A Baha'i who has travelled all around the globe is in Bermuda to tell of his adventures and spread his idea of world peace.

Sixty-year-old Andre Brugiroux counts Bermuda as the 229th country he has ever visited.

And it is a far cry from the day he left home in France as a 17-year-old in 1955 -- with two dollars in his pocket and a burning desire to travel the world.

Once he set off, he did not return home for 18 years. And his adventures have even seen him jailed seven times! Hitchhiking on every type of transport, Mr. Brugiroux visited 135 countries covering America from end to end, the Pacific Islands, the Far East, Transiberia, the Middle East, India, Iran and all over Africa.

He covered 400,000 kilometres, the same distance between the earth and the moon.

And his travels taught him four different languages -- English, German, Italian and Spanish besides his native French.

Mr. Brugiroux made ends meet by working temporarily as a waiter, a cook and a switchboard operator to keep travelling.

But he still lived on a dollar-a-day for six years, claiming it was "good for my figure''.

He stayed longest in Canada where he worked for three-and-a-half years as a translator for Prudential of America to save cash.

But money was not always his main concern. Mr. Brugiroux spent seven separate spells in prison.

In South America they thought he was a guerrilla, in Saudi Arabia and Iran they took him for a spy and in Columbia they believed him to be a hijacker.

Dysentery forced Mr. Brugiroux to return home in 1973. He lost 25 pounds because of the illness, which he caught in Pakistan.

And Mr. Brugiroux filmed his varying experiences in places as diverse as Alaska, the Australian desert, Borneo, Bangkok, India and Israel.

Now he plans to show the film along with his own commentary on June 9 at 7.30 p.m. at the Bermuda College. He will also be giving talks on the philosophy he developed during his travels.

"My tour is not a tour of the world, but a tour of mankind,'' said the French traveller.

"I am not so much interested in adventure, but the heart of people.

"The question I was constantly asking was, `Will mankind always fight or is peace possible?' "The answer I came up with is that peace is not only possible, it is unavoidable. The problem is that they haven't said that on TV yet!'' Mr. Brugiroux said his experiences taught him that "the earth is but one country. We are all brothers''.

"Unity through diversity is the key,'' he added, reflecting the theme adopted for Bermuda's Heritage Month.

Mr. Brugiroux has written five books on his own reflections and will be giving talks on one of his most popular works One People, One Planet at the Baha'i Centre in Pembroke on June 7 at 7.30 p.m. and June 10 at 7.30 p.m.

The Alliance Francaise have also taken a part in Mr. Brugiroux's visit.

The association which promotes French culture, language and way of life has helped organise the details of his visit.

But is Bermuda the last stop for Mr. Brugiroux? Definitely not.

"There are 14 countries I have not been to and after I get to them, there are many others that I want to revisit,'' he said.

"My travels have taken on a different meaning now. Not only do I want to see the rest of the world, but I also share my experience with others. I want to bring people hope.'' WORLD TRAVELLER -- Andre Brugiroux counts Bermuda as the 229th country he has visited.