The weather is changing fast in Northern Canada and so is my private portion of luck. But this time quite in favour for me. The first 300 kilometres on the famous Alaska Highway were entertaining due to the ever changing wild animal signs (take care of bears, dears, moose, buffalos – of course no moose was seen though) and when the curtain for this day was falling and night slowly was approaching the stage, I was wondering whether I should go to a camp site or find a remote spot somewhere at a river. The Sikanni River campground (mile 162 Alaska Highway) which came up next was just next to a river and so I checked in there. After short negotiation I paid 10 bucks and was guided to spot no. 26, directly at the lake. I then had to draw a number – maybe I would win the door prize. I drew number 26 and got my 10 dollars back. Nice.


And all of a sudden, the window of opportunity opened wide. In geographical terms: as wide as from here to Tibet.

Just next to my campsite, two Chinese ladies were in the process of intensive cooking (Asian travellers seem to spend considerably more time on cooking than the average Swiss world-traveller). After a short discussion with one of the Chinese ladies I realized that I did not understand a word. This was Chinese, or, possibly, Cantonese. At least not a language I did understand. Neither did the lady understand me. However, I felt that the discussion was friendly and that the lady was somehow exited about her, my Land-Cruiser.


YanXuan or Kelly, respectively (she uses this name because no Canadian is able to properly pronounce “YanXuan”), her daughter brought some light in our conversation. Her mother, she told me, was a member of the “Wolf-Pack” Off-Road Club in China and a referee for the National Chinese Off-Road Challenges. And that she was most exited about my trip and the truck.


Kelly had a hard job translating my questions and her mother’s explanations. They had been to the Everest Base Camp in Tibet with their 4x4! And now the best thing: her mother promised me to try and facilitate things for me if I wanted to drive towards and into Tibet. Can you believe this? I would probably be the first European privately owned car entering Tibet! Fame and glory is waiting! Let’s see whether my trip will take 7 years more.

Day 2: A lot of driving. A beautiful scenery. Still no moose. After some 700km, a meeting with a French family and their French Land-Rover (http://www.land-trotteurs.fr.st - I was right: it is better to do it before having family – their two kids looked so bored and stayed in the car reading the comic books) and yet another audio book (I wouldn’t have minded some hitchhikers, but they are as frequent as the moose up here) I arrived a Liard Springs.


“Hola, che tal?” Hey, what happens here? Not the usual Swiss or German language you find so often in British Colombia and The Yukon Territories? Nope, this time it was two guys from Equador: Xavier and Enrique. Both of them gently floating in the hot springs and telling me about their fabulous trip up from Ecuador to Alaska on their motorcycles.


Later we sat around a fire and I was able to help the guys out with some beans. This investment was worth it: their stories were great and now I am convinced that it is quite possible to enter Colombia without being kidnapped. They told me that police and military controls are everywhere and that they did not have to bribe anybody so far. Good to know!


More people joint us and by mid-night about half the camping ground had come by and wondered about the three foreign vehicles and the roof-tent. 


Day 3: Xavier and Enrique were quiet relaxed about leaving (“we drive much faster than you”) and I left well ahead of them.


It was a wild-life morning. Buffalos in the middle of the street. Later a dead fox (they are not so clever after all) and then a big brown bear. He could not be disturbed by my car and me taking pictures and just sat there eating berries and eventually, ahrrm, doing some smelly business.


Shortly after Watson Lake and its forest of signs and number plates (many of them of Swiss origin) my two motorcyclists-friends overtook with – as promised – great speed. Well then, I would see them again in Ecuador since they invited me to stay at their place once Panmundo.com will reach South America.


I drove on, listening intensively to “The Godfather Returns” and was sort of lost in the story of vendetta, women and murder when suddenly two motorcycles occurred in front of me – this time at a considerable lower speed. They signalled me to stop and told me that they were running out of fuel – this at a place where the next filling station was some 50 kilometres away. I drove slowly behind them and literally with the last drop of fuel and a stagnant motor we reached a filling station.


In the evening I made it to Whitehorse, Yukon Territories. Here I will leave the Alaska Highway and join the Top of The World Highway, driving alongside the Yukon. But first, and this will be the next blog entry, I will go kayaking down the Yukon towards Carmacks, some 340 kilometres afar of Whitehorse. I will keep you posted – hasta pronto!