Karl Bushby returns home after 28 years of walking around the world.

Karl Bushby, a 57-year-old former British paratrooper, has finally returned home to Hull in northeast England after completing an extraordinary feat: walking around the world in 28 years. His journey began in 1998 from Punta Arenas, Chile, when he was 29 years old, and led him to cross four continents and 29 countries, covering approximately 50,000 kilometers.

During his trek, Bushby adhered to two strict rules: not using any form of transportation and not returning home before completing his mission. He faced extreme challenges, such as crossing the Bering Strait on ice, was detained in Russia on charges of espionage, threatened at gunpoint, and came face-to-face with a polar bear. Upon his return, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham described his achievement as "an example of courage, resilience, and an indomitable spirit."

Welcomed by a crowd and his mother Angela, Bushby shared that he returned with only 40-50 pounds in his pocket and must "start from scratch." He thanked the thousands of people he met during his journey who helped, hosted, and cared for him when he was ill, emphasizing how "the world has been his support network."

The idea of walking around the world was born in 1998 in the mind of Karl Bushby, then a 29-year-old former British Army paratrooper. He set out from southern Chile with the ambitious goal of returning to his hometown, Hull, without ever using transportation, walking across all the territories separating the two points. This project led him to conceive one of the longest and most challenging endurance feats in modern history.

Bushby's route unfolded across four continents (the Americas, Asia, Europe), facing extreme geographical challenges such as crossing the Darien Gap in Central America, one of the world's most impenetrable jungles, and the frozen Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia. The difficulties were not only natural: in 2006, he was arrested in Russia on charges of espionage for crossing the border without authorization, spending months in detention before being deported. These obstacles greatly extended the journey's timeline, initially estimated at 12 years.

After nearly three decades of walking, Bushby has set the world record for the longest uninterrupted walk. His feat demonstrates how a project born from an individual idea transformed into a collective odyssey, supported by the generosity of thousands of people met along the way who helped him with food, shelter, and medical care, allowing him to complete an endeavor that challenged the limits of human endurance.