Over the past eight years, Luciano Rogers has visited 100 total countries and all seven wonders of the world. He completed his childhood dream in June, with a final visit to Chichén Itzá in Mexico, alongside visiting his 100th country, Costa Rica.
We spoke with Rogers after his return to Milwaukee about his inspirations, love for travel and more.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
How did the idea of visiting the seven wonders come to be?
It was a childhood dream. I grew up reading books, seeing amazing places and watching movies like Indiana Jones. I wanted to be Indiana Jones when I grew up!
Atlases intrigued me as a kid. When my family traveled around the U.S., I would sit in the back of the car and study an atlas. I was interested in geography and adventure from a young age from these movies and books, like encyclopedias taught me more about geography and culture. Those things stood out to me, I started studying about different countries and continents. Until one day I decided I would see if I could take on the world.
How did you prepare for this journey?
My first time traveling internationally was in January 2013, when I went on a cruise to the Caribbean and Mexico. I did this again the following year, but in 2016 I wanted to try something new. I had all this knowledge about the world and I wanted to use it. I asked myself “How are we getting over there?” Google became my best friend. Google flights particularly showed me that traveling wasn’t as expensive as people thought. So long as I could budget and plan properly, I could go on these trips. A roundtrip flight to Egypt was around $670, for Athens it was in the $500s, but it was the $440 trip to Paris that sold me.
What was the most surprising wonder you’ve visited and why?
Petra was majestic. All the wonders are beautiful, but Petra was different. Getting to Petra was difficult. I had to fly into Amman, Jordan and then take a two hour taxi to Wadi Musa, where Petra is located. I got there at about 3 a.m. and I stayed up the whole night to try to be the first one there. Walking into Petra, seeing the rock formations and the structures, it was beautiful. Leading up to the treasury was just majestic. The first time I ever saw this area was watching Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade as a child and I said I want to get there!
What advice do you have for fellow travelers looking to follow in your footsteps?
You got to keep going. While traveling has always been a lifelong dream of mine, it did come to a stressful point, especially in the last five years or so, but it’s all temporary. You’re going to have a crazy schedule when traveling, especially to this extreme. You keep going to whatever your goal is and you put your focus on something that you want in life. Don’t be afraid of taking risks when traveling, it’s important to be cautious, but there are good people out there to connect with. What I know about life is that it is very short, we’re not here a long time so you have got to live your life.
How did growing up in Milwaukee influence your travels?
Milwaukee has been a great foundation for my ambitions. Growing up here and attending a Milwaukee Public School molded a drive in me to accomplish my goals. It also taught me to look outwards. Milwaukee is a small city. When I was growing up it didn’t receive a lot of attention. I learned to look out towards the rest of the world. Even when traveling to all these different places, coming back to Milwaukee felt right. It’s just home and there’s no place better than home.
