Seven years ago, Tom Turcich left his home in New Jersey and started walking. Since then, he has barely stopped his epic journey. Throughout the trip, his best companion has been Savannah, his loyal dog.
On May 21, 2022, Tom became the 10th person in the world to set this impressive record, while Savannah became the first dog to achieve it.
Tom and his furry friend were welcomed home with a big party attended by family and many friends.
Tom’s decision to walk around the world started from a painful loss in 2006, when his longtime friend Ann Marie died in a jet ski accident at 17. “It hit me hard. I realized I could die anytime too. I started to rethink everything.”
After reading about Steven Newman, the first person recorded by Guinness World Records to walk around the world, and explorer Karl Bushby, who has been walking since 1998, Tom decided to take on the challenge himself.
“Walking seemed like the best way to truly understand the world and discover new places,” Tom said. “I didn’t just want to visit Paris or Machu Picchu, I wanted to really see how people live day to day.”
When he set out, Tom mapped his route and started saving money for the trip.
He worked summer jobs during college and moved back in with his parents after graduating. Once his plan was known, his company even offered some support.
Nearly nine years after the idea first came to him, Tom took his first steps on the journey around the world.
He left on April 2, 2015, just before his 26th birthday, carrying a stroller packed with hiking gear, a sleeping bag, laptop, camera, and a plastic container for food.
A Loyal Companion
The entire journey took 7 years, mainly due to two major delays. The first was when Tom got sick with a bacterial infection and needed months to recover. The second was the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before this life-changing trip, Tom hadn’t traveled much, mostly just visiting the UK, Ireland, and Wales during a high school exchange, plus vacations in Canada and the Dominican Republic.
He also had limited hiking experience, though he had done a 10-day hike with a friend and some weekend trips.
The first leg took Tom from New Jersey to Panama. About four months in, he got his travel buddy, a puppy named Savannah, from an animal shelter in Austin, Texas.
After the first year on the road, Tom set up an account so followers could help fund the journey.
Most of the second year was spent traveling from Bogota, Colombia to Montevideo, Uruguay, then taking a boat to Antarctica.
Around this time, Tom returned home briefly to get paperwork needed to continue to Europe with Savannah.
Once in Europe, they traveled through Ireland and Scotland but had to pause when Tom fell ill.
Tom then explored Spain, France, and Portugal. After that, he and Savannah crossed North Africa, walking through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.
From there, they moved through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece. After Greece, they reached Turkey.
Then Tom and his dog traveled to Georgia and Azerbaijan, where they had to stay for six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Journey Home
After walking through Kyrgyzstan, they flew to Seattle in August 2021 and began heading back to their home in New Jersey.
Out of all the places on the trip, Tom said Wyoming was the toughest.
“It was so remote,” he said, recalling weekends spent walking without seeing a single store or person, only finally spotting a tiny gas station.
Guinness World Records requires walking at least 18,000 miles (about 30,000 km) and crossing 4 continents for a world walk, goals Tom achieved.
On average, Tom and Savannah walked 18 to 24 miles (29 to 38 km) a day.
Sources: CNN, SMH
