The former British Army paratrooper had left Chile in 1998 with two golden rules for his journey: use no means of transport to move forward, and not to return home before reaching the end of the challenge. The 57-year-old Brit completed the final leg of his epic on Monday at midday by reaching his mother’s house, Angela, whom he embraced emotionally amid cameras and photo equipment. Welcomed by neighbors, he also reunited with his son Adam, 36, and met his 12-year-old granddaughter for the first time.
“Walking up the street of my childhood, to the house of my childhood” was an intensely emotional moment, he said at a press briefing after these reunions. For a long time, “Hull has been that mythical place, so distant, behind so many obstacles. It is only recently, once in Europe, that everything began to accelerate.”
Karl Bushby walked the length of the American continent, crossed the Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia, and then trekked through Central Asia and Europe. The crossing of the Darién jungle, between Panama and Colombia, and the crossing of Alaska were particularly demanding trials, the former paratrooper recalled.
“I didn’t do this alone (…) you can’t imagine the number of people who were involved in overcoming the obstacles”, from visa refusals to swimming the English Channel, he said earlier in the day, at a ceremony in front of Hull Town Hall. Hundreds of residents welcomed their hero there, with a banner “Welcome home Karl”. “Everyone is proud of you, proud of your courage”, said the mayor, Maria Coward.
“I find Karl incredible. I have been following him for eight years, and he has been walking since I was born, it’s amazing”, said AFP Erin Anderson, a 28-year-old marketing executive.
Visas and the Pandemic
The spokesman for the government’s leader Andy Burnham also praised the “extraordinary feat” of Karl Bushby, stating that “the Prime Minister is happy to see him return to the United Kingdom”. The adventurer, who said he was “absolutely overwhelmed” by the reception he received in his country, had been hailed on Sunday as he crossed the Humber Bridge, about three hours on foot from his home, through thick fog.
Karl Bushby began his journey at the age of 29, after the failure of his marriage and his wife moving to Northern Ireland with their son. His trek was interrupted several times: Moscow notably refused him a visa for several years. And other visa problems, the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic cost him fourteen of his 28 years of travel, he told AFP.
DURING these periods, the adventurer put his journey on hold — he even lived in places such as Mexico — and resumed his route as soon as an obstacle was removed. He has crossed 29 countries. “We stood up to governments. We faced some very difficult challenges”, he affirmed on Monday.
A Documentary in the Works
He had arrived in the United Kingdom on October 5 by swimming the English Channel from France. A few relatives, including his father, had welcomed him on the beach near Dover, in southern England.
“It’s good to feel British soil under my feet again after all these years”, he commented at the time. “It wasn’t easy, but that was the whole point: to prove that I could do more than I thought I was capable of. We can all achieve far more than we imagine”, the adventurer added.
The German filmmaker Werner Herzog and a filming crew joined Karl Bushby for his return, the director preparing a documentary on his journey titled “Walk of Life”. The production company behind the film supported his trek financially and logistically for 16 years.
What Will He Do Now?
If he plans to give many talks about his voyage over the coming year, other adventurers he knows have “struggled” to adapt after returning, he acknowledged on Monday. “I expect I will go through that too. The only way to move past it is to find another mission, another passion (…) and that is what I intend to do“.
