The Vagabond Adventurers are framed by Picture Frame Tree in Monument Valley, all the way back on Day 75.

They've covered 25% of the journey and a dozen of their 100 anticipated countries across five continents, so far.

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES, March 29, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- When National Geographic Explorer Chip Walter and his wife sold their home 18 months ago to begin their Vagabond Adventure, he didn’t know what lay ahead. “As an author and journalist, I’ve had the benefit of being a professional traveler for much of my career, exploring everywhere from the French Caves of Lascaux to the wilderness of Barrow, Alaska, across the Serengeti Plains of Africa, and deep into the Amazon jungle. This is something different. There is no home base. There are no deadlines, no schedules to conform to. Becoming a Vagabond is about adopting a wanderer’s mindset. It’s about surrendering control to unpredictability, making adaptation and acceptance into allies. And learning to pack lightly.”

It didn’t take long for “adaptation” to rear its head when a pandemic abruptly decided to shut the world down. Arrangements for the expedition had been underway for years. With worldwide travel uncertain, instead of departing immediately for the southern hemisphere, the first ports of call were in New England and north to the ancient Viking settlement found at the tip of Newfoundland. From there it was across North America’s plains, its wild West, down the Baja 1000 and up coastal California to Victoria and Vancouver before heading one more time into Montana.

The destinations might read like a list of popular attractions: Mt. Rushmore, Monument Valley or Baja. But hitting the hotspots to fulfill a bucket list isn’t the objective. Walter, who is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and the author of five books translated into seven languages, says his goal is “to share the world in depth, one day, one place and one person at a time. We want to see the unusual places, the ones off the beaten path.”

Walter prefers the little known story of the Hall of Records behind Abraham Lincoln’s cheek in Mt. Rushmore; sharing tales of lost mines and Najavo shamans rather than the exploits of film stars in Monument Valley. And the trip to Baja wasn’t about resorts and seafood. It was a visit to a research lab pursuing further investigation into the quest for human immortality as he wrote in "Immortality Inc.: Renegade Science, Silicon Valley Billions, and the Quest to Live Forever."

By the time their exploration of America concluded, the world had found a new level of normal. The Adventure was off to New York to hop the “the pond” by way of the Queen Mary II to western Europe, Portugal, Andorra, and three extraordinary weeks among the mysteries and joys of Moroccan Africa. They had now racked up more than 30,000 miles on the Adventure when it was finally time, 300 days later than intended, to sail into South America, hike the wilds of Incan Peru, and plow onto Patagonia, eventually to Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire) and Antarctica.

Day 500 passed in Chile with a stunning view of Torres del Paine (the Blue Towers) following a long hunt for Butch Cassidy’s Patagonian residence after being run out of Utah. Walter says that these sorts of quests fulfill the Vagabond Adventure’s mission “to illuminate, on a personal level, how our planet’s long and startling history has shaped us all. With every step we learn more, and grow more humble.” Aside from being awestruck at the views, there were no celebrations, nor toasts this day, not even quiet acknowledgement of the feat. It was simply another day on the road where the next decision would be north or south, left or right.

Will there be another 500 days? Easily. After 18 months and 80,000 miles, they’ve only covered 25 percent of the journey, and a dozen of their anticipated 100 countries. That will rapidly change as they move through northern and eastern Europe and into the Middle East. It took Ferdinand Magellan’s 1519 world circumnavigating expedition 1,126 days to conclude. By that measure, these adventurers are less than halfway there. As Walter has often said, “There is so much more to see and learn. So let’s crack on!”

Keep up with stories and notes from the expedition as it crisscrosses the globe through the Vagabond Adventure website or in real time through PolarSteps.

Eric Ruben
Human Light & Power Company
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