(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)
As the travel industry continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are getting close to their pre-pandemic travel levels. I don’t think I’ll ever have another travel year like 2014, but 2026 is still shaping up to be something special.
I’ve recently learned that I will need to combine two special trips next year. After flying to Europe for a competition, I will then continue east to Australia (via Asia) for another competition immediately afterwards. And then the shortest route home from Australia is to travel east again to Canada. In short, I’ll be undertaking that rarest of travel experiences: a true around-the world trip!
Not only will I travel around the entire globe, I will be on the road for longer than I have ever been in the past. And in addition to taking in two continents and several countries that I’ve never previously visited, my trip will also cover considerable territory in both the northern and southern hemispheres…where the seasons are reversed!
As you can imagine, this will require a lot of preparation. I may end up buying an around-the-world ticket, rather than a series of one-way tickets. But I’ll have to cost out both of those options before making a final decision. The financial stakes are pretty high! But even mundane matters, such as what to pack, will also require a lot of research. Among other things, I’ll need to figure out a global laundry strategy!
On a less serious note, this upcoming trip also made me think about how far I’ve travelled in each compass direction. In 2026, I don’t think I’ll make it farther north than my trip beyond the Arctic Circle on the remote island of GrÃmsey, Iceland. There is a chance that I’ll make it further south than Puerto Montt, Chile, but that will depend on the exact route I take home from Australia.
However, my 2026 trip will make the two other compass directions irrelevant for me. If I travel so far east that I end up home again, then I could hardly claim to have an easternmost destination anymore. And I think it would also be meaningless to say that I still had a westernmost destination.
Looking east, the farthest I’ve been so far is Helsinki, Finland…even though I always thought Tallinn, Estonia, was just a little farther east! And the farthest west I’ve been so far is Skagway, Alaska. To commemorate their upcoming loss of status, all of the photos in today’s post are from Alaska and Finland – the photo at the very top is the Helsinki Cathedral.
I will share more details on my around-the-world adventure as the preparations progress. And I’m sure 2026 will have some other surprises too…
