There are some things that life teaches us only through experience. Sadly, many of those lessons are never fun to learn and often stick with us for the rest of our lives. Tom Turcich learned one of those lessons when his friend, Ann Marie, passed away when she was seventeen.
Through the pain of the loss, he decided that he was going to live differently.
Like only hard knocks can, Tom had a deep revelation that shook him to the core. After his young friend passed, his view of the world needed to change:
“Her death destroyed my assumptions about life,” he wrote. “Knowing I could die at any moment, I needed to build a new philosophy.”
Knowing his time on Earth could be spent better, he developed a plan.
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Tom was ready to change everything about his life after his heart change. He set his mind and heart on a new goal: walking the entire world. Tom pledged to walk on every continent in the world. His original plan had him doing it alone.
In 2015, Tom left New Jersey and got on the trail.
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After saving up for eight years, his journey had finally begun. Beginning his “world walk,” he started south. Upon reaching the U.S./Mexico border, things took a different turn than he was expecting.
Despite his plan for walking the entire world alone, fate had a different idea.
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One day in Austin, Texas, Tom ran into a stray puppy. While not really falling in love with the dog, he thought it might be valuable for him as protection when we walked through Mexico.
“I was hoping she would provide some protection, but after crossing Mexico together, which was a whirlwind for me and basically where Savannah grew up, I realized how much she meant to me,” he said.
From protector to a friend, Savannah occupied more and more of Tom’s heart.
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As only a dog could, Savannah began to weave her little way into the heart of her owner. Originally owned as simple protection, she soon became a close friend and travel buddy.
The plan is to walk 25,000 total miles across all seven continents.
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Currently, Tom and Savanah have covered almost 70% of their journey, sitting at 16,500 miles. Together, they have seen thirty-seven countries and been to six continents! The duo uses ferries and planes to travel between oceans and bodies of water.
Walking 18-24 miles a day, they really cover some ground!
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The plan for Tom and Savannah is to walk between 18 and 24 miles a day, traveling through different environments and countries. They camp at night and Savannah keeps watch!
They have seen quite a bit of land.
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The first year they set off, North America was the land they conquered together. After their first year, they continued south and walked through most of South America. After that, Tom visited Antarctica but Savannah wasn’t able to go on that trip! In years three and four they went through Europe and Africa. All that remains is Asia and Australia!
With the COVID-19 crisis, their journey had to pause.
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Tom and Savannah are currently hanging out in Azerbaijan, waiting for everything to calm down a bit. Once things get back to normal, they will resume their incredible journey!
Walking for a reason.
Tom found a great way to honor Ann Marie as he traveled throughout the world. For each mile he and Savannah walk, people donate a certain amount!
Check out their Instagram below!
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