Thor Perdersen’s 10-year Journey Visiting all 203 Countries Without Flying
“Why am I doing this? I'm doing it because it has not been done before! ”
Thor Pederson
Danish traveler and adventurer Torbjørn C. Pedersen (Thor) made history on May 23 by becoming the first person to visit every country without air travel. Over a decade, his project, Once Upon A Saga, took him across Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific, using various modes of transportation. Onboard a container ship, he arrived in Male, the capital of the Maldives, marking his 203rd and final country. Thor, a Salomon ambassador, described the journey as an incredible and challenging adventure that aimed to promote peace, understanding, and cultural exchange while raising awareness about global issues.
“I feel like I am at a breaking point: quit or keep going. And I'm not quitting! I have strength within myself to fight for this, I'm going to fight until I drop. ”
Thor Pederson
To produce a feature-length documentary on Thor’s first-of-its kind adventure, longtime Salomon TV producer Mike Douglas has been filming him in various locations over the last several years. He also spent months combing through hundreds of hours of video footage that Thor has captured himself as he visited every country on earth. Douglas has also become a friend and confidant of Thor’s, keeping in close contact as the Dane grappled with the challenges of navigating his way to the final countries on his Saga.