Long ago there used to be a land bridge between Russia and Alaska. It's still close enough to swim between Russian and Alaskan islands in the Bering Strait. Sarah Palin famously said she could see Russia from her house. After The United States purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire in 1867 there continued many ties between Russia and Alaska. There is even a flight from Anchorage Alaska to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia. This flight exists as a bridge for Russian expats living or studying in Alaska. Alaskans travel to Kamchatka for fly fishing, bear hunting, and business. It's wild, sparsely populated, and even has volcanoes. Are you adventurous enough to take a flight like this?

If you have seen one of the many movies that include Rio De Janeiro in Brazil, you might have visited it or added it to your bucket list. If you do make it there why not take a "slight" detour and take the flight from Rio to Luanda, Angola? There aren't many direct flights between South America and Africa, yet both have expanding economies. Some adventurers fly from Brazil to South Africa on the Sao Paulo-Johannesburg flight. But why not throw Angola into the mix? Brazil and Angola have ties from sharing the same language (Portuguese) and because of historical slavery routes. Angola isn't on most travel lists, but it might be worth a look. Interested?

I am amazed this next one is viable. Oakland, CA to Terceira (Azores, Portugal). 5000 miles or 9 plus hrs on an Airbus 340 (4 jets on this one). Azorean immigration to the Bay Area started in the 1820's as whalers moved to California in search of these fine animals. This was followed by subsequent migrations in the early 1900s, and again in the 1960s escaping earthquakes and volcanoes. The cultural connections remain strong today. The Azores are a popular vacation destination to retrace this ancient sea route or visit the World Heritage city Angra do Heroísmo. Now that you know this, are you remotely interested?

This one seems almost logical compared to the first 3. It is Shanghai China to Tijuana Mexico. There are several reasons why such a route exists (and it's a long flight at almost 15 hours!) First, it allows travel between Asia and Mexico, Central America, and Latin America without needing a transit visa for the USA. It also serves the small but growing Chinese population in Mexico. There are 15,000 Chinese living in Tijuana's "Barrio Chino" (Chinatown). Have you ever had Chinese food in Mexico?

Some people take flights to destination to "get away from it all" or for a change of weather. but how do we explain this last one? Reykjavik, Iceland to Anchorage, Alaska? Why fly from a cold, lightly populated place a long way to another cold lightly populated place? Iceland Air has greatly expanded their low-cost long-haul routes between North America and Europe within the past few years, and they say this is a great way to get to Europe from Alaska. Even after it is explained to me and I have looked at this route on the map, it still does not look a logical thing to do. If you were an Alaskan, would you fly to Europe this way?