Karl Bushby reached his hometown of Hull, England, on Nov. 2, completing a journey of more than 58,000 kilometers that began in Chile in 1998. (Foto: Instagram)
British adventurer Karl Bushby, 57, reached his hometown of Hull in northeastern England on Nov. 2, completing a journey that began in Chile on Nov. 1, 1998. He traveled across four continents without using transportation, covering more than 58,000 kilometers and crossing the Bering Strait and the English Channel.
About 500 people, including relatives, friends and local politicians, welcomed Bushby in Hull. He also met his 12-year-old granddaughter, Harley, for the first time. The reunion was private and had not been photographed. When Bushby set out, he had recently divorced and left behind his son, Adam, then 8. Adam is now 36 and a father. The two reportedly saw each other only three times during the nearly three decades Bushby was away, when the journey’s logistical breaks brought him back to England.
Bushby had initially expected the trip to take 10 to 12 years. His mother, Angela Bushby, now 75, stayed at the family home waiting for him throughout the journey. Bushby initially paid for the expedition, which he called the Goliath Expedition, himself, but later attracted sponsors, including a U.S.-based documentary company.
As a child, Bushby experienced bullying and was considered “stupid” at school because of severe dyslexia. He was diagnosed at 13. He later served for 12 years in the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment. While in the military, he mapped a possible route for the journey he had long dreamed of taking.
Bushby began in Punta Arenas, at the southern tip of Chile, when he was 29. He traveled through Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, and said his military knowledge and help from his father, also a military servicemember, helped him escape armed gangs on the way to Panama. His route continued through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, the United States and Canada.
In March 2006, Bushby and French adventurer Dimitri Kieffer crossed the Bering Strait over an ice bridge connecting Alaska and Russia. Russian authorities arrested them for entering the country illegally. They were later released after the intervention of then-British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. Bushby continued through Siberia, Mongolia and China, then traveled to Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. The account says he later chose not to travel through Iran and Russia because of international tensions, swimming across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan instead. He then went through Turkey before entering Europe.
On social media, Bushby recalled feeling overwhelmed and excited on the journey’s first day. He said he had no idea how the plan would work, but believed he could do it, adding that confidence could take a person a long way. After reaching England, he posted that eating fish and chips meant he was home. In Hull, he told local media the welcome was “truly amazing” and “unbelievable,” saying he had never imagined such a reception. He said returning to the United Kingdom and finishing the journey was “phenomenal,” and credited the kindness of strangers with helping him reach that point. He also described feeling mixed emotions about leaving behind what had been most of his life, and said he planned to see the rest of his family and relax.
