Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 4, 1993 TAG: 9309040063
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PRUDHOE BAY, ALASKA LENGTH: Medium
Louis Bruhnke, 32, from Hermosa Beach, Calif., and Vladimir Fissenko, 33, who emigrated from Russia to France, embraced Thursday at the edge of the Arctic Ocean after getting off their horses.
One of the horses had made the entire 19,000-mile journey that started Feb. 19, 1988, at Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina.
They crossed the Andes three times, traveled through dense jungles in Colombia and Panama, and visited 14 countries.
The terrain was a trial, and finding shelter and water was an ordeal, but crossing international borders with animals was tougher.
"It was the greatest feat in overcoming bureaucracy since DeGaulle," Bruhnke said in a recent interview. "Lots of times people told us things were impossible."
The pair said they never ran or trotted their horses, but still averaged 25 miles a day.
They managed to avoid hungry bears on their transit of Alaska, and mosquitoes were only a minor nuisance, they said.
The most hazardous part of their journey came in the jungles of Bolivia, when Fissenko was captured and beaten by natives who thought he was a demon.
The two said they had heard the native legends about demon white men wearing wide-brimmed hats and riding white horses, but discounted them.
Fissenko, who had ridden ahead to find a campsite, fit the description perfectly.
Bruhnke said that by the time he arrived to help, his friend was left naked, bruised and bleeding.
"They tried to hang him. They thought he had come to steal the fat from their bodies," Bruhnke said.
"I told Vladimir at the beginning that the trip would be very difficult and very interesting - we haven't been disappointed."
by CNB