Karl Bushby

In 1998 British ex-paratrooper Karl Bushby undertook the longest world walking trip possible. He began at the tip of the Pan-American highway in Punta Ares, Chile with plans to walk through the Americas and cross the Bering Strait. From there he planned to cross Asia through Russia, continue across Europe, and walk through the Channel Tunnel to return to Britain. He planned this feat as a solo journey, beginning with few sponsors and little back up. He originally pulled a modified golf cart with his gear. He hoped to complete his entire trip by 2011.

There were two parts of the book that I thought the most interesting. The first was crossing the Darien Gap, the jungle between the border of Panama and Columbia, which the book describes as ”having swallowed explorers alive for centuries, today guerillas, drug-runners, poachers and jaguars rule this vast no-man’s land” p 150

The second of course, was the crossing of the Bering Strait which he chose to do in the winter to minimize the amount of open water. In this part of the expedition he was joined by French adventurer Dimitri Kieffer.

However, I was somewhat disappointed by his descriptions of the lands he traveled through – mostly on roads- and the peoples he met. This is not a travelogue with vivid accounts but his daily diary entries consisting mostly of miles traveled, things he ate and individuals he met who gave him a helping hand. He managed quite a bit of his trip by relying on his charm (and seemed to be very proud of his attractiveness to women).

While this book ends after his crossing of the Bering Strait, his continuing expedition was slowed trying to get permission to cross through Russia which eventually he was able to do. He is now stalled out at the Iranian border as he has not yet been granted permission to continue through that country.… (meer)