An Argentinian sailor who was unable to fly home from Portugal due to the COVID-19 pandemic decided to use the path less taken to do so.

According to a report by AFP, Juan Manuel Ballestero took 85 days to reach home using a small boat called a 'Skua'.

"I did it! I did it! I did it!," he said at the dockside when he reached his hometown of Mar del Plata.

After testing negative for COVID-19 on arrival, Ballestero was cleared to set foot on dry land.

A journey to see his parents

His journey may be tedious but he did it just to see his mother, 82-year-old Nilda and father Carlos, 90.

"I've achieved what I've been fighting for these last three months."

"It came down to this: to be with the family. That's why I came,” he told AFP.

He had hoped to arrive in Argentina by 15 May, to celebrate his father’s 90th birthday but did not meet the deadline.