British man walks across 29 countries in 28 years

57-year-old British traveler Karl Bushby has traveled over 50,000 kilometers on foot and by swimming across the world over the course of 28 years. Having completed the main part of his journey, which began in southern Chile in November 1998, he has finally arrived in England.

During his travels, Bushby visited a total of 29 countries. The main rule of his extraordinary journey was to cover the entire distance under his own power, without using any transport.

Along the way, the traveler crossed several dangerous and challenging regions. In particular, he walked through the Darién Gap in Colombia during ongoing armed conflicts. He also became the first person to walk across the Bering Strait from east to west. Additionally, he swam 296 kilometers across the Caspian Sea.

One of the final major challenges of Bushby's journey was swimming across the English Channel. On October 5, he reached the city of Dover in England from the French coast. The swim took place over three days, lasting a total of nearly 20 hours. He was greeted on the shore by his father, brothers, and friends. German director Werner Herzog, who is making a documentary about the traveler, was also among those who welcomed him.

Before the trip, the former paratrooper set two rules for himself: not to use transport along the way and not to turn back without reaching the destination under his own power. He carried all his belongings in a special cart he named "The Beast".

Initially, Bushby planned to finish the journey in 12 years. However, the trip was significantly prolonged due to visa issues, the 2008 global financial crisis, and the coronavirus pandemic. Delays were also caused by Russian authorities withholding his visa for a long time after he crossed the Bering Strait.

Nevertheless, Bushby continued to pursue his goal. His journey is not entirely finished yet: the traveler still has to walk about 400 more kilometers to his hometown of Hull in northern England.