Go, Sarah, go: a traveler from Switzerland walked 16 thousand km and crossed two continents

Many of the residents of modern megacities are proud when they are given the opportunity to walk a couple of stops. But not everyone is so spoiled by civilization — there are still real hikers in the world who do not care even a few thousand kilometers. Sarah Marquis from Switzerland somehow decided to take a big walk and walked 16 thousand km in 3 years.

During her journey, Sarah Marquis crossed two continents, six countries and wore eight pairs of shoes. And she also drank 3,000 cups of tea all alone, since Sarah does not recognize companions. The hike from Siberia to Australia took the woman three years: she covered a distance of 16,000 km exclusively on foot, not counting the crossing of seas and oceans.

Sarah Marquis was born in a small village in northern Switzerland, where people lived in harmony with mountains and forests and loved to walk on their own two. In an interview with CNN, the traveler admitted that she always aspired to a special unity with nature:

There was always plenty of nature around Sarah. At the age of 8, she made her first independent outing. Sarah took her dog, ran into the woods and spent the night in a cave. The older she got, the more difficult her routes were. Soon the girl began to explore hiking trails outside of cozy Europe.

On foot, Marquis crossed New Zealand, the USA, walked 14,000 km through the Australian outback and overcame the Andes. In 2010, Sarah went on her most challenging and exciting hike. She dreamed of understanding nature and truly realizing her place in it.

The three-year road began in Siberia. Sarah walked through the Gobi Desert, China, Laos and Thailand. From Thailand to Australia, the woman got on board a cargo ship en route to Brisbane. Sarah Marquis walked all over Australia and ended her journey near a well-known tree in the desert. Sarah discovered it 10 years ago when she first crossed the Green Continent on foot.

During the three years spent on the campaign, Sarah faced many difficulties. The main one was the search for food, for example, in the conditions of the Australian bush.

Of course, during her wanderings, Sarah could not help but encounter representatives of wild nature. There were also very risky meetings. But the brave traveler had her own point of view on them.

How would each of us behave in the Marquis's place? It is likely that there would not be so many people who would not panic in such a situation.

Yes, nature didn't scare Sarah Marquis as much as people sometimes shocked her. Needless to say, Sarah is still a woman and at some moments most of all she dreamed of having male muscles. In the jungles of Laos, a traveler was attacked by heavily armed drug dealers. Then Sarah miraculously managed to avoid death.

Sometimes the Marquis even had to pretend to be a man in order to cross territories where women are disenfranchised. She had a particularly difficult time in Central China. There, in the countryside, a rigid patriarchy still reigns. A woman who appears on the street unaccompanied by a man is considered unworthy and publicly available in those parts.

Going on such a long hike, Sarah could not count on the fact that she would always be full. Very often she had to get food and water on her own. Despite the fact that the Marquis considers herself a part of nature, or maybe that's why, she did not hesitate to use the gifts of the animal and plant world.

The woman had to collect beetles and larvae, catch fish with homemade gear, look for tree fruits, nuts, mushrooms and root crops. Sometimes there was plenty of water, and often there was none at all. Crossing the desert areas, the Marquess collected dew at night with an inverted umbrella. By morning, she had no more than two or three sips. It also happened that due to the lack of life-giving moisture, she had to not wash for a month or even more.

Sarah Marquis shares her experience on the YouTube channel. The traveler also goes with lectures and seminars, where she shares her experience of extreme survival. Not so long ago, she released a book in which she described her most grandiose journey. It tells the story of the hike from the very beginning. The woman started planning the trip two years before the start. She tried to foresee everything, but, of course, it didn't work out.

The woman is sure that she has not done anything special and everyone will be able to repeat her "feat" if they really want to: