Man spends 6 years walking Latin America

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CONCEPCION, Chile, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- A man currently staying at a Chile fire station said he has walked 20,000 miles through all 21 South and Central American countries.

Martin Hutchinson, 52, a former firefighter from England, said he planned to hitchhike through Central America when he arrived in Cancun, Mexico, six years ago, but he decided to walk when no one picked him up and he hasn't stopped since, The Santiago Times reported Thursday.

Hutchinson, who said he walks 18 to 50 miles per day, said he sleeps in his tent or with strangers who open up their homes to him.

"I think if I left England with this in mind, I would never do it," Hutchinson said of his walking quest from the Concepcion fire station where he is currently staying. "Now it sounds like nothing."

Hutchinson said he has enough money left over from his days in England to continue his journey for at least four more years.

Hutchinson said he has started using his journey to promote conservation after seeing nature's beauty marred by pollution.

"In Bolivia I saw this river and it just made me so angry," he said. "I'm actually going to use the media to push this (environmentalism) now."