Quilotoa Loop (E)

I continued my trip north by heading out of Baños on a two hour bus journey to Latacunga, starting point for what is known as the “Quilotoa Loop”. Quilotoa is the name of one of the many volcanoes in this area and travelling around the mountain by public transport is a good way to spend a few days off the main tourist routes, seeing stunning landscape and indigenous communities.

Whilst riding a local bus from Latacunga to Chugchilán, my first destination of the loop, the scenery was breathtaking. We were climbing to approx 3,900 meters, seeing the rugged Andean mountains, snow capped volcanoes and deep valleys in the distance. I found a very cozy hostel in the small settlement of Chugchilán, my base for the next day’s hike from the Quilotoa crater. Luckily I met an English couple who wanted to do the same trek so we could team up and split the cost.



We set off on a pick-up truck after a good breakfast. The one hour ride brought us to the rim of the volcano where our driver found us a guide to accompany us for the five hour hike. After gazing at the emerald green crater lake we made our way down the volcano into lush green valleys and through a deep canyon before ascending back into Chugchilán.



The next morning I started the long journey to Colombia. The only possibility to leave Chugchilán (other than the 3am or 4am bus) was jumping on the milk truck to Sigchos. The truck stops at many houses along the way -buying and selling milk from/to local farmers. The milk is stored in simple plastic containers together with dirt & dust from the road. The tour turned out to be really good fun and we were able to experience a part of the local way of living.

I continued my journey by bus through Quito to Ibarra, where I spent the night and arrived at the border town of Tulcán the next morning.


Pick-up ride up to the volcano


Fancy more volcanoes? Here is Cotopaxi

Baños (G)

Nächste Station war das ca. 7 Stunden weiter nördlich gelegene Baños. Das bei Einheimischen sowie ausländischen Touristen beliebte Städtchen liegt auf 1‘820 Meter über Meer, eingekesselt zwischen steilen Felswänden und zu Fusse des mächtigen Tungurahua Vulkans. Der Vulkan ist derzeit ziemlich aktiv und hat in den vergangenen Monaten die Bevölkerung auf Trab gehalten mit Sperrung des Luftraumes und Evakuationsübungen in Baños und den umliegenden Dörfern.



Ich habe mich über die Vulkanischen Aktivitäten im Vorfeld schlau gemacht und bin trotz Abraten Auswärtiger Ämter nach Baños gereist. Insgesammt drei Tage habe ich dort verbracht und die umliegenden Täler und Berge bewandert. Das Wetter hatte es gut mit mir gemeint und so konnte ich die Regenausrüstung getrost im Hostel zurücklassen und die kurzen Hosen auspacken.

Zum Schluss spielte dann auch der Vulkan mit und verschabschiedete sich mit einem Asche-“husten“.



Eine kulinarische Spezialität sei hier auch noch erwähnt: Was bei uns in so manchem Kinderzimmer rum rennt, wird hier gerne zu Reis oder Pommes serviert – Das “Cuy“, oder zu Deutsch Meerschweinchen, schmeckt nicht besonders (der Geschmack ist ähnlich dem eines Kaninchens) und Fleisch ist auch nicht viel an den Knochen. Nachdem ich es vor ein paar Jahren schon mal in Peru degustieren durfte, hab ich’s mal wieder probiert und werde es in Zukunft wohl sein lassen.

Quito, Otavalo & Cuenca (E)

After arriving in Quito I took a taxi to the hotel where I was supposed to meet Cyrill (a friend from Basel) and his girlfriend Regula. Unfortunately Cyrill had missed his flight from the United States and would not arrive for another two days. Regula & I decided not to wait in Quito but to make good use of these two days and travel to Otavalo for the famous saturday market (one of the biggest markets in all of South America).

A short bus ride brought us to Otavalo where Regula had worked for the last four month as a volunteer. We met some of the other volunteers and had a look around town. On Saturday we set off to explore the huge market which occupies a fair bit of the town centre - vendors sell fruits, vegetables, tourist souvenirs, animals and much more. In the evening we took the bus back to Quito airport where we finally met Cyrill.



We spent the next few days together exploring Quito, cooking in the hostel and planning our next steps. I did not have an exact idea where to go in South America so I needed a while to read into this huge continent and to decide where to start. I finally booked a cheap short flight the Cuenca in the south of Ecuador and said good-bye to Cyrill & Regula who were leaving for the Galapagos Islands the same day.

I decided to start in southern Ecuador and make my way up through the country and into Colombia. Cuenca is Ecuador’s third-largest city and due to the large amount of old colonial buildings a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city and region is also famous for the production of the Panama hat, a traditional brimmed hat that has its origin here and doesn’t have much to do with Panama. I instantly liked the city with its relaxed atmosphere and chose it to be my “home” for the next ten days while I was taking Spanish lessons (four hours a day) to improve my quasi non-existent Spanish. I found an excellent cheap hostel with amazing food and enjoyed my free time at the city’s museums, markets & cafes.

Otavalo Market




Panama Hat Showroom

Osterinsel / Rapa Nui / Easter Island (G)

Nach meinem kurzen Aufenthalt in Neuseeland sollte es nun an einen der abgelegensten Orte auf dem Planeten gehen – die Osterinsel im Südostpazifik. Die knapp 4‘000 Einwohner zählende Insel liegt 3‘500 bis 4‘000 Kilometer entfernt von den nächsten bewohnten Orten Tahiti und Chile.

Doch zuerst erlebte ich am 22. Juni 2010 mit ca. 40 Stunden den längsten Tag meines bisherigen Lebens. Der Flug von Auckland nach Santiago führte über die Datumsgrenze und so kam ich in Chile an, bevor ich in Neuseeland losgeflogen bin ;-)
Das hat dann auch mich etwas verwirrt und mein Schlafverhalten war empfindlich gestört – das Einzelzimmer in Santiago kam so sehr gelegen und ich haute mich auf’s Ohr, bevor es am nächsten Tag gleich zurück zum Flughafen ging. Nach weiteren 5,5 Studen Flug erreichte ich spät abends die Osterinsel und fand auch gleich ein Zimmer in einer “Residencia“, einer privaten Unterkunft, die drei Zimmer für Touristen anbietet.

Die Hauptattraktion der Insel sind die 700+ Moais, Steinskulpturen, die über die ganze Insel verteilt stehen und liegen. Über Herkunft und Zweck der bis zu 20 Meter hohen Statuen sind sich weiterhin nicht alle einig, sie wurden wohl zu Ehren verstorbener Angehöriger der verschiedenen Clans errichtet und während Kriegen unter den Clans umgestossen.



Während einer eintägigen Tour lernte ich einiges über die Geschichte der Insel und ihrer lebenden und steinernen Bewohner. An den Wänden des Vulkanes “Rano Raraku“ bestaunte ich die Steinbrüche mit dutzenden halbfertigen Moais und solcher, die zum Abtransport bereit standen, als die Produktion bei Ausbruch der Kriege abgebrochen wurde. Die restlichen drei Tage erkundete ich die Insel zu Fuss, erklomm den wohl eindrücklichsten Vulkan “Rano Kau“, der 320 Meter aus dem Meer ragt. Sein enormer Krater ist mit Regenwasser gefüllt und an einer Seite eingebrochen, wordurch sich eine schöne Aussicht auf den dahinter liegenden Ozean ergibt.

Ansonsten hatte ich genügend Zeit, mir das einzige Dorf Hanga Roa anzuschauen, wo ich auch das WM-Spiel Chile-Spanien anschaute und mit den Chilenen das Weiterkommen feiern durfte. Bei einem Spaziergang am Hafen entdeckte ich dann noch zwei Riesenschildkröten beim Schwimmen und Sonnen.


Von der Osterinsel ging es dann wieder zurück nach Santiago, wo ich mir noch drei Tage die Stadt anschaute und mit Chilenen vom Hostel ausging, bevor mich der vorerst letzte Flug rauf nach Quito (Ecuador) führte.

New Zealand (E)

A short flight over the Tasman Sea brought me to Auckland on New Zealand’s north island. I didn’t plan to spend much time in New Zealand as the winter weather promised a lot of rain and cold temperatures and I wasn’t planning on doing any winter sports during my trip. I therefore concentrated on seeing some sights on the north island, leaving the south island for a future visit. As expected I was greeted by showers but fortunately it wasn’t that cold compared to winter temperatures in Switzerland.

In Auckland I had the great pleasure of staying at Georgina and Jacques’ place (Georgina and I are friends from Basel & London). The airport shuttle bus brought me directly into the city where I met Georgina in her office. As it was her last day before maternity leave, she said good bye to everyone whilst her colleague Rochelle gave me some excellent advice on what to see on the north island (thanks Rochelle!).

After two days sightseeing in Auckland and yummy barbecues at Georgina & Jacques’ place, I set off on a one-week trip around the north island with the first stop being Rotorua, famous for its geothermal activities. On the way there I stopped to visit the Waitomo Caves where a guided tour took us deep into a cave system filled with stalagmites, stalactites and an unbelievable amount of glowworms hanging from the ceiling above a river running through the cave – it was a fascinating sight and looked like millions of stars shining above our boat.
In Rotorua I went to see the various steaming lakes & bubbling mud holes and enjoyed an afternoon relaxing in the Polynesian Spa pools filled with naturally heated water. To get a bit of exercise I spent a great day hiking through Waimangu Volcanic Valley where more crater lakes steamed, bubbled and smelled like old eggs – one get used to the constant smell after a few hours…


The next stop was Wellington at the southern tip of the north island. On the way to Wellington the bus stopped on the volcanic plateau where I could take pictures of the mighty Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe volcanoes. I seem to be lucky when travelling past volcanoes as, like in Japan with Mt Fuji, the clouds just disappeared once we got closer to them.

There’s not too much to write about my activities in Wellington as it was very rainy and I spent most of the time in the interesting Te Papa museum and reading books in various artsy cafés scattered around town. Windy Welly lived up to its name but I quite liked the laid-back life in town.

To get back to Auckland I chose to take the Overlander train which crosses the north island in twelve hours – enough time to enjoy the passing landscape and amenities of the train such as viewing platforms, lounge area and café. It only rained once during the trip but it lasted for almost twelve hours ;-)
Back in Auckland I was picked up by Georgina and Jacques and their house mate Scotty cooked a superb Sunday roast for all of us.

Thank you very much Georgina & Jacques for being such wonderful hosts during my stay in Auckland and all the good food & lifts into town - the family life I experienced after months in hostel dorms was much needed and highly appreciated!

Click to enlarge


The day came to leave for the next and last continent of my round the world trip - South America…