On Tuesday, he touched down at an airstrip near Charleroi, in Southern Belgium, where he had learned to fly, inspired by his familyâs generations of aviators. Then it was on to Slovakia. In an interview on Tuesday, as he prepared for the final section of his journey, he described moments of beauty and boredom circumnavigating the globe.
There were âso many of these wildly different types that had those âwowâ moments,â he said, referring to his experiences flying over the windswept Sahara, the national parks of Kenya, forests in Myanmar and Thailand, and the mountains of Alaska.
âBig cities of the U.S. as well,â he said. âI was surprised how close you can actually fly. I was able to fly around the Statue of Liberty.â
Flying over oceans can be monotonous, he said. He rarely eats. âI look around, listen to music,â he said. A 24-hour-long playlist, which includes Coldplay and Queen, kept him occupied. âThat surprisingly fills up the time quite nicely,â he said.
One day in late July, as he was flying across the Pacific to the United States, he was forced to stop on Attu, an uninhabited island at Alaskaâs westernmost edge, to wait out strong headwinds. The ordeal was a treacherous one. He had just finished the last of his food: Oreos and a protein bar. It was getting dark, there were mountains, low clouds and no living creatures but sea gulls.
âI stayed the night on a completely uninhabited island, which was pretty special,â he said. âI found a shed on the side of the runway. I stayed there for the night on a broken-down sofa. I didnât sleep very well there.â
Source: NY Times
