To prove his financial means, Eduardo says he showed bank accounts from his companies, including one created specifically for the trip. “He asked if I had a cash account? I opened my account, showed my travel account, my CNPJ, I explained everything correctly. Luckily, the agent at the counter next door was listening, I think she understands a little more about the internet, and started to help me”, recalls the man from Ceará, who had already opened the profile you launched on Instagram about the trip to show, as another way to prove that he would not remain in the country.
“I think he thought I really wanted to emigrate to Portugal and that I created a very beautiful story. So, he did his part, it was his work, it wasn’t ignorance, but he really pushed me. The luck I think was that girl next door. In the end he looked, laughed and said ‘welcome to Portugal'”.
The trip
With authorized entry into Lisbon, on the 6th, Eduardo officially began his count towards the record. The goal is to travel to every country in the world in 15 months, or around 460 days. The current title belongs to American Michael Zervos, who passed through 196 nations in 498 days. “It took seven months to plan this. I sold some things, raised some initial money to start the trip, which will last four to six months at the most. I’m trusting in my planning, in my potential, that the rest of this money from the trip I will earn through work, through monetization, advertising, partnerships”, explains the businessman.
Aware that the world is full of conflicts, Eduardo intends to map the international scenario as the days go by. “I have to focus on blocks. Firstly, continental blocks. I decided to start in Europe from now on, I’m going to plan blocks within Europe, of five to seven countries. I mapped the whole world, I understand that there is a civil war, an armed war, there was an earthquake in Japan now. But it’s something that I understood, there’s no point in looking at the countries I’m going to do in a year, I have to look at today”, says Eduardo.
And when faced with a difficult scenario, the Brazilian guarantees that safety will be a priority, in addition to using strategies to ensure that he gets another ‘stamp’ on the journey towards the record.
“I will never put my life at risk for a record at any cost. But, obviously, there are strategies. For example, you don’t actually need to set foot in the country’s capital. I just need to break a border, have witnesses and set up a GPS.”
From Portugal, Eduardo left for Spain, went to Andorra and is now in France. The next destination could be Belgium or the Netherlands. “My family stayed in Fortaleza, following everything, I left friends, my company, I left everything, I threw everything into the air, and I’m 100% focused on that”, says the Brazilian, confidently.