Update: The end of the big journey and what happens next

Crazy, right? The moment when I board a plane to Chile on December 27, 2017 seems to me to be only a blink of an eye away. Half a year, six months, 180 days – that’s how long our journey was planned and today it’s here: The last day of travel! As fast as time flies – we have experienced so many great moments on our six-month journey.

The nice thing about travelling is that you can experience the journey up to three times: when planning, when you are on the road and when creating photo books or blog posts. I devoted myself intensively to the first part – planning – in the run-up to the trip. For me, the planning phase is important to get in the mood for a trip and a country. In order not to fall too far behind in the last part – creating the blog posts – I had planned to write a blog post every week for this trip. This resolution proved its worth and with a few internet-related “forced breaks” I was able to follow through with the rhythm I was aiming for. Many travel experiences are thus already processed on the blog. In the coming weeks, we will write about the last leg of our journey, which took us from Xi’an to Nukus in Uzbekistan. So there are still one or two opportunities for me to indulge in travel memories.

My feelings are currently fluctuating between melancholy that this adventure has already come to an end and anticipation of everything that is coming up in the coming weeks and months. The wanderlust is far from gone – but more on that later.

First of all, I would like to review the past six months here with a short, crisp “best of”.

The best stage of the journey:

Our four-week road trip through Patagonia – great weather, fantastic landscapes!

The most exciting moments:

The journey along the Silk Road– learned a lot and discovered new things

The most beautiful accommodation:

Undoubtedly: the three Incara hotels around Cusco, which we visited at the invitation of Green Pearls®. And for those on a smaller budget, the Península Petit Hotel in Bariloche with the best breakfast buffet far and wide.

The most casual hike:

The four-day Cerro Castillo Trek in Chile – just us and the wilderness.

The most impressive landscape:

The Argentine Puna – off the beaten path and fantastically beautiful.

The most impressive sunset:

Because it took three attempts: from the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island, Hawaii.

The most surprising travel destination:

Kazakhstan – incredibly diverse landscapes and the most beautiful mountain lake of this trip.

My favorite city:

Seoul in terms of culture and architecture – Lima in terms of cuisine and casualness

The finest cuisine:

I’m just saying Pisco Sour and Ceviche!

The best coffee experience:

The Higashide Coffee in Kanazawa (retro charm included).

The most embarrassing moment:

The loudspeaker announcement of the captain on the ferry near Kagoshima, informing the passengers that two tourists are on the wrong boat and therefore they are going back to the harbor. In the end, the right ship brought us to the most idyllic island of this trip.

Oh, and I’m sure you’re also interested:

Did we stick to our budget?
No; we couldn’t resist some restaurant temptations and therefore unceremoniously took the flights out of the budget, which gave 😉 us more leeway. Thanks to the interest in our pictures and texts, we also earned a boost for the travel fund while on the road.

Where did we spend the most money and which countries were particularly easy on the wallet?
Hawaii was the most expensive and Bolivia the cheapest. We also traveled inexpensively in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Have I packed something “unnecessary”?
Thanks to surprisingly good weather in Patagonia, I didn’t need rain pants or the long merino underwear.

And what’s next?

As the saying goes? “After the journey is before the journey”. And even though I’m expected back at my desk in July, we’ve been busy making travel plans for the second half of the year. First of all, however, we are looking forward to Switzerland and the wonderful mountain summer! Long-time Travelita readers know that we like to lace up our hiking boots in July and August to explore the Alpine region on foot; This year is no exception. It’s not all nailed down yet, but this much can be revealed: The first trip to Switzerland this year takes me to the Jura at the beginning of July. Afterwards, I will visit three different projects of this year’s Mountain Aid Trophy as part of a cooperation with the Swiss Mountain Aid (more on this will follow shortly). In August, in cooperation with RailAway, I will “climb” four different excursion mountains and at the same time the four-day circumnavigation of the Dents du Midi is on the program.

And then the wanderlust calls again! At the end of August, I have an exciting journey that will take me to a destination that is about 16,000 kilometers away from Zurich as the crow flies. Until then, I’ll let you guess a bit.

In autumn, we will definitely go to the mountains again, before we extend the summer with a road trip through Portugal at the end of October. In between, there will probably be one or two short trips – I’m flirting with Italy and Eastern Europe.

There is still a lot to be done for the fourth quarter. Fix is a city trip to Moscow, which I am very much looking forward to.

As you can see, after travel reports from distant countries have come into focus here in recent months, it’s now back to the proven Travelita mix: A variety of excursion ideas and hiking tips for Switzerland, varied city guides as well as travel inspiration for one or the other more distant holiday destination. And of course I’m happy if you continue to stop by in between.