Danish man visits all countries in the world without flying, returns home

Torbjørn 'Thor' Pedersen left his job, family and girlfriend and embarked on an epic journey on 10 October 2013, with the aim to visit eachcountry in the world without flying. The only three rules he set for himself were spending at least 24 hours in every nation, living off $20 a day, and not returning home until the voyage was complete.

During 10 years of travel, Pederson successfully visited all the countries in the world and started his journey home on 24 May 2023. The last country he visited was Maldives.

Pederson is also the goodwill ambassador for the Danish Red Cross. He told CNN, "There's a historical sense of returning home by ship – people can see it on the horizon and stand and wave as I come down the gangway. And that seems like an appropriate way to complete the project."

The 44-year-old celebrated his success in the Maldives. Then, he backtracked to Malaysia via Sri Lanka to board the MV Milan Maersk, a 1,300 feet long container ship. He travelled 33 days to reach his home country, Denmark. "In my cabin, I looked out the porthole in Malaysia, and it dawned on me that every day the view would gradually change until it finally became Denmark," said Pederson.

Pederson walked down the gangway at the Port of Aarhus on 26 July 2023. Roughly 150 people, including his father, siblings, project partners, and many supporters, were waiting for him to celebrate his return. Pederson's wife, Le, was also waiting for him. He proposed to her atop Mt Kenya in 2016, and they married in 2021.

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Pederson used to work in shipping and logistics. His skills from his previous job came in handy on his epic 10-year adventure. However, he went through many hardships to visit all the nations in the world. For instance, it took him four months and many failed attempts to acquire a visa for Equatorial Guinea, one of the world's most difficult countries to access. He encountered months-long visa delays in many countries, like Syria, Iran, Nauru, and Angola.

Pederson survived an intense four-day storm when he was crossing the Atlantic from Iceland to Canada. He also overcame a severe bout of malaria in Ghana. Moreover, he had to reschedule many sailings due to broken ships or exhausting bureaucracy.

Pederson also ran a blog, Once Upon A Saga, and used other social media channels, to document his adventures in different nations. He recently posted a picture on Instagram announcing his return to Denmark.

(With inputs from agencies)

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