Sunday, January 14, 2007

Don't mind the gap

Who knew that it is still possible to cross the Bering Strait on foot? Apparently Karl Bushby, a 37-year-old Briton, knew and he did so in March of last year, traversing the iced over 58 miles between the westernmost point of Alaska and the easternmost part of Russia.

Bushby, whose sea crossing actually covered 150 miles because of shifting ice, is more than halfway through a 36,000-mile walk almost around the world, from Cape Horn to Britain. (There is no similar freeze between the British Isles and Newfoundland that would allow him to complete the loop.)

Bushby and his crossing companion, French adventurer Dimitri Kieffer, were eventually arrested by Russian authorities for entering the country illegally. Of course, in their defense, there was no gate that they crashed or guard who they evaded. They just walked in through the wide-open back door.

After some diplomatic wrangling, the two were released. Currently Bushby appears to be walking somewhere in Russa.

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