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"We live in a world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."
​                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ​Jawaharlal Nehru​
The Harvard Travellers Club is an organization that has provided a venue for adventurous travelers to gather and socialize since 1902. An affiliation with Harvard University is not required for membership.

The Club meets 8 times each year, and held its 900th meeting since inception in November 2022. Our speakers include many legendary -- as well as up-and-coming -- explorers, scientists, mountaineers, and adventurers.
​If you are not currently a member of the Harvard Travellers Club and would like more information about the Club, or would like to attend a meeting as a guest, please contact Bruce Chafee at brucec@harvardtravellersclub.org.
Club meetings are generally held in the Massachusetts Room of the Harvard Club on Commonwealth Avenue. Cocktails (cash bar) begin at 6:00 PM, dinner ($86) at 6:45, and the presentation commences at 8:00. Club meetings are attended by members and their guests. 

The dress code for our meetings is business casual.
The 2022-2023 Season at a Glance
(Meetings are held on Tuesdays, unless otherwise noted.)​​
(click date buttons for details)
v = via Zoom
All other meetings are (currently) to be in person.
Speaker
Subject
(click date buttons for details) 
x
The Great Houses of Yorkshire
by
Curt DiCamillo
Architectural historian Curt DiCamillo  will guide us on a tour to some of the best country houses in Yorkshire, including Castle Howard, famous as the starring player in the two filmed versions of Brideshead Revisited; Sledmere House, a jewel-like Neoclassical masterpiece still in the ownership of its original family; Newby Hall, a glorious Robert Adam house with a core very likely by Christopher Wren; and the mysterious Wentworth Woodhouse, which boasts the longest façade—over 600 feet—of any house in Britain. Travel to Yorkshire’s great houses without leaving home!
 
 Curt DiCamillo

The Great Houses of Yorkshire: Travelogue and Virtual Tour
x
Around the World on Foot: Little Steps, Big Feat
Polly Letofsky
Polly Letofsky left her home in Colorado and headed west across 4 continents and over 14,000 miles—by foot—to become the first woman to walk around the world.
 
As an awareness campaign for breast cancer, strangers welcomed her into their homes. But it was never an easy road. Polly struggled with earthquakes, muggings, languages, even religious riots. The ultimate challenge came in the middle of Polly’s journey when September 11 flung us all into a crossroads in world history and she found herself navigating a vastly changing world.
 
Polly will share her story with humor and honest reflection, the good times and the hardships in her spirited presentation.

Polly Letofsky

Around the World on Foot: Little Steps, Big Feat

https://www.pollyletofsky.com/
x
Ladakh, the Great Silk Road, and Snow Leopard Conservation
Behzad Larry
Behzad will speak about Ladakh and give a context of regional history of the Great Silk Road. He will focus on culture, geography, what it’s like today, and most importantly, he will weave in the conservation challenges they face in their snow leopard expeditions across high Asia.

Behzad is an entrepreneur, photographer, and conservationist with a deep-rooted passion for exploration and sustainability. As the founder and CEO of Voygr Expeditions and The Tiger Safari Co., he leads expeditions that traverse the Silk Route, the Himalayas, and the Indian subcontinent, focusing on ecosystem regeneration and community empowerment. As a photographer he specializes in capturing the breathtaking landscapes and diverse cultures of North India and Central Asia. His photographs have appeared in illustrious publications including Vogue, Architectural Digest, Condé Nast Traveler, and more.

Behzad specializes in the tracking of the elusive snow leopard across Asia's most formidable mountain ranges, including the Trans-Himalayas, Karakorum, Pamirs, Tien Shan, and Altai.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) and a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society.

Behzad Larry

Ladakh, the Great Silk Road, and Snow Leopard Conservation

https://voygr.com and  http://behzadlarry.com/
x
Lost in the Pacific with a Raft
Dylan Wickrama
In order to fulfill a childhood dream, Dylan Wickrama embarks on motorcycle journey in the summer of 2010. Three years and five continents later, he is confronted with a dilemma in Panama, where the famous Pan American highway and all roads abrubptly end because of an impenetrable jungle. 

Since there is no official ferry connection between Panama and Colombia, Dylan comes up with a very creative idea. He builds a raft with empty oil drums and a propeller connected to his motorcycle, he sails across the Pacific ocean in search of Colombia and the South American continent. Little does he know that it would become an incredible journey and an adventure between life and death.

Dylan, author of When the Road Ends, and winner of the Adventure Travel Film Festival Best in Show 2020 for his documentary "When the Road Ends - Lost in the Pacific", grew up in Sri Lanka and migrated to Switzerland in his mid twenties and today considers himself a world citizen. Currently he works as a speaker, photographer, filmmaker and a writer.

 Dylan Wickrama

Lost in the Pacific with a Raft
By the author of When the Road Ends, and winner of Adventure Travel Film Festival Best in Show 2020 for his documentary of the same name.
x
Iran: Not the Headlines
Jennifer Craig

Despite the glimmers of hope we hear about the recent protests in Iran, most of what we read in the papers about this country is negative.  Yet there is often a disconnect between the people in power and the population at large. 
Jennifer will take us on her 2016 countrywide trip to this fascinating country that was once Persia, reminding us of their storied history, represented in art and architecture, and sharing her experience of feeling welcome and intrigued by the similarities and differences between Persian and western culture. We will visit the cities of Tabriz and Tehran in the north; Kerman, Shiraz, and other small sites in the south; and end our travels in beautiful Isfahan, seat of the Safavid Dynasty.
If a Stream Flows in the Wilderness, Do We Know Where It Starts?
 Cathy Poppenwimer
Cathy, GIS Scientist at the Appalachian Mountain Club, will explore the streams of the Maine Woods Initiative and their work to protect and enhance brook trout and Atlantic salmon habitats. This work was in part sponsored by a HTC Permanent Fund grant.

Learn about how the AMC is mapping the small upland streams (which are under-estimated by national-scale stream maps) and connecting these species to high-quality spawning habitat which is their historic habitat range and to which they have not been able to travel for a hundred years.

Members Night

​Baffin Island Explorations: Cynthia Fenneman
Adventures in Archeology: Kathryn Bard

  Emma Nicholson (Liu)

Discovering a Rare Lava Lake in the Southern Ocean
x

From five years in counterintelligence in the Army to rowing 3000 miles across the Atlantic inowing in 34 days, 15 hours, and 39 minutes aboard an 8-man rowboat, the Titan, Bryan became the fastest American to row across the Atlantic.

It was part of a mission to promote a Veteran program at local Boston program, Community Rowing, Inc.

Come meet Bryan and listen to his amazing story to push through tough circumstances and end up with a record.
 
  Bryan Fuller
​  

Across the Atlantic: Row, Row, Row Your Boat...?

TBD