Riga (AFP)

After spending 140 days paddling the Pacific Ocean without meeting a single human being, Latvian adventurer Karlis Bardelis dreams only of starting over and has some advice for those confined to the coronavirus.

Bardelis began his trip to Peru in July 2018, reaching French Polynesia almost five months later and ending in Malaysia in June 2020.

En route, he was struck by sharks off the coast of Papua New Guinea, had to use a battery to replace a lost anchor and narrowly avoided accidents with other boats.

"If we can't change the circumstances, we can change our attitudes towards them," he told AFP in his native Latvia, after spending two weeks in compulsory quarantine after returning from Malaysia.

“A lot of people have asked me if I don't lose my mind or go crazy,” the 35-year-old said, explaining: “No, I just like it, because that's what I chose to do. "

He documented his 26,000-kilometer journey on his Bored of Borders Facebook page.

To get from South America to Asia without an engine or sails, he rowed for up to 13 hours a day, on his seven-meter-long plywood boat.

Reaching two meters at its widest point, the boat only has a small cabin for sleeping and storing supplies and equipment.

His trip from Peru to Malaysia was documented on the oceanrowing.com website and is believed to be the first of its kind in history.

“I am 200% sure I made the first solo rowing boat trip from South America to South East Asia,” Bardelis said.

- Around the world -

Resembling a modern Viking, with blue eyes, long blond hair and a broad beard, this graduate in economics and environmental sciences was, according to him, welcomed everywhere with open arms.

Although he spent most of his time alone at sea, the rower says he never felt alone.

“The ocean is full of life: I was not alone, but rather with birds, fish and whales,” he said, adding that podcasts and audiobooks have also helped him.

Crossing the Pacific was not his first epic sea voyage: in 2016, Bardelis rowed the Atlantic with a friend, leaving Namibia to reach Brazil.

He then crossed South America on a tandem with his then girlfriend, before beginning his solo crossing from Peru.

Bardelis said his ultimate goal was to get back to his boat in Malaysia once the monsoon season is over and start rowing again to reach Namibia, and rowing around the world.

“It would be easy to set up a sail, but I love to row, and then using sails would make me feel like I'm cheating, if only with myself,” he said.

© 2020 AFP