Wow. Wow. Wow! It is hard to know where to start in describing our incredible tour to Chile and Easter Island (called Rapa Nui by its inhabitants) - the simplest thing to begin with is to say that, after 20 tours with the company (17 JY and 3 TS) that it is far and away the best tour I have ever done in my life - and many of our group agreed! From the day I first read the itinerary I reckoned it had the potential to be a fantastic tour, it sounded so well constructed with a balance of contrasting experiences and a chance to see all the diversity that Chile has to offer. I've had a fascination with Latin America since I was in school and saw a little of Chile when I did the Chile, Argentina and Brazil tour five years ago. So this tour was too good an opportunity to miss - as it turns out, possibly the best decision I have made in many years!! For me, it had the three essentials needed for a stand-out tour - an outstanding itinerary, a great group and a superb tour manager in Patrick Twomey.
The jawdropping scenery began before we even landed - on the approach to Santiago, I was lucky to have a window seat and the views over the Andes were breathtaking. The tour started in the capital and we returned to the city at various points to take internal flights. On arrival, we had a short introductory tour of Santiago and the local guide, Patti, was excellent (and hilarious!). It has an enviable position adjacent to the Andes. Later in the tour, we enjoyed a trip to the market and some of the group took part in a cooking lesson while the rest of us gave them good-natured support and enjoyed a few drinks. It must be said that wine and various other beverages featured quite prominently on this tour, as we were a sociable group and it would be a sin to go all the way to Chile and not enjoy their world-famous wines - carmenere was my favourite variety on the tour. On our last proper stay in Santiago, we visited Valparaiso and Vina del Mar on the coast and enjoyed the street art and another excellent lunch.
Our first big adventure was the flight to the Atacama, flying to Calama (where the miners were trapped underground for 69 days in 2010). Once again, we had amazing and ever-changing views of the Andes on the flight. Some of the group were a bit anxious about the effects of altitude, but Patrick gave us excellent advice and no one had any real problems - we all felt a bit breathless and mildly dizzy at times but that was all. We travelled to San Pedro de Atacama at 8,000ft and on our last day there we visited the El Tatio geysers at 14,200ft - a wonderful site. We saw soaring mountains, deep blue lakes, multi-coloured rock formations and it was all truly stunning. On a number of occasions we saw flamingos and other wildlife. We had a great picnic lunch beside the most beautiful lake, with flamingos in the distance - it doesn't get much better than that! It was magical and surpassed all our expectations. The Atacama was also the first location where we witnessed Patrick's signature move - the handstand - not bad at 14,000ft!
The next region we visited was what's commonly called Chile's "lake district" and flew to Puerto Montt, where we had a walking tour of the town, visited the market and saw sea lions at close range! We then made our way to Puerto Varas where we saw the deep blue Petrohue Falls and had a cruise through Vicente Perez National Park, where we had stunning views of the snow-capped Osorno volcano, a rival of Japan's iconic Mt Fuji! A wonderful day. The next day was more understated, a visit to Chiloé island, but fascinating nonetheless. Chiloé has played a vital role in the development of Chilean culture and is home to many unique wooden churches, which are UNESCO listed. The countryside is beautiful and we had curanto for lunch, consisting of sausage, meat, seafood and vegetables which are cooked underground. We were a bit apprehensive beforehand but enjoyed the experience!
After that, we were off to Patagonia - first stop was Punta Arenas, "the town at the end of the world." It certainly did have an isolated feeling to it and is an attractive small town, surrounded by more stunning scenery. Truly every day on this tour is a highlight and we were in Punta Arenas to travel through the Straits of Magellan to visit Magdalena Island, home to thousands of penguins! The crossing wasn't as rough as I had feared (but do take motion sickness pills/sea bands with you just in case) and it was wonderful to get so close to these comical birds. Prior to writing this review, I had begun to sort out my photos and wondered to myself, how is it possible to take so many pics of penguins?! They performed well for us, including one poor befuddled chap who had clearly forgotten where his burrow was and peered hopefully into every one he came across, much to the annoyance of some of those dwelling there!! Later that day, we travelled through yet another stunning and ever-changing landscape as we made our way to Puerto Natales and our next big adventure.
The next day certainly ranks as one of the most enjoyable of my life - a visit to Torres del Paine National Park. Words cannot do justice to the beauty of the scenery, it took our breath away at every turn (and so did the wind!). We wrapped up warm (well, we were at the windiest place on earth) and staggered along the track to various viewpoints, holding onto each other as needed! Our efforts were rewarded by unforgettable views and I managed one small act of heroism by retrieving Patrick's hat as it flew past me! After another excellent lunch, we saw the icebergs at Grey Lake and some of the group made the arduous trek along the beach and the ridge to get the best views (in 80mph winds!!). Our hard work was worth it and I felt a sense of achievement afterwards! I also had the rosiest cheeks of my life (nothing to do with the wine).
On our final day in Patagonia we were meant to see the glaciers but the Chilean navy closed access to them on safety grounds, due to the high winds (which we completely understood). It is a testament to how much we were enjoying ourselves that no one complained. Patrick had everything in hand and at very short notice, he organized a full day at a working sheep estancia, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We had a tour of the antique ranch house and saw a ram being sheared and had the wool preparation process explained. We had a wonderful lunch of their own lamb (delicious) and unlimited wine. Afterwards saw another standout moment on the tour - and a completely unexpected one. Patrick, Kim and Jude decided to practise some yoga moves in the high winds, when one of the gauchos took an interest in what they were doing. Not to be outdone, he persuaded his horse to take part, thereby introducing the world to horse yoga!! This was a golden photo op and it took us quite some time to recover our composure.
The following day, we returned to Santiago and had our trip to the coast, as mentioned earlier. Then we said our sad farewells to the main group, as the rest of us jetted off to Easter Island/Rapa Nui, the most isolated inhabited island in the world. I thought I had an idea of what to expect, having read about the moai (the huge statues for which the island is famous) and the deforestation of the land and presumed the island would be barren and bleak. How wrong I was! Rapa Nui is lush and absolutely stunning, from rugged coastlines with crashing waves to picturesque hills and volcanoes. We had two and a half days full of sightseeing and we saw all the main moai sites in a variety of settings, with more amazing photo opportunities. There was also time for relaxation at Anakena beach and the swimmers in the group enjoyed the beautiful setting and warm sea. The only town, Hanga Roa, is well set up for visitors with many good restaurants and was a 20 minute walk away. Our hotel had beautiful gardens and was located on the coast, with the most incredible views of the sunset. On our first and last nights, we gathered there and shared drinks and nibbles while we savoured the views and traded banter with each other. On our middle night, we went into town to watch a cultural show, which was very well done. On our final morning, we went to Tongariki, the largest ahu on the island (fifteen statues on a platform) to watch the sunrise - another wonderful experience. As we prepared to head to the airport, we received unexpected news - a group of locals had taken over the airport in protest over the sacking of the island boss of LATAM airlines! Patrick gave us free time in the town to have lunch, while he appraised the situation. Later on we headed to the airport and witnessed the most good humoured protest I have ever seen - there was singing and dancing and an enterprising chap had set up a large barbeque area outside the terminal! Thankfully after a couple of hours, the protest was over (the boss got a reprieve until March, which seemed to satisfy his supporters) and, despite the chaos of the airport, Patrick and our excellent local guide Nico used their knowledge and skills to help us through the mayhem without any difficulty and we were through to the plane within minutes. No mean feat! After that, we had a final night in Santiago and then we sadly made our way home after a truly unforgettable and mind-blowing holiday.
This review has taken on epic proportions (apologies for those who have developed eyestrain as a result of reading this far), but it is only fitting for such an epic tour. Some final comments: we saw a wide variety of wildlife including the various species of camelids, grey fox, pelicans, condors as well as those already mentioned. The hotels were all of a good or very good standard and all had hairdryers - most only had a bar of soap for the shower, so bring your own preferred brand! Not all the hotels had room safes, so bring a lock for your case (and day bag/rucksack etc. as well). We all felt completely safe at all times and of course you can leave anything you don't want to carry on the coach. This tour is definitely not suitable for anyone with limited mobility - some of the walks were quite strenuous. Regarding clothes, bringing layers is definitely the way to go and pack a fleece and a rain-jacket that will fit over it. Woolly hat, scarf and gloves are essential, as are shoes/trainers with a very good grip. The food was very good, a little more expensive than I had expected and I probably spent the equivalent of around £500. It is easy to change sterling, euro or dollars for pesos and there are ATMs in the main towns (including Hanga Roa on Rapa Nui). Don't let the large number of flights put you off - it wasn't nearly as tiring or tiresome as I'd expected (and in many ways preferable to long hours spent on a coach, which we didn't have on this tour). Bring a large capacity SD card for your camera and spare batteries - you will take literally thousands of photos!
Finally, it wouldn't be right to end this review without making a special mention of our tireless, enthusiastic and outstanding tour manager, Patrick Twomey, whose knowledge and expertise brought this tour to another level completely. His commentary was riveting and always insightful and he helped us to understand the complexities of Chilean society and culture with ease. He was always organized and took everything in his stride. He has an immense understanding of not only Chilean society and history (having lived there for a time), but also of the whole of Latin America and far beyond. He is fascinating to talk to and it was a privilege to be in his company. He also has a wicked sense of humour and was a good friend to everyone on the tour. He runs a very informative and interesting travel blog and website, www.twomeytravel.com and it is well worth consulting. I do hope that JY/TS know what an invaluable asset they have in Patrick - if I knew that he was leading a tour or that he had designed it, I'd book it like a shot!
So in summary, yes this is an expensive tour but as someone who has been concerned with the price of tours for a while now, I would say that it is worth every penny. Sell a kidney, disinherit the family and go! I am positive you won't regret it! I could have said so much more and I hope that my lovely fellow travellers will add to what I have written.
Cheers,
Bob
