Patagonia, Chile

After staying at the foot of the Andes, Jason and I were a little disappointed to be flying to Santiago, Chile instead of driving through the mountains. However, the flight gave us a beautiful (and warmer) view of the majestic peaks!

 

Two flights within Chile and we were greeted at the airport by the general manager of the Cliffs Preserve. The Cliffs properties were developed by the father of a friend from high school, but I had forgotten they had a resort in Chile until we saw the itinerary for our trip (which was prepared by an Argentinian travel agent). Thus, we felt as though we had come full circle when the manager who greeted us in South America had also spent extensive time in Pickens and Greenville, SC and was familiar with a wide circle of people we knew!

The Cliffs Preserve is situated in northern Patagonia on the Pacific coast. It encompasses over 8000 acres and a beautiful undeveloped coastline. The Preserve can only accommodate about 30 guests at a time, but we were shocked to discover we would be the ONLY guests during our stay. Talk about personalized attention!

Our home away from home

Inside the villa

Doesn't every home need a masthead?

And dolphin tail stools?

And an otter table?

The staff at the Preserve was phenomenal! They were all Chilean, except for the manager, and eager to share information about their country and culture. The bartender Luis is famous throughout Chile...and Russia. Apparently, a documentary was made about him by the Ruskies. After tasting his signature arugula martini, I can understand the fascination!

Each day we met with our guide Daniel to plan the day's activities. There were many to choose from:

Such as hiking

Fun even in the rain

The natural fauna provide a perfect umbrella!

Cave exploration

Cliff Dwelling

Rock Climbing

(actually climbing over rocks instead of up them!)

Seaweed Investigation

At rest

Canoing

Paddles up!

The wind was fierce and we had to battle to keep our canoe in line. Our one-person guide in his two-person canoe was not so lucky. He blew into the reeds numerous times!

We conquered the river!

Let there be light!

This place is even more beautiful in the sunshine!

Each villa was equipped with it's own stew pot...I mean, hot tub.

I'm not joking, this was actually the hot tub.

A paddle was provided for stirring.

The perfect redneck retreat.

Horseback Riding

We took the horses along the beach as the sun was getting low and the entire beach was bathed in gold.   Jason had the camera in his pack and he can barely handle a horse, so picture taking wasn't really an option. We rode along a narrow ridge as we wound our way up the mountain, then stopped to hike the rest of the way.

As we came to the the top of the cliff, Daniel and Gonzalo (the horse guide) stopped to discuss something and told us to keep going. We walked over and found...

Surprise!

The staff had prepared a surprise dinner for us at the top of the cliff, complete with tablecloth, flowers, wine, music, and more delicious food! They were so well prepared they even had an extra tablecloth, which was needed when the wind blew the flowers over and drenched the table!

The chefs

Alejandro, our favorite waiter

After they finished cooking, the staff started to walk over a slight ridge nearby. We asked if they would like to join us and they seemed shocked by the invitation. Apparently, no one had ever included them in a surprise dinner and they usually "disappeared" until the guests were finished eating and they could clean up. Instead, we enjoyed a fun party together!

With a few minutes on our own!

It was fortunate that they stayed because after consuming copious amounts of wine, we were definitely over the legal limit for riding horses along a path with hairpin turns! So the staff rode the horses back and we hiked down to the point where a car could pick us up!

The word we heard the most often at the Preserve was "perfect"- the response to any request or decision we made or to describe any activity or setting. Truly, the afternoon was "perfect".

One of the biggest incentives for us to visit Chile was the opportunity to see penguins in a natural habitat. We were very disappointed to learn that penguin visits were subject to weather conditions. The boat to the island where they lived could not withstand choppy water or high winds. Unfortunately for us that was exactly the type of weather present for our entire stay.

More horses instead!

The organic farm on the property where most of the food is grown.

And a final hike through the rainforest

and out to the beach

Even though we had our pick of tables since we were the only guests, we continued to choose "our table" for each meal. The menus were customized to our specifications, so we recovered from our beef overload with delicious seafood!

The Preserve was the perfect way to end our trip - activity mixed with relaxation and plenty of pampering! The service, the setting, the things to do...

Perfect.

The end of peace and quiet.

We were so fortunate to have 12 days on our own - good for our marriage and good for our souls! Many thanks to my wonderful parents for keeping the kids and all the friends who assisted with carpool and birthday parties. But as wonderful as it was to have the opportunity to travel again, it was even more wonderful to return to big hugs and kisses from my favorite little people! Adios, South America!