My Thoughts on Karl Bushby & The Longest Walk

(YouTube screenshot of Karl Bushby reuniting with his mother, Angela, in Kington-Upon-Hull, U.K. for the first time since 1998)

I must admit that until a few days ago, I was not aware of Karl Bushby's near three-decade mission to walk the Earth as part of his Goliath Expedition.

Today, Bushby returned to his Kingston-Upon-Hull home where he saw his mother for the first time since 1998.

He started this journey when he was 29. He is now 57. This walk took nearly half his lifetime.

His journey home started from the southernmost point in Chile making his way north up South America into Central America, North America, Russia, Central Asia, Europe and finally back to the U.K. 

Bushby expected to have completed this journey in half the time, but well walking the Earth isn't so easy. Some of the obstacles Bushby ran into were lack of funds, not having the proper visas necessary to travel on his route, being arrested and detained and then throw in a global pandemic into the mix. This doesn't include having to navigate rough terrain, inclement weather, isolation, scarcity of food and medicine and heaven forbid you get sick or injured. 

In Bushby's case, his military experience as a paratrooper sure came in handy. If nothing else, one learns to be resourceful with very little at hand. But even the heartiest among us have their limits.

While one has to admire Bushby's spirit, I cannot help but think of his mother who hadn't seen him for all these years. She must have wondered almost every day if she would ever see him again. While I am sure that he kept in touch with her by phone, email and regular mail, I think you can make the case that she had a more arduous journey than he did.

I can only hope that Bushby spends some quality time with his mother not to mention the son he scarcely knows and a 12-year-old granddaughter he only met today. Bushby will be embarking upon a speaking tour around the U.K. later this month. One would hope his family will be welcome to join him on this journey.

Given that Bushby has spent nearly half his life as a wayfaring vagabond, I cannot help but wonder how long it will be before he decides to embark upon another mission. If he does, I suspect that it will likely be the last time he ever sees his family.