo cual no es mi estilo y por eso no puntúo con 5 estrellas este libro, sino con 3, pues se pierde el contacto con la gente de a pie.
Tantas puntuaciones de 5 puntos me hacen pensar en el peloteo de sus seguidores, que por amistad le dan la puntuación máxima, pero es engañoso pues el libro no es de 5 puntos ni de lejos, vamos ni mucho menos.
Por último, si bien visitar todos los países del mundo es una hazaña que no está al alcance de todos (sino de apenas 2 centenares de personas), este es un libro autoeditado, y por ello no puede tener la misma calidad literaria que los que son publicados por una editorial de categoría (cuyos textos pasan un examen de un experto lector y al autor le adelantan el dinero de los derechos de ventas). Autoeditarse un libro lo hace cualquiera que tenga dinero para pagar sus ejemplares que encargue y contar sus batallitas a sus amiguetes, pero conseguir que te lo publique una editorial ya no es cosa de cualquiera, sino de quien escribe bien, lo cual no es el caso de Álvaro.

[julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

After seeing Alvaro in Drew's vlogs, realizing that he had visited every country in the world, and learning that he wrote a book about his travels, I knew I had to read this. Traveling to every country in the world is not for the faint of heart, yet Alvaro did it. His accomplishment truly is a testament to his character, so I really wanted to read about his journey.

I enjoyed the way this book was written, especially how it was presented in chronological order. It's almost as if your mindset is changing as Alvaro continues his travels. However, I think the stories for each country could have been more detailed and introspective. At some points, it just felt a bit too surface level. There's a lot of potential here and I know Alvaro can only improve on this already amazing book. Can't wait to see more from him!

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been following Alvaro on IG for years. His photography is stunning and I was so excited to snag one of his limited printed books. He has opened my eyes to so many places I would've never thought I'd want to visit one day over the years (as if my travel wish-list needed to be longer). I definitely took my time leafing through it over the past year because the wanderlust was too strong when I was stuck in one place, but it also let me soak in these amazing places better.

The only qualm I had was that I wish he had someone go through and edit the several typos and grammar errors, but I know this was a self-published book and English is not his first language. Even so, I'll definitely be referencing back to this when I need a little travel inspo for off-the-beaten-path places.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. As a traveler, I thoroughly enjoyed this book of one man’s journey to every country in the world (197). He devoted one page to each country with his thoughts and experiences from that place. The reason I didn’t rate it higher was simply because it was self published and there were quite a few typos snd such. He would have done well to go through a publisher, hire an editor, etc. Even so, I found the book insightful, interesting, useful and endearing- especially the epilogue. And I would recommend to any self-proclaimed world traveler!

[Jorge Martínez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creo que lei el libro más por haber conocido la historia de Alvaro por Instagram y seguirlo ya durante varios años y también movido por la intención de unos viajes que tengo en mente-

PROS:
- las fotografías del libro
- el trabajo de recopilar en pocas paginas 197 paises
- el estilo fresco de la Lectura

CONS
- no llega a sumergirse al 100% en detalles de cada pais
- el libro empieza muy bien pero con cada pais muevo como que conoces ya el estilo y el camino por el que va a ir por lo que deja de sorprender la historia - se me volvio repetitivo.

[Jilke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with amazing pictures and stories in them! The idea of the concept, one page per country and a picture from that country is nice, however, sometimes the story wasn't really about that country, but more a life lesson. Other times I would've liked to read about the whole adventure and it not being limited to that page. Overall did great in increasing my eagerness to travel more and more.

[Anna Asenova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book by a passionate traveler I follow on social media. Congrats, Alvaro, for completing your journey to every country, congrats on Mara and congrats on the amazing approach to life.
Highly recommend the book as a source of inspiration 🌏

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little tidbits from each country. Amazing energy throughout the book and if you follow Alvaro on Instagram I think you'll be able to read the book as if he's actually telling you these stories (at least I did). Each chapter kept me wanting more of each story and more of each country.

[lectricedudimanche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book with a one-page story for every country visited. It helps understand more some less known countries and know more about Alvaro's life experiences and his personality. He's done something rare so I think it's a very unique book.

[Cecilia Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read! Great insights ! Well written, a true pleasure!!

[Tess Desire'e · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book has many grammar errors. Most of his stories are interesting, but it would be nice to read more than 2-3 pages on each country. However, a travel influencer rarely visits places for enough time to truly connect with it.

[Kamil Kokot · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS. IS. AMAZING. It was great to see so many similarities to Alvaro in my worldview and mindset. Great stories indeed.