An exciting way to see the mountains and lakes of the Patagonian Lake District, Cruce Andino is a boat and bus journey that mixes pleasure and adventure with views of snow-capped volcanoes, glaciers and forests. It’s practical too – leaving each and getting you get from A to B across the sometimes tricky border from […]
Read MoreCruceros Australis; a journey to the End of the World through Chile’s little known fjords, glaciers & bays
I’d been looking forward to the Australis cruise for quite a while now and had been anticipating what it was going to be like during my time in Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas. When the day arrived, I was impressed with how smooth the boarding process was. You just had to drop your luggage off […]
Read MoreEco Camp Patagonia
I think so far this has to be the most exciting place I’ve stayed at in Patagonia and the most unusual. It’s located at the start of the W Circuit in the national park and from Puerto Natales it takes about 2.5 hours to get there. It’s elevated above the other hotels and refugios in […]
Read MoreDiscovering Vibrant Valparaiso with Gareth from Senderos
We talk to Gareth about the city of Valparaiso in Chile, once referred to as ‘The Jewel of the Pacific’ by sailors. Gareth runs Senderos with Simon Heyes. Senderos is a Latin American travel representation company that helps to promote some of the most beautiful and interesting parts of Latin America and represents many hotels, […]
Read MoreCycling in Patagonia – Where to go mountain biking
Mountain biking in Patagonia is an increasingly popular activity and it’s not hard to see why. Cycling can take you to places unaccessible by car, and enables you to cover larger distances than by foot. Plus, for those of you that aren’t horse-lovers, you can still cover a large distance in a reasonably short […]
Read MoreLife after the W Circuit
A few of the people who contact Swoop have visited Patagonia before and are looking to go back and explore it further. After all, a region that spans 1,000 miles North to South and 1 million square kilometres, with landscapes ranging from glacial to volcanic, to rainforest and desert, probably deserves more than a fortnight […]
Read MoreMatty’s trip to the Atacama Desert – ‘Arid, beauty, unearthly’
First Name: Matty Age: 37 Occupation: Academic researcher Which operator did you go with or did you organise it yourself? I organized my trip from Santiago to San Pedro de Atacama myself. If you had a local guide, what was he like? I took three tours from San Pedro de Atacama with the same company […]
Read MoreIsla de Chiloé, Chile
When Darwin visited Chiloé in 1835, he described the island as “the border of Christianity”, both in the geographical and spiritual sense. The brilliant researcher was marveled by the co-habitation achieved between Mapuche Indians and the Spanish conquerors over three centuries. This relationship has helped bring about a culture which can be appreciated today in […]
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