A tourist wandered the world for 23 years
The 44-year-old traveler, who has traveled the entire globe and has the title of “the first tourist to visit war-torn Mogadishu”, finally decided to unpack his backpack after 23 years of wandering.
(Total 25 photos)
Source: pixanews.com
1. Mike Spencer Bone in Mogadishu. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
Mike Spencer Bown, who has walked the whole world and visited 195 countries in 23 years of continuous wandering, is finally returning home.
2. Mike Spencer Bone in the sands of the Sahara in southern Algeria, June 2013. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
Mr. Spencer Bone can be called the most persistent traveler in the history of mankind. He completed a solo marathon from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, also visiting all the countries in between.
He became the first tourist in war-torn Mogadishu, hitchhiked to Saddam Hussein's hometown during the US invasion of Iraq, and lived with pygmies in the Congo.
3. Mike Spencer Bone in Pakistan. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
4. Mike Spencer Bone in Mongolia, 2009 Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
5. Mike Spencer Bone at Nam-Tso Lake in Nepal. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
6. Mike Spencer Bone with his travel partner Molly at Nam Tso Lake in Nepal. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
7. Mike Spencer Bone in the national Korean costume in Seoul. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
Mr. Spencer Bone has lost count of arrests and detentions. But despite visiting some of the most dangerous places on Earth, he escaped major trouble or illness, save for two brief bouts of malaria.
He hitchhiked for most of his trip, but - unlike most other travelers - he lingered for long periods in the countries he visited.
And all this - with the same reliable backpack with which he first left his native Canada in 1990.
8. Mike Spencer Bone at the Dragon Tree on Socotra. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
Mr. Spencer Bone says: “Every day of my adult life is a real adventure.
When I was 21, I thought about my future and asked myself: Has anyone ever tried to walk the entire globe? I thought, if not, why don't I try? So I went on my way.”
He added: “There are more than 300 people on Earth who have visited all the countries of the world, but I do not consider them real travelers. They are passengers in the fullest sense of the word, they don't travel, they travel."
9. Mike Spencer Bone with Tibet pilgrims. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
Over the years, Mike has visited Indonesia 20 times, Egypt twice, India six times, Cameroon five times, Peru twice, China three times, Africa dozens of times and Thailand almost 50 times.
He finances his travels by completing assignments for various companies: he trades silver in Bali, exports furniture from Java and precious stones from Africa.
He says: “I have never had any problems with money. I'm taking a calculated risk. I set up camps, sleep only in cheap hotels, stay with the locals and do what they do. It's easy to make money in Third World countries if you know how (and you'll find out if you live there long enough). If you want to circumnavigate the world, don't expect to drop $200+ a day: there's no budget for it. Forget about “holidays” and start living with the locals. If you don't know the price of something, then chances are you can't afford it."
During his odyssey, Mr. Spencer Bone often looked death in the eye in the mountains of Nepal and more than once ran into machine gun muzzles. He rode a reindeer sleigh with drunken Yakuts in Russia, helped healers in Mali, and canoeed past sleeping tigers in Bangladesh.
His most memorable moment was when he visited the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, in 2010. Mr. Spencer Bone went there in search of the legendary beaches, called the most beautiful in the world, and ran into hostility there. He was considered a spy by Somali immigration officials, and he only had difficulty managed to convince them of their loyalty.
“Somalia was the last and most dangerous country on my list. When I got to Mogadishu, I realized that I succeeded,” he says.
10. Mike Spencer Bone in Papua New Guinea. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
11. Mike Spencer Bone with his companion Molly in Iran, 2003. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
12. Mike Spencer Bone with a guide in the mountains of the Mongolian Altai. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
Mr. Spencer Bone rode through Afghanistan in the back seat of a motorcycle - sipping wine during a Taliban gunfight - and through Iraq during the second Gulf War.
In Pakistan, he was detained by the CIA, in South Asia he caught a mysterious strain of herpes, and in Antarctica he hung out with penguins.
Other adventurers have seen him living with the Bambuti Pygmy tribe in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, hunting antelope and fleeing a genocide by Hutu rebels.
But despite some risky situations, he says he never looked for danger on purpose.
He says: “The biggest danger is not countries, but groups of people in the “bad” areas on the outskirts of cities who are not part of the community – beware of such areas.
Many of the most interesting places are really dangerous - you can easily get killed there.”
13. Mike Spencer Bone in front of gorillas in Rwanda, 2010. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
14. Mike Spencer Bone during the second trip to Machu Picchu, 2009. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
15. Mike Spencer Bone with reindeer herders in Russia. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
16. Mike Spencer Bone in the Karakoram Mountains, Pakistan. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
17. Mike Spencer Bone with a friend in Pakistan. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
Mr. Spencer Bone, who completed more than a dozen different passport applications during his marathon, ended his trip to Ireland last month, where he spent several weeks before heading to his mother's home in Calgary, Canada.
After many years of loneliness, he finally met a woman on Facebook who is waiting for him in Canada.
But when asked if he is ready to calm down and finally end his odyssey, he replies: “Enough for now – at least for now.”
18. Mike Spencer Bone with Bambuti Pygmies in the Congo. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
19. Mike Spencer Bone in Tehran, 2003 Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
20. Mike Spencer Bone with his companion Molly (Molly Macindoe) with reindeer herders in Yakutsk, Russia. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
21. Mike Spencer Bone in Damascus, Syria. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
22. Mike Spencer Bone with Huli pygmies in Tari, Papua New Guinea. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
MIKE'S RECOMMENDED SET - WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU AROUND THE WORLD:
1. Mosquito net 2. Old worn backpack, least attractive to thieves 3. Mango peeler to scare off would-be burglars 4. Sturdy boots 5. Visa application form and lots of photos 6. Metal cup 7. Collared shirt for visiting embassies 8. A quick-drying khaki shirt with plenty of pockets to impress officials 9. An impressive business card with a good logo 10. Waterproof document cover
23. Mike Spencer Bone in Kyrgyzstan. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
24. Mike Spencer Bone in Somalia against the background of the rusty skeleton of an American tank. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
25. Mike Spencer Bone in Mogadishu. Photo: Mike Spencer Bown / SWNS
10 GOLDEN MOMENTS: WHAT YOU HAD TO EXPERIENCE AND SEE MIKE
1. Visit the Blue Whale Cemetery, South Georgia Island, Antarctica 2. Run from the police on a speedboat in the Niger Delta, Niger 3. Sprint down the black cone of a volcano in Guatemala 4. Be freed after being captured by pirates in Puntland , Somalia 5. Meet Sikh pilgrims at the Golden Temple of Amritsar, India 6. Interact with penguins under tall blue ice floes, Antarctica 7. Dugout Angel Falls, Venezuela 8. Face silverback mountain gorillas at Virunga Volcanoes National Park (Virunga), Rwanda 9. Walk the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru 10. Think Peace at Everest Base Camp