A kayaker has done a 4,000 mile journey and arrived in Key West. Daniel Alvarez, a former corporate attorney, paddled from the northernmost spots in the U.S. to the country's southernmost. He arrived in Key West last Saturday completing a mammoth ride that started on June 11.
The Tallahassee, Florida 31 year old started the journey in Minnesota's Northwest Angle. Alvarez won a $10,000 grant from Outside Magazine to complete the journey. The trip went from Lake Superior through the Mississippi River and the Florida Everglades as well as part of the Florida Keys. Alvarez said that he paddles for about 20 miles per day.
Alvarez was the winner of Outside's Adventure Grant which is a one-time endowment that enables one bucket-list trip. "He easily bested four other finalists, earning 2,046 votes in a contest on Outside's Facebook page. However, Alvarez, a veteran distance hiker, neglected to mention a few relevant points in his application. Among them: his paddling experience is modest at best. He took a week long whitewater-kayaking course "about 10 years ago" in college, at the University of Florida," said Outside magazine in September.
Outside magazine reported that when Alvarez landed in Key West he celebrated his arrival with a breakfast of Key Lime Pie.
"Near the end of his trip, he stopped in Fort Myers to eat a bowl of ice cream promised to him by a man he never met. In between, he blogged about a whole lot more meandering on his website, predictablylost.com," reported Outside magazine. "There were an awful lot of excursions during his journey, and an awful lot of people who said they were envious as he strolled into their towns."
Alvarez said to the Duluth News Tribune "A lot of them say, 'I wish I could do that. If you make it a priority, you can. If you don't make it a priority, there are a thousand excuses not to do it. Eventually, you just have to get in the boat and start paddling."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
