Felt in good hands

Patagonia | Jan 5 - Jan 24, 2025

We visited Patagonia in Chile and Argentina. Undoubtedly, Patagonia is the most spectacular environment I have ever visited. Biodiversity is still noticeable in that part of the world and I hope it will be forever preserved that way. The Andean Condor, Uppland geese, culpeos and guanacos are still common sight. I wish I had seen the timid armadillo!

It was suggested by Lorena that we rented a car to travel within North Patagonia and then Punta Arenas to Torres del Paine. The roads from Balmaceda Airport to Puerto Guadal and around Torres del Paine were unpaved or filled with craters in the paved roads, which made the driving conditions dangerous and so it became necessary to drive between 20 - 60 km/h. Nevertheless, the scenery in those areas were breathtaking! Also, petrol stations are hard to come by and we needed to make that planning ourselves. We were not given this information beforehand. A bus trip from Puerto Natales to El Calafate was added to our itinerary and it was not the 4 h stated on our itinerary, but 6 h. It was the most uncomfortable part of the trip, as we were crammed in like sardines.

In the plus side, all hotels suggested were excellent. My top picks were Lago Grey Hotel and Mirador Puerto Guadal, plus the food at the Yegua Loca restaurant. The best boat trip was to Spegazzini glacier.

Lorena was always very prompt at helping us when needed, even when we were still in Santiago. We felt safe under her care and she sorted issues very quickly. On the improvement side, the itineraries could have been checked a few hours in advance to avoid some of the issues.