After a two-year, 26,000-mile (41,843-kilometer) global odyssey, Colin Angus and Julie Wafaei look back on their wildest, fondest, and most harrowing moments.
Back to Colin and Julie's Story >>
Video Exclusive: See Colin and Julie's row across the Atlantic >>
1. Canada to Russia
JuneSeptember 2004
After biking from Vancouver to Alaska with Wafaei, at which point she returned home to run the expedition logistics, Angus loaded up a rowboat with friend Tim Harvey and headed for Russia. Crossing the Bering Sea, "the biggest storm of the summer hit, blowing us 200 miles (322 kilometers) up to Nome," Angus says. Freezing waves poured over the deck and winds howled—"it was too rough for even the crab-fishing boats." In a desperate move, the two flagged down a Russian research vessel, which threw out a lifesaving safety line.
2. Siberia
October 2004July 2005
While hiking, biking, and skiing 2,175 miles (3,500 kilometers) across northeastern Siberia, Angus got separated from Harvey in a whiteout: "It was -45ºC," Angus says, "and I couldn't see 50 feet (15 meters) in front of me." With no other option, Angus built a snow cave for refuge and waited out the blow. "At about 2:30 a.m. I saw a glow in the distance. I thought, I'm not going to make it in this cave, so I headed for the glow. It turned out to be a roadhouse." And it had heat.
3 + 4. Europe and the Atlantic
July 2005March 2006
In Moscow (above), Wafaei reunited with Angus, and they cycled 3,400 miles (5,472 kilometers) across Europe to Lisbon, Portugal, where their 24-foot (7-meter) rowboat, Ondine, was docked. Crossing the Atlantic, "we rowed in two-hour shifts for 18 to 20 hours each day," Wafaei says. The only company were the schools of fish that traveled with them. Then one morning, while Wafaei was making breakfast, she looked up to see "a huge ocean freighter plowing by within a meter of our boat." Angus adds, "I've never heard her scream like that, ever."
5. Costa Rica to Canada
MarchMay 2006
The pinnacle of the 5,160-mile (8,304-kilometer) bike ride back to Vancouver came when the pair crossed Washington's North Cascades. "When I smelled the forest and the sea air," Angus says, "it was the first real feeling of the West Coast—and home." A few days later, Angus and Wafaei would pedal into Vancouver, completing the trip of a lifetime.
Back to Colin and Julie's Story >>

Best of Adventure 2007 Home Page >>
Adventurers of the Year >>
Lifetime Achievement: Biologist George Schaller >>
Gear Picks of the Year >>
Outdoor Sports Trends >>
Top Destinations >>
