The 44-year-old Danish traveler, Torbjørn C. Pedersen, also known as “Thor”, returned to Denmark on Wednesday, 26 July 2023 after ten years of completing his project, “Once Upon A Saga” in which he visited every country without flying.
His trip home was taken by the Milan Maersk good ship. The 203rd and final country he had was the Maldives where he made it in May.
Posted on his Instagram account, he wrote, “More than a hundred people showed up to welcome me home on this historic day. Family, friends, fans, followers…I’m overwhelmed by the gifts, hugs, applause, and love. Thank you!”
Thor began his first journey back on 10 October 2013 and was stuck in Hong Kong for two years during the covid-19 pandemic.
He previously shared that the inspiration for his project started from an article his father sent him via an email.
As a former employee in the shipping sector, he claimed that he is the first person to visit every country in the world in a single trip without flying. He had traveled from country to country mostly by public transportation like train, bus, boat, and by walking.
“Three have been to every country twice. Two have been to every country without returning home in between. And now, one has done it completely without flying. What can I say? Good luck to the second,” he wrote on his blog, Once Upon A Saga.
On his recent blog Thor wrote on the 20th of July, he mentioned about a documentary of the project which he collaborated with a Canadian filmmaker, Mike Douglas.
The trailer of the documentary will be released on 27 July 2023, he added.
“It is one of the most challenging adventures of our time and a monumental human achievement. Nobody has heard the real story. My intention is to bring it to light,” Thor cited Mike.
Apart from the traveling spectrum, Thor also was a goodwill ambassador for the Danish Red Cross.
His project’s partners include DB Schenker Denmark, Kameli, Red Sand Solutions, Salomon, the Danish Red Cross, and Ross Energy / Geoop.
Follow for more updates on his journey through his website and social media.
