Sometime in 2008 I decided, that I'd like to undertake a longer trip on my bike for once. Such a decision you can push off for some time or you just see your boss first thing in the morning and ask, if it would be possible to get a three month vacation. As my boss used to travel in Africa himself when he was young, he gave his OK. Under the condition, that the trip would happen during the winter time, as I work in the building industry. For me that was ideal: I wanted to go to South America and there it was summer then.

I started my ride in Santiago de Chile and crossed the Andes for the first time on my way to Argentina. A few hundred kilometers to the North I crossed the Andes again to let one of my dream come true: Meet the Dakar Rally and all the pros on their Rally bikes. Together with Klaus and Thomas I followed the Dakar for a few days and then continued North to Bolivia. From La Paz we made a short excursion to the Camino de la Muerte, the road which is said to be the most dangerous in the world. Bluffs on the roadside up to 600m deep, the narrow road, the mist and the slippery surface for sure make this road at least an adventure. Continuing our ride to Peru, we followed the Colca canyon, the world's deepest canyon, incredible 1200m from the edge down to the river.

Unfortunately I had a very bad accident a few days later, when I was riding alone again: In January 2010 I crashed into a track while crossing a dry riverbed. The truck smashed my right leg completely and left my KTM 950 Adventure a wreck. I was then brought to a very basic hospital, where it was not possible to get the necessary treatments. Due to the floods in Peru, it was nearly impossible to contact anybody or to organize an evacuation. After nearly two weeks I was finally flown out to Lima and then to Switzerland.

In the meantime I had a number of surgeries and managed to build my KTM up from scratch: Only the main frame, the engine and the rear wheel could be reused. The windshield signed by Marc Coma and Cyril Despres is broken too, but it still looks very good, hanging on the wall in my living room.

Whenever I find some time, I add some more reports to this travelogue - so stay tuned!