Great travelers of our time. Great Russian travelers and their discoveries A story about three famous explorers

Who: Semyon Dezhnev, Cossack chieftain, merchant, fur trader.

When: 1648

What I discovered: The first to pass through the Bering Strait, which separates Eurasia from North America. Thus, I found out that Eurasia and North America are two different continents, and that they do not meet.

Who: Thaddeus Bellingshausen, Russian admiral, navigator.

When: 1820.

What I discovered: Antarctica together with Mikhail Lazarev on the frigates Vostok and Mirny. Commanded the Vostok. Before the expedition of Lazarev and Bellingshausen, nothing was known about the existence of this continent.

Also, the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev finally dispelled the myth about the existence of the mythical “Southern Continent”, which was mistakenly marked on all medieval maps of Europe. Navigators, including the famous Captain James Cook, searched for this “Southern Continent” in the Indian Ocean for more than three hundred and fifty years without any success, and of course, found nothing.

Who: Kamchaty Ivan, Cossack and sable hunter.

When: 1650s.

What I discovered: peninsula of Kamchatka, named after him.

Who: Semyon Chelyuskin, polar explorer, officer of the Russian fleet

When: 1742

What I discovered: the northernmost cape of Eurasia, named Cape Chelyuskin in his honor.

Who: Ermak Timofeevich, Cossack chieftain in the service of the Russian Tsar. Ermak's last name is unknown. Possibly Tokmak.

When: 1581-1585

What I discovered: conquered and explored Siberia for the Russian state. To do this, he entered into a successful armed struggle with the Tatar khans in Siberia.

Who: Ivan Krusenstern, Russian naval officer, admiral

When: 1803-1806.

What I discovered: He was the first Russian navigator to travel around the world together with Yuri Lisyansky on the sloops “Nadezhda” and “Neva”. Commanded "Nadezhda"

Who: Yuri Lisyansky, Russian navy officer, captain

When: 1803-1806.

What I discovered: He was the first Russian navigator to circumnavigate the world together with Ivan Kruzenshtern on the sloops “Nadezhda” and “Neva”. Commanded the Neva.

Who: Petr Semenov-Tyan-Shansky

When: 1856-57

What I discovered: He was the first European to explore the Tien Shan Mountains. He also later studied a number of areas in Central Asia. For his exploration of the mountain system and services to science, he received from the authorities of the Russian Empire the honorary surname Tien-Shansky, which he had the right to pass on by inheritance.

Who: Vitus Bering

When: 1727-29

What I discovered: He was the second (after Semyon Dezhnev) and the first of the scientific researchers to reach North America, passing through the Bering Strait, thereby confirming its existence. Confirmed that North America and Eurasia are two different continents.

Who: Khabarov Erofey, Cossack, fur trader

When: 1649-53

What I discovered: mastered part of Siberia and the Far East for the Russians, studied the lands near the Amur River.

Who: Mikhail Lazarev, Russian naval officer.

When: 1820

What I discovered: Antarctica together with Thaddeus Bellingshausen on the frigates Vostok and Mirny. Commanded the Mirny. Before the expedition of Lazarev and Bellingshausen, nothing was known about the existence of this continent. Also, the Russian expedition finally dispelled the myth about the existence of the mythical “Southern Continent”, which was marked on medieval European maps, and which sailors unsuccessfully searched for for four hundred years in a row.

The article contains information about Russian navigators and explorers. Reflects the significance of the discoveries they made. Includes some historical information.

Russian travelers and discoverers

Russian travelers made an invaluable contribution to the field of geographical discoveries, as well as to the exploration and exploration of the globe. Many significant objects on Earth are named in their honor. For example:

• Cape Dezhnev;
• Bering Sea;
• Semenov Glacier.

The scientific research of Russian discoverers and the detailed maps they compiled were of great importance for the development of geography not only in Russia, but also in the world.
Almost three decades earlier than Vasco da Gama, the merchant from Tver Afanasy Nikitin (year of birth unknown - died in 1474) visited India.

He set out on a trade trip. During his wanderings (1468-1474), Nikitin visited many previously unexplored countries. He lived in India for three years. All this time he wrote down his every step in detail. Later, the book “Walking across the Three Seas” was published, which was based on his notes. The book contained both notes and illustrations made by Nikitin.

Rice. 1. Afanasy Nikitin.

Discoveries in the Heat of Struggle

Almost all travelers of the 15th-16th centuries are known in history more as invaders of lands than as their discoverers and pioneers. These people were puzzled by the search for wealth in overseas countries. This is what drove them in the process of searching for new lands. Significant geographical discoveries happened as if by themselves. Approximately the same story happened with the development of Siberia. But the opinions of historians differ on this matter.

Ermak Timofeevich Alenin (1530/1540 -1585) is rightly considered the pioneer of these lands.

TOP 4 articleswho are reading along with this

Rice. 2. Ermak.

He was sent by Ivan the Terrible to protect his lands from the raids of the Nogai Horde.

After the surviving Horde members complained to the Moscow Tsar about the willfulness of the local Cossacks, Ivan the Terrible allegedly punished the troublemakers by allowing them to retreat to the Perm lands, where the Cossacks came in very handy and continued to defend Russian possessions from the raids of the Siberian Khan Kuchum. Since then, the development of the richest region of Russia began.

After the death of the famous ataman, many regions of Russia claimed that Ermak was a native of their places.

Table “Discoveries of Russian travelers”

At the beginning of the 16th century, it was difficult for the peoples of the North to establish trade relations with India. The Spanish and Portuguese colonists did not want to allow strangers into the territories they conquered.
In those days, the passage through the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific was known to people only by rumor.
But in the Russian lands a man was found who was not afraid to go on a dangerous journey across the Arctic Ocean. This was the Russian navigator, explorer and traveler Semyon Dezhnev (1605-1673).

Rice. 3. Semyon Dezhnev.

Exploration of the northeastern section of the sea route from the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific is closely intertwined with his name. His voyage and subsequent discovery of the strait between America and Asia is often equated with the journey of the famous discoverer of America, Christopher Columbus.
Another famous Russian navigator who contributed to world geography was Vitus Bering. He became the first traveler in Russian history to lead a purposeful expedition with a geographical focus.

Bering led two Kamchatka expeditions. While passing between the Chukotka Peninsula and Alaska, they confirmed the presence of a strait.

The strait between Russia and the United States was named after the navigator. Bering reached North America, where he discovered the islands of the Aleutian chain during the Second Kamchatka Expedition.

What have we learned?

From the topic on geography (5th grade), we became familiar with the difficulties that prevented discoveries. We found out the reasons that influenced the discovery of previously unknown territories.

Test on the topic

Evaluation of the report

Average rating: 4.7. Total ratings received: 545.

If you think that with the passing of the Age of Great Geographical Discovery, outstanding travelers also disappeared into oblivion, then you are mistaken! Our contemporaries also made the most amazing journeys. Among them are scientists who went in search of confirmation of their theories, explorers of the deep sea, and simply adventurers who risked going on a trip around the world alone or with like-minded people. Many documentaries have been created about their travels, and thanks to them, we can see the whole world through their eyes, real, alive, full of dangers and adventures.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Jacques Cousteau captivated millions of people by showing them on movie screens how beautiful the underwater world is, giving them the opportunity to see what was previously inaccessible to humans.

Thor Heyerdahl

Together with his team, he reached Raroia Atoll in 101 days, sailing 4,300 miles. This was one of his most famous voyages, the Kon-Tiki Expedition, on a homemade raft. The film he shot during his trip won an Oscar in 1951.

And in 1969, he set out on a new dangerous expedition on a papyrus boat to prove, to prove the possibility of crossing the Atlantic Ocean by African peoples. However, Thor Heyerdahl's first voyage on the boat "Ra" ended in failure; the boat sank just 600 miles short of the island of Barbados.

A year later, the stubborn Norwegian repeated his journey and sailed from Morocco to Barbados in 57 days. By the way, the doctor on this expedition was our compatriot Yuri Senkevich. Heyerdahl later visited the Maldives, Peru and Tenerife.

Yuri Senkevich

as a medical researcher, Senkevich was trained to participate in space flight,
participated in the 12th Antarctic expedition to the Vostok station in order to study human behavior in extreme conditions,
traveled on the papyrus boat "Ra", then on the "Ra-2" and in the Indian Ocean on the "Tigris".

Millions of Soviet television viewers were able to see the world, as they joked “through the eyes of Sienkiewicz.” By the way, the program “Cinema Travel Club” was included in the Guinness Book of Records.

Nikolay Drozdov

An interesting fact about Nikolai Nikolaevich himself - his great-great-great-grandfather was Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, and his maternal great-great-grandfather Ivan Romanovich von Dreiling was an orderly of Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov.

Nikolai Drozdov traveled all over the world, all zoological and national parks, studying the habitats and habits of animals in natural conditions, climbed Elbrus, participated in a long expedition on the research vessel "Callisto" and in the first Soviet expedition to Everest, and went to Mount Everest twice. The North Pole, walked along the Northern Sea Route on the icebreaker Yamal, sailed along the coasts of Alaska and Canada on the Discovery.

Fedor Konyukhov

But the life of our famous compatriot is not filled with travel alone - Fyodor Konyukhov became the youngest member of the Union of Artists of the USSR and the author of twelve books about travel. There were new plans ahead: a flight around the world in a hot air balloon and a circumnavigation in 80 days for the Jules Verne Cup, as well as a dive into the Mariana Trench. However, having been ordained a priest in 2010, Fyodor Konyukhov decided not to travel anymore, but... the ways of the Lord are mysterious and the famous traveler is again at the helm. This spring, he “broke” the Russian record and stayed in the air in a balloon for 19 hours and 10 minutes.

Bear Grylls

The list of his travels is impressive: he sailed around the British Isles in thirty days, crossed the North Atlantic in an inflatable boat, flew a steam-powered plane over Angel Falls, paraglided over the Himalayas, led an expedition to one of the most distant unclimbed peaks in Antarctica and arranged... a gala dinner in a balloon at an altitude of more than seven thousand meters! Most of Grylls' expeditions are for charity.

Abbey Sunderland

The journey turned out to be more dangerous than expected: between Australia and Africa, 2 thousand miles from the coast, the hull of the yacht was damaged and the engine failed. After this message, communication was interrupted, the search for Abby's yacht was unsuccessful and she was declared missing. A month later, Australian rescuers in the area of ​​a severe storm discovered the lost yacht and Abby alive and unharmed. Who will say after this that a woman has no place on a ship?

Jason Lewis

The expedition started from Greenwich in 1994; in February 1995, the travelers reached the shores of the United States and, after 111 days of sailing, decided to cross America separately on roller skates. Lewis had to interrupt his trip for 9 months after an accident. After recovery, Lewis goes to Hawaii, from where he sails on a pedal boat to Australia, where he had to spend some time earning money for further travel... by selling T-shirts.

In 2005, he reaches Singapore and then crosses China and India by bicycle. By March 2007, he reached Africa and also crossed the whole of Europe on a bicycle: Romania, Bulgaria, Austria, Germany and Belgium. After swimming across the English Channel, Jason Lewis returned to London in October 2007.

Updated: 10/22/2019 08:05:28

Expert: Savva Goldshmidt

*Review of the best sites according to the editors. About the selection criteria. This material is subjective in nature, does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before purchasing, consultation with a specialist is required.

Today we know almost everything about our planet; every corner of the Earth has been carefully explored, described, photographed and found its place in geographical textbooks. And thanks to the active development of tourism, you can visit any exotic countries yourself or even go on a cruise to the shores of Antarctica. But several centuries ago, the only reliable source of knowledge about distant countries and territories were brave travelers who made an invaluable contribution to the exploration of our planet. Their names and discoveries will forever remain in history. Below we invite you to learn about the ten most famous travelers.

Rating of the most famous travelers and their discoveries

Famous Norwegian traveler, known primarily for his polar expeditions. Roald Amundsen dreamed of becoming a navigator since childhood; he was inspired by the example of Rear Admiral John Franklin. He began preparing for the rigors of life as a sailor and explorer in his teens by exercising, skiing, and generally leading a spartan lifestyle. During his preparation, Amundsen also attended lectures by polar explorer Eivin Astrup, which finally strengthened the young man's determination to devote his life to polar exploration. But, having tried to become a member of the expedition to Franz Josef Land, he was rejected due to lack of experience.

However, Amundsen did not give up, and in 1986, having received the rank of navigator, he went on an Antarctic expedition as part of Adrien de Gerlache's group. During this trip, he became the first person in the world to ski across Two Hammock Island. Together with his team, he was forced to spend thirteen months in the ice of the Southern Ocean, after which they had to return without reaching their goal. The turning point in Amundsen's life came in 1901, when he bought the yacht Gjoa and began to prepare again for a trip to the South Pole. Together with the crew on a converted fishing yacht, they reached the shores of Antarctica and reached their goal in mid-December, several weeks ahead of Captain Robert Scott.

Almost all of Roald Amundsen's life was spent on various expeditions. In 1928, his plane crashed while he went in search of his colleague, Umberto Nobile. Rescuers were never able to find the researcher himself.

David Livingston was a Scottish missionary who explored Africa and introduced its culture and customs to the world. Having received his doctorate, he applied to the London Missionary Society, and thus ended up on the African continent, starting his journey from its southern part. For the first seven years, Livingstone lived in the country of the Bechuanas, in what is now Botswana. Then he had the idea to study South African rivers to explore new routes into the interior of Africa. In 1849, he explored the Kalahari Desert and discovered Lake Ngami, then set off on a journey along the Zambezi River. David Livingstone became the first European to cross the African continent. In 1855, he made one of his greatest discoveries - he discovered a huge waterfall 120 meters high, located on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Livingstone named it Victoria Falls, in honor of the Queen of England.

A year later, the missionary returned home and published a book there, in which he described in detail his research and travels. He was also awarded a gold medal from the Royal Geographical Society. Going to Africa again, Livingston continued his travels, focusing mainly on the exploration of large rivers. They also discovered lakes Bangveulu and Mvelu. In 1873, while searching for the sources of the Nile, he died of malaria near the village of Chitambo (Zambia). During his lifetime, Livingston gained fame as a tireless traveler and received the nickname “Great Lion” from local residents, and after his death he left behind a lot of invaluable information about Africa.

Famous Russian traveler and scientist who made a huge contribution to the study of the indigenous peoples of Oceania, Australia and Southeast Asia. In his youth, Miklouho-Maclay was educated in Germany and was an assistant to the natural scientist Ernst Haeckel. Upon returning to Russia, he managed to convince the Russian Geographical Society of the need to explore the Pacific territories, and in the fall of 1870 he set off for New Guinea on the military ship Vityaz. Miklouho-Maclay explained his choice of location by the fact that on these islands the primitive society is of exceptional ethnographic and anthropological value, since it was least affected by civilization.

The Russian researcher lived among the Papuans for more than a year, becoming familiar with their customs, daily life, and religious rituals. In 1872, on the clipper "Emerald" Miklouho-Maclay circumnavigated the Philippine and a number of other Pacific islands. Two years later he returned to New Guinea and lived for some time in its western part, and in 1876 he went to study Western Micronesia and the islands of Melanesia. Miklouho-Maclay was known not only as a scientist, but also as a humanist, public figure, fighter for the rights of natives and an opponent of slavery. He spent the last years of his life in St. Petersburg.

The navigator is known for his three voyages around the world, during which new territories were discovered and detailed maps were drawn up of the islands of the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, as well as the coasts of Newfoundland, Australia and New Zealand. James Cook was born and raised in a farmer's family, but against his father's wishes, he decided to become a sailor. From the age of 18 he worked as a cabin boy, then rose to the rank of officer and took part in the Seven Years' War.

In 1768, the English government decided to send a scientific expedition to explore the Pacific Ocean. This difficult task was entrusted to the already experienced navigator James Cook. He became the captain of the three-masted ship Endeavor and was ordered to set course for the islands of Tahiti in order to observe the passage of Venus through the solar disk, which would allow him to calculate the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Also, the mission, in addition to the astronomical one, had another goal - to find the Southern Continent. During this voyage, Cook discovered New Zealand and explored the east coast of Australia. A few years later, a second expedition took place, which was accompanied by a number of discoveries: Norfolk Island, Caledonia, and the South Sandwich Islands. It was followed by a third, during which Hawaii was discovered. In the Hawaiian Islands, an armed clash occurred between members of the ship and the local population, which resulted in the death of Cook. During his voyages, the captain managed to create such accurate and detailed maps that they remained relevant until the mid-19th century.

The legendary Scandinavian navigator is considered the first European in history to set foot on the shores of the North American continent. Leif Eriksson, nicknamed “the lucky one,” grew up in the family of the Viking Erik the Red, the discoverer of Greenland. Around 1000 AD he met the Norwegian Bjarni Herjulfsson, from whom he heard a story about unknown western lands. Burning with the desire to make a discovery and find new territories for the settlement of his fellow tribesmen, Ericsson purchased a ship, assembled a crew and set off.

During this journey, he discovered three regions of Canada. The first coast that greeted the sailors was Baffin Island, which the Scandinavians called Helluland (stone). Next was the Labrador Peninsula, which received from them the name Markland, which means "forest land." And finally, the third, most attractive coast of the island of Newfoundland, which Ericsson and his people called Vinland, that is, “fertile land.” There they founded a small settlement and stayed for the winter. After returning to his homeland, Leif instructed his brother, Torvald, to continue the exploration of Vinland. However, the second expedition of the descendants of the Vikings to the North American shores failed, as they had to retreat after fierce clashes with the Canadian Indian tribe.

The world's first explorer to travel around the world and make a number of important discoveries. Magellan was born in Portugal into a noble family. His first sea expedition took place in 1505, when he went to India as part of Francisco de Almeida's squadron. Soon Magellan had a plan to sail to the Molucco Islands in the hope of finding a western route to them. Unable to obtain the consent of the Portuguese monarch, he made the same request to the King of Spain and eventually received five ships at his disposal. In 1519, Magellan's expedition left the harbor.

After a year of sailing, Ferdinand Magellan and his flotilla reached the shores of South America, where he was forced to stop in the harbor for the winter. In the same year, he discovered the strait, later named after him, and entered the ocean. For almost four months of sailing through uncharted waters, the travelers were never overtaken by a storm, so they decided to call this ocean the Pacific. The expedition reached the Mariana Archipelago, then the Philippine Islands were discovered. This point became the end of Magellan's voyage, as he was killed during a battle with a tribe on the island of Mactan. Only one ship returned to Spain, bringing news of great discoveries.

Portuguese navigator, discoverer of the sea route to India, and the first European to set foot on Indian soil. Vasco da Gama grew up in a noble family and received an education; he joined the navy at a young age. He proved himself in battles with French corsairs and managed to earn the favor of King Manuel the First, who entrusted him with leading an expedition to India. Three ships and more than 170 crew members were involved in the journey. Vasco da Gama set sail in 1497, by December of the same year they managed to reach the shores of South Africa, and six months later the ships landed on the Indian coast. Although the travelers' plans to establish trade with the locals were not successful, they were greeted with honor in their homeland, and da Gama was appointed admiral of the Indian Ocean.

During his life, Vasco da Gama made two more voyages to India. The purpose of the second expedition was to establish Portuguese trading posts in new territories. The third time he went there was in 1502 to strengthen the power of the Portuguese government and fight corruption in the colonial administration. The navigator spent his last years in India.

Florentine navigator and merchant who first put forward the theory that the part of the world discovered by Christopher Columbus was a new, previously unknown continent. In his youth, Amerigo Vespucci graduated from a prestigious university and later worked in the Medici trading and banking house. In 1499, he joined the crew of a ship under the command of the Spanish admiral Alonso de Ojeda. The purpose of the expedition was to explore the lands of the New World.

During this sea voyage, Vespucci served as a navigator, geographer and cartographer. He described in detail all the details regarding the area, flora and fauna of the new lands, meetings with the natives, and also compiled a map of the starry sky. He subsequently took part in another expedition, in 1503, during which he commanded a small ship. Vespucci was the first explorer to explore a significant part of the Brazilian coast.

Christopher Columbus is best known as the discoverer of America, although he made other important discoveries during his life. He grew up in a poor family, but received a good education. In 1470 he took part in trade sea expeditions. Columbus's main dream was to find a sea route to India across the Atlantic. He repeatedly turned to European monarchs for help in organizing and financing the expedition, but only in 1492 received consent from the Spanish Queen Isabella.

Having received three ships at his disposal and having assembled a crew of volunteers, Christopher Columbus set sail. He discovered the Bahamas, Cuba and Haiti. This was followed by a second expedition, during which Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles and the Virgin Islands were discovered. In 1498, Columbus set out on his third voyage, which resulted in the exploration of the island of Trinidad. And finally, in 1502, he managed to obtain permission from the King of Spain for the fourth expedition, during which Columbus’s ships reached the shores of Central America. Throughout his subsequent life, Christopher Columbus was sure that the land he discovered was connected to Asia, and he nevertheless found a sea route to India.

One of the most famous travelers who inspired many discoverers, including Christopher Columbus. Marco Polo grew up in the family of a Venetian merchant and from an early age was accustomed to accompany him on his travels while searching for new trade routes. In 1271, the Pope sent them to China, appointing them as his official representatives. After a five-year expedition through Asia Minor, Persia and Kashmir, the Polo family reached the residence of Kublai Khan, ruler of the Mongol state of Yuan, of which China was at that time a part. The khan immediately liked the young and brave Marco, so he decided to leave the travelers at his court, where they spent the next 17 years.

In 1291, Kublai Khan assigned the Polo family to accompany the flotilla that was transporting the Mongol princess to Persia, where she was to become the wife of the Persian Shah. But during the trip, news came of the death of the Shah, after which the Polos decided to return to Venice. Soon after returning home, Marco took part in the war with Genoa and was captured by the Genoese. While imprisoned, he met the Italian writer Rustichello, who wrote down a detailed account of his amazing adventures and life in China.

If you think that all outstanding wanderers remained in the era of great geographical discoveries, then we hasten to convince you: our contemporaries also make amazing journeys. It is these people that we will talk about.

Photo: background-pictures.picphotos.net

If we talk about the great travelers of our time, then we cannot ignore the unique talent of Fyodor Filippovich Konyukhov to conquer what, at first glance, is impossible to conquer. Today Konyukhov is the first of the best travelers on the planet to conquer the North and South Poles, the highest peaks of the world, seas and oceans. He has more than forty expeditions to the most inaccessible places on our planet.

A descendant of the Northern Pomors from the Arkhangelsk province, he was born on the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov in the fishing village of Chkalovo. His insatiable thirst for knowledge led to the fact that already at the age of 15, Fedor sailed across the Sea of ​​Azov on a fishing rowing boat. This was the first step towards great achievements. Over the next twenty years, Konyukhov takes part in expeditions to the North and South Poles, conquers the highest peaks, makes four trips around the world, participates in a dog sled race, and crosses the Atlantic Ocean fifteen times. In 2002, the traveler made a solo voyage across the Atlantic in a rowing boat and set a record. More recently, on May 31, 2014, Konyukhov was greeted in Australia with several records at once. The famous Russian became the first to cross the Pacific Ocean from continent to continent. It cannot be said that Fyodor Filippovich is a person fixated only on travel. In addition to the nautical school, the great traveler has the Belarusian Art School in Bobruisk and the Modern Humanitarian University in Moscow. In 1983, Fyodor Konyukhov became the youngest member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. He is also the author of twelve books about his own experiences in overcoming the difficulties of travel. At the end of the legendary crossing of the Pacific Ocean, Konyukhov said that he was not going to stop there. His plans include new projects: flying around the world in a hot air balloon, circumnavigating the world in 80 days for the Jules Verne Cup on a keelboat with a crew, diving into the Mariana Trench.

Today, this young English traveler, TV presenter and writer is known to an audience of millions thanks to the highest-rated television program on the Discovery Channel. In October 2006, the program “Survive at Any Cost” began airing with his participation. The goal of the TV presenter is not only to entertain the viewer, but also to give valuable advice and recommendations that can be useful in unforeseen situations.

Bear was born in Great Britain into a family of hereditary diplomats and received an excellent education at the elite Ladgrove School and the University of London. Parents did not interfere with their son’s passion for sailing, rock climbing and martial arts. But the future traveler acquired the skills of endurance and the ability to survive in the army, where he mastered parachute jumping and mountaineering. These skills helped him subsequently achieve his cherished goal - conquering Everest. This event occurred at the very end of the last century, in 1998. Bear Grylls has simply irrepressible energy. The list of his travels is huge. From 2000 to 2007 he sailed around the British Isles in thirty days to raise funds for the British Royal Water Rescue Society; crossed the North Atlantic on an inflatable boat; flew over Angel Falls in a steam-powered airplane, had lunch in a balloon at an altitude of more than seven thousand meters; paraglided over the Himalayas... In 2008, the traveler led an expedition organized with the goal of climbing one of the most remote unconquered peaks in Antarctica. Almost all expeditions in which Grylls participates are charitable.

If you think that long journeys are the prerogative of the strong half of humanity, then you are deeply mistaken. And this was proven by the young American Abby Sunderland, who at the age of 16 circumnavigated the world alone on a yacht. It’s interesting that Abby’s parents not only allowed her to undertake such a risky undertaking, but also helped her prepare for it. It should be noted that the girl’s father is a professional sailor.

On January 23, 2010, the yacht left the port of Marina Del Rey in California. Unfortunately, the first voyage was unsuccessful. The second attempt took place on February 6. Very soon Abby reported damage to the yacht's hull and engine failure. At this time she was between Australia and Africa, 2 thousand miles from the coast. After this, contact with the girl was interrupted, and nothing was known about her. The search operation was unsuccessful, and Abby was declared missing. However, a month later, a distress signal was received from the yacht from the southern Indian Ocean. After 11 hours of searching by Australian rescuers, a yacht was discovered in a severe storm area, in which, fortunately, Abby was safe and sound. A large supply of food and water helped her survive. The girl reported that all the time after the last communication session she had to overcome the storm, and she physically could not get in touch and send a radiogram. Abby's example inspires those with a brave spirit to test their limits and never stop there.

One of the most original travelers of our time spent thirteen years of his life on his unusual journey around the world. The non-standard situation was that Jason refused the achievements of civilization in the form of any technology. The former British cleaner went on his trip around the world with a bicycle, a boat and... rollerblades!

Photo: mikaelstrandberg.com

The expedition started from Greenwich in 1994. 27-year-old Lewis chose his friend Steve Smith as his partner. In February 1995, travelers reached the United States. After 111 days of sailing, the friends decided to cross the states separately. In 1996, Lewis, traveling on roller skates, was hit by a car. He spent nine months in the hospital. After recovery, Lewis goes to Hawaii, and from there sails on a pedal boat to Australia. In the Solomon Islands, he found himself in the midst of a civil war, and off the coast of Australia he was attacked by an alligator. Upon arrival in Australia, Lewis interrupts his trip due to financial difficulties and for some time works in a funeral home and sells T-shirts. In 2005, he moved to Singapore, from there to China, from which he moved to India. Having crossed the country by bicycle, the Briton reached Africa by March 2007. The rest of Lewis's journey takes him through Europe. He cycled through Romania, Bulgaria, Austria, Germany and Belgium, then swam across the English Channel before returning to London in October 2007, completing his unique journey around the world. James Lewis proved to the whole world and to himself that there are no limits to human capabilities.

Photo: mikaelstrandberg.com