A man who claims to be the first to have visited every country in the world without taking a single flight or returning home has completed his trip.
Stepping off a container ship at the port city of Aarhus in his native Denmark, Torbjorn ‘Thor’ Pedersen, 44, says he has made his 10-year, round-the-globe journey entirely by train, bus, boat and on foot.
Describing his arrival as ‘bittersweet’, he said: ‘I’ve been dreaming about coming back home and having it over with and done. So that’s today. At the same time, I’m anxious about the future.’
He went on: ‘A lot of things are up in the air and in the unknown, mixed emotions.’
Mr Pedersen, who previously worked in shipping and as a UN peacekeeper, set off on October 10, 2013.
His journey might have taken less time, had he not found himself stuck in Hong Kong for two years during the pandemic.
He said: ‘I thought it would take a maximum of four years in total, maybe three and a half if I went a little fast.’
He also maintained a long-distance relationship with his partner, Le Gjerum, who travelled out to visit and travel with him almost 30 times throughout his trip.
Ms Gjerum – who is now his wife, after they married online due to COVID-19 – said she admired her husband’s tenacity but that she was looking forward to having a ‘daily life together.’
The Guinness Book of World records states Graham Hughes, from the UK, was the first person to visit every country in the world without relying on air travel – though, unlike Mr Pedersen, Mr Hughes returned home twice during his trip.
It’s not the only record to have been broken so far this year.
Earlier in June, Heidi Crowter, from Coventry in the West Midlands, became a Guinness World Record holder for being able to recite 70 celebrity birth dates in under 180 seconds.
The 27-year-old, who has Down’s syndrome, said: ‘I am feeling very proud of myself. I love sharing my joy of birthdays with people, and I have been writing a birthday list and practising a lot.’
A month before that, the world’s oldest living dog, Bobi, celebrated his 31st birthday, with one hundred guests in attendance at his owner’s farm in Portugal.
And in April, a woman in the US broke the Guiness World Record for the largest natural afro – for the second time in 13 years.
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