Francis Tapon is Hiking his own Hike Around the World

Francis Tapon has hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and in 2007, he became the first person to walk the 5,600 miles from Mexico to Canada and back to Mexico along the Continental Divide Trail. In addition to walking across America 4 times, he's walked across Spain twice. In total, Francis has been to over 120 countries. In March 2013 he set off trip to explore Africa. He spent five and half years doing just that, visiting all 54 African countries, and climbing the tallest mountains in 50 of those countries.

Episode notes

In this episode we discuss:

How Francis manages to hike through snow without a warm jacket (or underwear)
Practicing discomfort and gratitude
The two traits Francis learned from spending five and a half years in Africa and traveling to all 54 African countries
Falling in love and getting married in Africa
The benefits of growing up with exposure to multiple cultures
Collecting "cultural souvenirs" as we travel
Why the idea of "cultural appropriation" makes no sense
How the weather changes culture from Africa to Europe to SE Asia
What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us
The role of history in American, European, and African cultures
How the Moors shaped modern Spain
Slowing down in Spain and reevaluating what's important in life
Francis provocative writing style and why it's so hard to write a book about Africa
Reverse culture shock on returning to America after a long time away
The East Coast mentality and "default question"
What the rest of the world thinks about Americans that we don't realize
The three areas where America is hands down the greatest country in the world
Where Francis plans to go next and making the most of life before we move on
What it means to "Hike your own hike"

Links:

Francis' Website (https://francistapon.com/)
Francis' First Book Hike Your Own Hike: 7 Life Lessons from Backpacking Across America (https://francistapon.com/Books/Hike-Your-Own-Hike/)
Francis' Second Book The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us (https://francistapon.com/Books/The-Hidden-Europe/)
Francis' Patreon Account (https://www.patreon.com/ftapon) - Get access to "The Unseen Africa" book as Francis writes it
Francis' TEDx Talk "How and why travel transforms you" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2Bd8pNYH8A)
Francis' TEDx Talk "Bring Out Your Inner Black Sheep" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVfADBIsgB8)
Francis' TEDx Talk "7 surprising lessons from picking up 3,000 African Hitchhikers" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WxfRLByD60)
The Jacks R Better sleeping bag that Francis uses and recommends: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CfBrJX5zoU)
Francis' gear list from hiking the Continental Divide Trail (https://francistapon.com/Travels/Continental-Divide-Trail/CDT-Gear-List)
The Time Paradox book by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd (https://www.amazon.com/Time-Paradox-Psychology-That-Change/dp/1416541993)