Preparation for the expedition of the training sailing vessels of Rosrybolovstvo (Sedov, Pallada and Kruzenshtern) is heading into the homestretch. Participants of the expedition, their relatives and all persons concerned are scrutinizing maps of the world, and especially the ports of call. 

Interrelation and interconnection of people from all over the world was illustrated by a blogger Peter Atwood. He created a series of maps showing only the places and networks which connect people. These are routes of communication which help people to exchange ideas and goods. You can trace motorways, airways and waterways on his maps. Peter's maps show close connection between cities, countries and even entire continents. "Try to find the place where you live on each map. What sort of connections can you find?",- explained his idea the author. 

There are more than 60 million kilometers of roads in the world. Even in uninhibited parts of the world and in places where no one lives, you can find roads stretching across deserts and mountains to connect people on the other side.

The map of cities clearly shows areas of biggest concentration of people. You can see the biggest city in the world Tokyo-it shines brightly. Meanwhile, deserts and jungles in Africa, South America and Australia almost completely disappear. 

Most of the cities were founded along the coastline or on the river bank. For thousands of years the different parts of the world were connected only by means of shipping. Cargo transportation has always been a huge constituent of world trade. 

The railway map shows different tendencies around the globe. Developed network of high-speed trains runs through Europe, so commuters can travel easily by means of public transport only. In North America trains are mainly used for long distance cargo transportation. In Africa, most of the railroads were built by European colonizers to carry goods to the coast to be shipped back to Europe. And in Australia the longest trains in the world with more than 500 cars carry coal and minerals across the outback. 

Some of the most isolated parts of the planet can only be reached by air. Cities in the Amazon rainforest, in the Australian Outback and in the Canadian North are not connected to the rest of the world by motorways or railways. 

Maps: blue-ports, yellow-cities, pink-roads, green-railways, red-airports