As I mentioned before, Tuvalu is the least visited country in the world.

Over the few days I spent there, I got to know quite a few fellow travelers. They were easy to spot. You would invariably find them either at the pool bar or at Sue’s Kitchen! Most were from Australia or Europe, including Luxembourg, the UK, Germany, and Switzerland. Curiously, I did not run into a single tourist from the United States.

But I noticed something else.

If you meet a tourist in Tuvalu, chances are you have met one of the world’s true nomads.

It makes perfect sense. A tiny, remote island nation with minimal infrastructure is probably not where you come for your tenth or even twentieth country. You get here after years of chasing distant corners of the globe.

On my last day, I found myself sharing a lunch table with four other travelers at Sue’s Kitchen while we waited for the plane that would take us away.

“How many countries have you been to, Rajib?” Louise from the UK asked.

“Seventy-two by the UN count. Eighty-six by the ISO count.”

“How about you two?” I asked Louise and her partner, Jeff.

“One hundred five by the UN count. One hundred seventeen by the ISO.”

“Wow! How about you, Tony?” I asked another gentleman I had just met, originally from the UK but now living in Australia.

“One hundred forty.”

My jaw dropped.

Then we all turned to the fifth person at the table. Sadly, I have forgotten his name. His answer, however, I will never forget.

“All but four countries.”

“What? Which four?” I blurted out.

Ironically, I have already been to all four. They were all Caribbean nations.

The conversation that followed was mesmerizing. Louise and Jeff spoke about their recent trip to Afghanistan. Tony had just completed visits to all fourteen sovereign countries of Oceania on this very journey. Our fifth companion talked about traveling to every country in Africa, including Western Sahara.

I just sat there listening.

These were not tourists.

These were explorers in the truest sense of the word.

And as impressive as my own travel journey has felt at times, sitting at that table reminded me just how much of the world is still waiting to be discovered.