ABSTRACT

Man Without a Phone

Mart from Estonia arrived at the YMCA in Freetown with a quiet smile and a small backpack that somehow seemed far too light for a man who has travelled to 182 UN countries. Sierra Leone is number 182 on his growing list, and in just a few weeks, when he turns 68, he plans to celebrate his birthday in Liberia, country number 183.

He calls himself a professional traveller, but in truth Mart has never chased records or fame. “It just happened step by step,” he says. He never set out to visit all the countries in the world. But when he reached 100 countries in Madagascar, where he celebrated with his daughter, he felt something shift. Maybe 150 would be nice, he thought. And now? Now his goal is all 193 UN member states.

Mart began travelling young: first alone, then with his wife, then with his whole family. Later he often travelled only with the children because, as he jokes, “Maybe I travelled too much for my wife.”… Today all of his children are travellers too, something he is

quietly proud of. “I wanted to open their minds,” he says.

When asked which country he loves most, he just shakes his head. “Impossible. All are different.” But growing old is what he plans to do in Estonia.

Mart is a modest man. He travels on a low budget, which is why he is now staying with us at the YMCA in Freetown. “YMCA is a good place to stay!” he says with conviction. He worked hard during the East–West conflict, lived simply, and saved carefully. He doesn’t own a car, and, most surprising of all, he has never owned a mobile phone.

This has caused trouble more than once, especially during visa applications. In Nigeria they insisted on a phone number, so in the end he simply wrote down “123456.” The officials laughed, stamped his passport, and from that day he became known at the border as “the man without a phone.”

Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mart travelled extensively through the so-called brother states. Later he began organizing bus trips for friends, 20 or 30 people at a time, to Spain, acting as a kind of informal tour guide, managing everything quietly and efficiently.

In 2020 his life changed. He fell seriously ill, then struggled with long Covid. For a long time he believed his travelling days were over. But after three difficult years, he fought his way back. Walking helped him recover, even long distances that others would take a taxi for. Walking saved money, but it also saved his health.

His children are proud of him. His son edits the videos Mart films on his journeys, though Mart almost never posts anything online. He’s a bit shy; the films are mostly for himself. Perhaps, he dreams, one day they will be shown in his travel museum in Estonia. At home he already has more than 40 boxes filled with maps, tickets, souvenirs, and memories from a lifetime on the road.

“But first,” he says with a grin, “there are still ten more countries to visit.”

Next on his list are South Sudan and Somalia. And if everything goes according to plan, in 2027 he hopes to stand on the Comoros Islands, celebrating with his children that he has finally visited every country in the world.

Until then, he continues his journey—quietly, humbly, and still without a phone. 

Abstract by Christian Kutzner