A man who traveled to all countries without planes fell in love with São Tomé
Danish traveler and adventurer Thor Pedersen, 44, is the first man to have traveled to every country in the world without using an aircraft, without stopping, and without returning home during the ten years he spent crossing seas and continents.
The feat was legendary, and it sparked his interest in São Tomé and Príncipe, as he admits in an interview with the Lusa agency.
Thor Pedersen claims he landed in Portugal on the last weekend of September, 60 days after his biggest experience.
During his journey, he suffered from severe cerebral malaria in Ghana, had firearms pointed at his head in Gabon, and was infected with the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, China, which kept him there for two years.
Pedersen notes that his travel idea was dubbed “Once Upon a Saga,” after the term “Once Upon a Time” (once upon a time), with which the writer Hans Christian Andersen launched stories for children, using “The Little Mermaid” as an example. Saga, on the other hand, is the traditional name for stories in Scandinavian mythology.
When asked if he was discriminated against due of his white skin in the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), Pedersen stated that he never encountered racism or xenophobia when traveling through former Portuguese territories.
Thor is now 44 years old, although he began traveling around the world at the age of 34, with the goal of never flying, never returning home throughout the project, and spending at least 24 hours in each of the world’s 203 countries.
He began his voyage in Portugal in October 2013, coming on October 28th and staying for three days.
At the time, Thor declared that Portugal was “poorer than Spain” and that Lisbon required a “good paint job.”
“It’s a really lovely city that was almost completely destroyed in 1755 by perhaps the biggest earthquake ever in Europe.” Pedersen, on the other hand, regretted the drug sellers on the streets who sought to sell him drugs.
He landed in São Tomé and Príncipe in November 2015 and stayed for exactly 36 days, the longest of any CPLP country Thor visited on his round-the-world journey.
Thor disembarked in the island of São Tomé, the 99th country on his route, after leaving Libreville (Gabon) and boarding the ship Spnola Carneiro. He came across the Red Cross and met Julio, the man who directed him to a store where he could get a SIM card for calling.
“Something had happened. I can’t put my finger on it. “But I knew I was in a special place,” states his “Once Upon a Saga” website.
The motto of Thor’s quest is “a stranger is a friend you’ve never met before,” and Julio demonstrated that a stranger may become a lifelong friend.
Thor considers São Tomé and Príncipe to be a “magical” country.
“I can’t say enough about how lovely São Tomé is. I’ve been to several countries and am always greeted with warmth and respect. But I feel at home in São Tomé. And that’s a different sensation. I’ve had that feeling since the beginning, and it follows you no matter where you go. São Tomé is a very secure location. You are free to sleep straight on the beach or take a walk in the park in the middle of the night. The island manufactures chocolate. What else do I need to know for God’s sake?”
Thor came in Brazil in September 2014 and stayed for 20 days before falling in love with São Tomé, making it the 59th country in 12 months since the epic began. He did not feel “hostility” or “fear” while visiting Favela Parada de Lucas in Rio de Janeiro, which was protected by the Red Cross symbol.
Pedersen traveled to Brazil, namely Porto Velho and Manaus in the Amazon.
Thor traveled from Senegal to Cape Verde in a small sailing boat in Africa, visiting just Santiago Island and spotlighting the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, the archipelago’s oldest building.
“Cape Verde is not a wealthy country, but it has a wealth of kindness, spectacular landscapes, fertile land, incredibly well-prepared tuna, music, and a passion for football.” It is a place where we may witness both the rich and the impoverished while going through the streets.”
In May 2015, he arrived in Guinea-Bissau and spent four days ‘sofa-surfing’ (sleeping on a couch) in the home of a Brazilian woman of Japanese heritage who worked in the UN delegation in Bissau.
Thor recalls a “simple capital” with a “humid climate,” with construction everywhere and a focus on the “wild and spectacular” landscape and cashew nuts, the main business.
He arrived in Angola in March 2016, the 102nd country on his journey, after leaving Kinshasa (Congo), after six days.
Angola is a “beautiful,” “large” country with “kind people everywhere,” “great” food, and “unbeatable” music.
According to Pedersen, Angola was distinguished by a civil war that concluded in 2002, and the subject is constantly brought up in various talks.
In April 2016, he arrived in Mozambique, where he resided with a Danish family in Maputo, a month after leaving Angola.
Pedersen claims he had to adjust his initial routing through Mozambique “unfortunately” due to terrorist assaults by armed groups, which were already obvious at the time and reached a wider magnitude in October of the following year, in the country’s north.
Thor intended to travel along the coast from Maputo (the southern capital) to Beira (further north), but he found it too risky and returned to South Africa to reach Zimbabwe.
Despite the turmoil, the Danish explorer praises the Portuguese-speaking country on Africa’s east coast for its “good” cuisine and culture, “mind-blowing” history, and “extraordinary potential” nature.
“Mozambique could easily become the next hot tourist destination (…) But it looks like it will remain a well-kept secret for a while.”
The traveler landed in Timor-Leste in September 2019 and remained for ten days, meeting his lover for the twenty-first time since beginning the adventure.
Timor was underdeveloped as a tourist destination, but it had a lot to offer. “Extraordinarily friendly” and “completely safe” country.
Thor still had 16 countries to visit after Timor, his 187th, in order to complete his journey around the world’s 203 countries and return home.
He returned home safely little over 60 days ago.
On May 24, this year, he arrived in the Maldives, his 203rd nation, and returned to Denmark via Malaysia and Sri Lanka onboard a freighter. Pedersen arrived in Asrhus, Denmark, on July 26 as a goodwill ambassador for the Danish Red Cross.
The fact that he traveled through all countries in the world—the 195 sovereign states recognized by the United Nations plus eight partially recognized ones—without flying or interrupting the journey makes him a one-of-a-kind case, surpassing the British Graham Hughes, who visited 201 countries without flying on a trip that lasted about four years (2010-2014) but was interrupted twice for personal reasons.
Thor Pedersen now hopes to write a book about the trip and collaborate with Canadian director and producer Mike Douglas to create a documentary.
Thor was in Portugal last weekend to attend the Association of Portuguese Bloggers (ABVP) travel event in Guimares.
