By Fatma Younis
British adventurer Karl Bushby, 57, is days away from completing a 28-year, 31,000-mile (50,000-kilometer) walk around the world, with the finish line in his hometown of Hull, England, expected on Monday. Bushby began his "Goliath Expedition" on November 1, 1998, at the southern tip of South America, aiming to return home on foot without using any form of transport to move forward.
A Journey of Epic Proportions
Over nearly three decades, Bushby has crossed four continents and 30 countries, navigating jungle, desert, tundra, and shifting ice. He swam across the Caspian Sea and the English Channel, traversed the Bering Strait on ice, and survived encounters with a polar bear, crocodile-infested waters, a mob attack in Peru, and a helicopter rescue from a drifting ice floe. The trek has taken nearly three times longer than Odysseus's mythical voyage home.
Strict Rules and Major Setbacks
Bushby imposed two rules: no transportation to advance and a return home on foot. Early hardships included hurricane-force winds on the Patagonian Steppe, an 18-day jail stint in Panama, and a near-fatal plunge during the Bering Strait crossing in 2006. Russian visa denials stalled him for almost a decade, prompting a protest walk from Los Angeles to the Russian Embassy in Washington. The pandemic and geopolitical closures forced a 31-day swim across the Caspian Sea using a technique he calls "floatimming."
Personal Costs and Support
The journey has strained family ties; Bushby has not seen his mother in a decade and his son grew up largely without him. Two long-term relationships ended due to his itinerant lifestyle. Sponsors have come and gone, but for the past 16 years a production company backed by "House of Cards" creator Beau Willimon and music producer Jordan Tappis has funded a documentary by filmmaker Werner Herzog. Bushby credits the kindness of strangers, especially the poorest communities, for sustaining him.
Final Stretch and Celebrity Welcome
As Bushby pushes a cart through northern England, locals have begun celebrating his passage. Truck drivers honk, motorcyclists stop for selfies, and onlookers express awe at his feat. Once mistaken for Kurt Cobain in an internet conspiracy, Bushby now sports a weathered look but remains focused. "I'm not doing it because I like walking," he said. "It's a means of getting somewhere." He admits uncertainty about life after the walk ends.
