Nothing on his 23,000km (14,000-mile) walk across desert, jungle and mountains was going to stop Martín Echegaray Davies, 62, in his determination to walk from the southernmost tip of South America to Alaska. Nothing, that is, except for the closure of the US border with Canada amid efforts to contain the coronavirus.

Since last Wednesday, the Argentinian adventurer has been holed up in a hotel room in Fargo North Dakota, after braving temperatures of -31C (-24F) as he headed up US Route 81 to Pembina, the last American city before the Canadian border – only to be turned back by the announcement that the crossing would be closed to “non-essential traffic”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The 62-year-old crossed three different mountain ranges during his journey through Colombia. Photograph: Martín Echegaray Davies



“Of course I’m frustrated,” he told the Guardian. “I made it all the way to the Canadian border, but I’m going to have to end my walk here.”

Echegaray’s trek started on 31 October 2017, when he set out from Lapataia Bay, 23 kilometres south of Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, on the southern tip of Argentina, pulling his heavy sleeping cart behind him.



“The hardest part, apart from the freezing North Dakota winter, was crossing three different mountain ranges in Colombia. The cart really started to feel heavy there. It slowed my usual speed of 40 kilometres a day to about 20 kilometres.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The traveller has taken selfies with people he’s met during his hike from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska. Photograph: Martín Echegaray Davies

As he made his way north, two flags fluttered from his cart: the blue and white Argentinian triband and the red dragon of Wales – Echegaray Davies is a proud descendant of the first Welsh immigrants who arrived in Patagonia in 1865 aboard the clipper Mimosa, which sailed from Liverpool carrying 153 settlers (including 22 Davieses).



He credits the harsh weather conditions of his Patagonian upbringing for his incredible physical stamina. “I’m used to harsh weather conditions and spending all day doing hard work.”



For now, he is waiting to see if he can catch a flight back to Argentina – although it is unclear when that will happen. Echegaray is one of around 30,000 Argentinians who were left stranded abroad when the country closed its borders to flights from abroad last week. They have slowly started trickling back on special flights arranged by the country’s government.

“Maybe I can come back next year to try and finish my walk, but honestly, I don’t think it’ll happen,” he said.



Despite his last-minute stumble, the trip has been worth it, he said. On his Facebook page he has posted 1,718 selfies with people he’s met along the way.

In a farewell video he posted in Fargo last week, Echegaray said: “Thanks everybody so much, those who contributed money, or a place to stay. A big hug to everybody.”