Taina Liekari has an ambitious goal. She has already walked through 13 countries.

“I have been asked a long time ago when I will walk around the world,” says Taina Liekari.

Three years ago, he walked from Spain to Finland, which must have inspired those asking.

– I always said never, it doesn’t interest me.

Suddenly, everything changed.

“One day I was sitting on the couch and the thought came to me that I should go for a walk around the world,” Liekari says.

Liekari shares her journey with followers on the Hiker Taina Instagram account, Tiktok, and YouTube. The journey began on August 15th of last year.

– While walking, I’ve realized that this is just getting older and older. If I keep going like this, I’ll only be taking week-long trips to tourist destinations and I’ll never see real life.

– I’m such a curious person that I would like to see and understand why people are the way they are in different places. That’s why I want to do this.

6,000 kilometers

Currently, Liekari has covered just under 6,000 kilometers and visited 13 different countries: Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey.

Now he answers the phone in Trabzon, Turkey.

– About 30 kilometers a day is good, but I’ve gone over that many times. It depends a lot on where I find the next place to stay. The longest day was 59 kilometers, Liekari says.

– I usually look for the next accommodation the night before, or the day I walk. However, I don’t always find them.

If no accommodation has been found, Liekari has slept in a hammock. However, the best rest is in bed under a roof.

In Turkey, the Turkish embassy has rushed to Liekar’s aid.

– They have looked for and offered me places to stay. I have received a lot of help from Turkey. Sometimes soldiers escort me, and sometimes the police, he says.

– Everyone here wants to help, whether it’s a private person or a municipal representative.

Liekari has met various high-ranking people on his journey, such as the Turkish mayor.

– He had a delegation of 15 people accompanying him, and I was alone with a friend, the hiker recalls the strange situation.

During the three months he spent in Turkey, he has also gone on picnics with local university students and stayed overnight at the home of the police chief.

– The police chief’s wife spotted me on the street and asked me to come to her house. Everyone has been really kind to me.

Not a quick trip

The time spent in one country depends on the size of the country and how much there is to see there for Liekar.

– I’ve said that this is not a quick trip. Walking around the world itself is not the thing for me, but rather getting to know and see. When I see an interesting place, I try to visit it if it’s along the way. I can’t make terrible detours, Liekari says.

If he has to travel somewhere by car, he will return to walk to the point where the car journey began, so that every meter can be walked.

– On my first day in Albania, I was going to dinner at the hotel and didn’t notice the stairs. I fell on my foot and twisted my ankle. The next day, I walked 18 kilometers and realized I couldn’t do any more, Liekari tells of one ordeal.

– I was picked up by car to Tirana to my family’s place, where a healer came to treat my ankle with sheep’s wool and eggs. He massaged and treated the ankle.

There was a car accident during the trip, and Liekari broke some ribs.

– I needed five days of rest because of my ankle, but I didn’t need any more because of my ribs. It was challenging to carry a backpack on those sides.

One of the best moments was running into a “Baby hiker,” a stray puppy.

– I noticed a puppy that was about to get hit by a truck. I ran into the middle of the road and stopped the truck. With the puppy in my arms, I wondered what I was going to do now.

– People were scolding me for leaving the stray dog there. I decided that once I had it, I had to take care of it. I spent a couple of days carrying the puppy.

In North Macedonia, Liekari left a puppy at a rescue animal shelter.

– I had decided that I would try to find him a home in Finland. It is not easy to get a dog from outside the EU to Finland, but finally last week the current Paavo made it to Finland, he says.

19 vaccinations

Setting out on a trip around the world required special preparations, such as vaccinations and fundraising.

– In just over two weeks, I was given 19 vaccines, Liekari says.

Rinkaa Liekari packed the things he would need for the estimated duration of the trip, i.e. four years, and it weighs about twenty kilos.

– At first I calculated the budget and said I would never be able to raise that amount of money. Now I have moved forward with what I have. I have got some sponsors, and followers have helped.

– I have a nagging feeling in my gut that what if the day comes that I run out of money and I can’t continue my journey because of it??

The doctor said he would only interrupt the trip if he ran out of money or became seriously ill.

– Some people say I could cook on a trangia and sleep in a tent every night, but then the trip would take much longer. After that, I can’t walk 40 kilometers. It’s important that I eat and rest well.

The journey will encounter exceptional conditions, such as the Kazakh desert. Liekari is still considering whether to implement the desert section.

– I need some kind of maintenance crew for that, because there’s no way I can transport the necessary amount of liquid myself.

Shattered Prejudices

– Walking is the best mood medicine in the world, it calms my mind. On the road I get to know new people and new places – I am happy when I walk, Liekari enthuses.

– Many places have changed my opinion along the way. I have formed such different opinions on the couch at home, he says.

For example, going to Turkey was exciting in advance.

– I thought this was a narrow-minded, religious place, but there hasn’t been any narrow-mindedness here at all. I’ve been asked about my religion, and then just said “aha”. They don’t judge anyone.

– Everyone thinks it’s okay for me to be myself here.

Liekari missed her grandchildren, children, and husband on the trip.

– We talk every day, but that’s not the same as being together. I really hope that my loved ones can visit here again. Greetings to Joonas and Jesper, says Liekari.