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He left Chile on foot to England 28 years ago. He's almost finally home
NPR • • world
Key Points:
- British adventurer Karl Bushby has nearly completed his "Goliath Expedition," a 28-year mission to walk an unbroken path from the southern tip of Chile to his hometown in England without using transportation.
- The journey included crossing challenging terrains like the Darién Gap jungle between Panama and Colombia and the 58-mile Bering Strait ice wall, which he crossed in 14 days in 2006.
- Bushby faced numerous obstacles, including loss of financial sponsorship during the 2007-2008 financial crisis, visa denial by Russia in 2012, and having to swim the Caspian Sea in 2024 after land routes closed.
- The expedition has had a significant personal cost, with limited contact with family and a changed sense of home, as Bushby has rarely seen his mother, son, and granddaughter during the nearly three decades of travel.
- Bushby recently swam the English Channel after being denied access to the Channel Tunnel and aims to reach his mother's home in Hull, England, by November 1, marking the end of his extraordinary journey.
