No. 1 lesson the Goliath Expedition taught Karl Bushby about happiness
Karl Bushby has been traveling the world for the last 27 years.
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Karl Bushby was 29 years old when he left his hometown of Hull, England, and embarked on the adventure of his life. With $500 in his pocket and some survival equipment, he set out on a mission no one else in history had ever completed: to walk an uninterrupted path around the world.
Bushby’s so-called “Goliath Expedition” began in 1998 in Punta Arenas, Chile, a city near the southern tip of South America. This journey took him to many continents, including America, Asia and Europe, and ended with the aim of returning to the UK.
“The goal was to return home without any means of transportation,” Bushby told CNBC Make It.
Throughout the journey, Bushby followed two rules: He could only walk or swim without the aid of any means of transportation, and he could not return to Hull, England, until he had arrived entirely on foot.
“These seemed like two simple rules from the early days, but you know, when those two rules meet the reality of the real world, things can get very complicated, especially [with] visas, difficult governments and regimes, and some disputed borders [I’ve] “I had to cross the street,” he said.
After walking nearly 30 kilometers a day and facing unexpected setbacks, Bushby has now set out for Europe and hopes to complete his journey and return to England next year, Bushby told CNBC Make It.
Life as a traveler
Bushby has always been an adventurer. He says he went exploring with his brother all day before returning home for dinner.
Growing up in a military family, he was inspired by his father, who served in the British army. Bushby also joined the army at 16 and served in a parachute regiment for nearly 12 years before going on campaign.
At some point I started drawing lines on maps and daydreaming about great distances and distant horizons, and one thing led to another.
Karl Bushby
World Explorer
At a certain point during his tenure in the British army, Bushby became bored.
“I spent my 12 years in the British Army expecting to go somewhere we had never actually been, other than Northern Ireland,” he said. “We are living in one of the most peaceful periods in history,” he said.
“So we got bored and tired and wonderful and naughty,” he said. “At some point I started drawing lines on maps and daydreaming about great distances and distant horizons, and one thing led to another.”
One day Bushby drew a line from the United Kingdom, through Europe and Asia, through Siberia, across the Bering Strait to North America and the bottom of South America.
“Once I put this on the map, there was no turning back… The old hairs on the back of your neck stood up,” he said.
So in 1998 Bushby left the British army to begin the long journey. He took a military flight from the United Kingdom to the Falkland Islands, followed by a civilian flight to Punta Arenas in Chile, the starting point of his expedition.
The first day you step on the road [is] You’re on a journey that’s nearly 36,000 miles long and you have little idea what’s going to happen… At this point, you’re much further than a human mission to Jupiter.
Karl Bushby
World Explorer
“The first day you step on the road [is] it’s unforgettable because you’re so far from home at that point. You burned all the bridges. You told everyone you would rather die than come home,” Bushby said.
“You’ve got about $500 in your pocket, no support, no idea how it’s going to work, just absolute belief that you can somehow make it work. And you’re on a path that’s about 36,000 miles long and you have very little idea what’s going to happen. I mean… you’re further away than a human mission to Jupiter at that point,” he said.
Happiness lesson
Bushby’s journey over the last 27 years has brought him many close encounters.
He famously crossed the Darien Passage, was detained by Russian authorities, was imprisoned in Panama, nearly froze to death in Alaska, and swam across the Caspian Sea for 31 days.
In addition, he went days without food after walking for miles, relied on strangers for medical help, and spent many nights alone in a tent pitched by the roadside.
“The psychology of hunger is interesting. It’s not something most of us are used to. When you have no idea where your next meal is coming from, you become obsessed with finding something to eat,” Bushby said.
“You’ll see food everywhere, every shadow, every rock looks like something you could eat. Most of the time you’ll be running around chasing hallucinations,” he said.
Despite all the challenges he overcame, one of the greatest lessons he discovered throughout his journey had little to do with physical pain or endurance. It was more about happiness and how that ultimately comes from your relationships.
“If you ask me, what’s the hardest thing you’ve done in the last 27 years? Completely losing the women you loved. That’s the hardest thing you’ll ever deal with… Physical things; pain is easy, suffering is different,” Bushby said.
On the other hand, he said: “When I was happiest [was in] these relationships. When I’m with someone.”
He also learned that in all cultures and regions around the world, people are generally very kind. Many times throughout his journey, he says, he was taken, fed, and cared for by strangers who asked for nothing in return.
“You don’t even speak the same language, so it’s just smiles and nods and then they send you away… It’s just one story after another, and it’s in every culture, in every country,” he said.
“This world is much friendlier and more beautiful than it seems.”
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