January Reviews

My friend and I were so fortunate to happen into a trip with 3 other ladies our same age who were energetic and kind and perfect travel companions. Our guide, Mauricio, was top notch: Warm and welcoming. Well known and happily greeted by nearly all staff amongst the campsites and facilities. A perfect balance of motivation and patience, a wide knowledge of the trek and terrain, and a passion for the land. We had unusually fantastic sunny weather the entire trek which made for stunning views. Two moments of the trek stick out in my mind -- the night sky at Grey Glacier taking in what seemed like the entire galaxy with the naked eye; and an extended mountaintop lunch break overlooking Grey as we walked on to Paine Grande, enjoying the company of friendship we had made with our guide Mauricio and the porters Pablo and Antonio while we played cards in front of an unforgettable backdrop.

Reaching the peak of the Base of the Towers trek! It was a tough trek but so worth it!

No one particular highlight. Landscapes were pretty awesome. We only met our group (six in total, all Canadians) and our great guide and porters. Probably would tell anyone “don’t go”.... The trail and conditions were a surprise. Climbing to the John Gardner pass and finishing the “O” circuit were great moments.

Highlight was the circuit trek and enjoying the company of our guide, porters and fellow trekkers. Landscape and wildlife were fabulous. The biggest surprise was the terrific weather and lack of wind. We got very lucky with only 30 mins of rain in 9 days of walking.

It is very hard to say! Our visit to Barraco Lodge was incredible and Patagonia Camp and the excursions were epic!

So many memorable moments of our Patagonia trip - dramatic crossing of the Pollone river in full flood, reaching the Circo de Los Altares to view Cerro Torre - an amphitheatre of iconic mountains, 30 minute exhibition by 20 Condors for our personal benefit, climbing Mount Madsen in the shadow of the Fitzroy Massif, crossing the Andes by boat and bus retracing the start of Che Guevara's famous motorcycle expedition, relaxing in Valparaiso and a biodynamic vineyard for a few days prior to our return. All our guides were excellent and wonderful company.

Swoop and JLA prepared me well. Just enough to ensure I took the right stuff and had realistic expectations but not too much so no spoiled surprises. Everything surprised and delighted me. I hope it doesn’t sound self-centred to say that most of all I surprised myself. I was petrified of holidaying alone as I didn’t know what to expect but I seemed to cope with all the challenges. On reflection I think that my enjoyment of the holiday was largely due to our group leader who successfully built and managed the group dynamic so well, ensured super smooth administration of the arrangements without any fuss and was always mindful of our needs.

The highlight of the trip has to be kayaking next to the magnificent Glacier Grey with giant icebergs floating by. I’ve never experienced anything like that before and the 2 hour flew by as we took in the most incredible views. The staff were very professional and made everyone feel at ease.

Hiking to the base of the towers (or the Laguna de Los Tres hike).

Highlight for us as we are avid hikers was Laguna de los Tres. The entire trail is scenic and the view from the top is otherworldly. A common reply from friends we sent photos to was "that doesn't look real" and they were right. The landscape is so dramatic at times that it seems unnatural...surreal. One surprising thing for us was how much we wore the buffs that Swoop sent before the trip. When we got them we thought they were strange and so thin that they would be of little use. We were wrong. We used them almost every day and they have become our new favorite piece of gear!

The trek was extremely challenging, both physically and mentally. The landscapes are incredible. The people I met were likeminded and a pleasure to be with. I think, the terrain was the biggest surprise in terms of the difficulty levels associated with ascent/descent and underfoot.

A tie between reaching the top of the Britanico hike and enjoying a beer and the sun at the Central campsite.

The trip was an adventure and to see such beautiful scenery was breathtaking. The people of Patagonia were extremely friendly and helpful and without question getting up close and personal with a Glacier was a truly memorable moment. The shear scale of nature in the raw is a beautiful thing to see

In Torres del Paine, it is a toss up between the first day with Joaquin & the driver (who was super but I don’t remember his name) and our last hike with Matthias. Bothe experiences were fantastic. The guides were excellent. It was mind-blowing.

Highlights include that each day was a totally different visual delight. Having done a fair amount of hiking - you can drink all of the water and it is icy! What I tell everyone is "You need to do this hike. Eight days of being off the grid and fabulous scenery. " Additional highlight for those of who have humped our stuff - the food is great and plentiful"

Full Paine excursion with Joaquin and Alejandro -- stunning scenery, terrific background info from Joaquin about the park, its history, geology, wildlife, etc., and lovely, end-of-day surprise snacks and drinks with both guides.

Each hike, or kayak, or horseback ride gave us the chance to experience a beauty unlike any I have ever seen.

The first view of Los Cuernos del Paine. The second is the first hike (16Km) on the Cuernos side.

Its hard to pick out one thing, but I would have to say watching the sun rise over the towers was amazing a long crazy hike but there was a full moon made it even better.

There were many memorable moments but probably the most memorable was the first day's hike to Laguna de los Tres - just geeting there gave us a great sense of accomplishment, the views were marvelous, and our guide was excellent.