While doing that journey on foot is no small feat, the most impressive is the fact that (to the best of my understanding) he crossed Darien Gap[1] on foot.<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dari%C3%A9n_Gap" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dari%C3%A9n_Gap</a>
> "I've never felt alone,' he said. "It's been a lot of thinking for years, sleeping in the open. It's very simple to live, we do not need many things."<p>I'm getting this positive feeling that nature must have cured him off schizophrenia.
Perhaps he was looking for an entryway to "The Library of Babel" to find the "The Man of the Book".<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Library_of_Babel" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Library_of_Babel</a><p>My first thought that his obession was somehow conencted to Borges. Borges being the former director of the National Public Library of Argentina.<p>This mans story has Borgesque qualities to it in itself.
is it possible for someone to walk that much distance while being malnourished? the article said that he scraped berries and remnants of food in trash, but 4-5 years like that? the article also mentions that he walked most of it, only occasionally getting a ride as a stowaway. this guy must have had incredible health, walking barefoot, without major sickness (infection, virus, etc), no money, no food, hardly any shelter, in shorts. i imagine the fact that he was in and around warm climate areas helped, he would not have survived if he went north or east.
I wonder how this started. It said his goal was to visit a library in Argentina. Is that what he wanted to do when he left, or did he pick that up on the way?<p>I know I've gone out for a drive or a walk to clear my head and found myself 90 minutes from home. Maybe this guy took it to a whole new level
Mental illnesses are as real as physical illnesses. While we have a long way to go in understanding and treating them (as we do with understanding of the brain and the body in general), most people suffering from mental illness can still benefit significantly from proper diagnosis and treatment. Writing off mental illness (or at least schizophrenia) as bullshit, as you appear to be doing, doesn't help anyone.