One thing my husband asked me when I was planning this trip was “Fran, you say that Torres del Paine is like a more rugged Montana and they have lots of meat like Montana. But, why are we going through the effort to go somewhere that’s so much like home?” It was hard for me to answer. The best thing I could do is just show him. …

I was so excited when I saw my first guanaco. It reminded me of a llama mixed with an antelope! Our guides said it was such a wild creature that so many had attempted to domesticate it and failed miserably. After two days, I realized they were like seeing a white-tailed deer at home. They were simply everywhere! Although, I was never sick of …

I didn’t even bother to look at the forecast for when we were in Torres del Paine because I just knew it all would change in an instant. A question I am asked constantly is – what weather should I expect? Expect NOTHING. Prepare for everything. I have told all of my travelers to bring layers when they are in Patagonia. I told them this …

If you ask my husband what his favorite part of our trip was, he will say the food. Santiago had excellent options as far as seafood, meat, ect. I ate ceviche every chance I had. I have found that food is sometimes the best way you can experience a new culture. I don't think I had one meal that I didn't like! I discovered that a lot of the …

When I returned home, I'm pretty sure my blood ran with Chilean wine. I've always loved wine and discovered pretty quickly that I like red wine the most. We were lucky to sample wines from white to red at Matetic. I honestly enjoyed each one! The Syrah, they explained, was grown in such a way that gave it a more smooth and robust taste. …

Many people would say that there's not much to do in Punta Arenas and they'd be correct. But the little we discovered the one free afternoon was so much fun. We arrived to Hotel Rey don Felipe and they had equipped us with a handy map of the small town. Toby took a well-deserved map while I looked through the details. When he woke up, we …

I wasn't quite convinced I would see penguins until we were about 15 minutes away from Magdalena Island. This excursion is often cancelled if the conditions aren't quite right as the winds in Patagonia are fierce and unpredictable. I respected that probability. But, against all odds, we were picked up from our hotel at 6:45 AM to head to …

I'm going to walk you through the day in the life of a lucky traveler at EcoCamp for a Wildlife Safari program. You wake up early in your dome and an incredibly comfortable bed, usually between 7 and 8 AM depending on when your excursion starts that day. You wander down to the dome that is serving the breakfast options. There are typically …

If you ever cross from Chile to Argentina while staying in Torres del Paine, I can tell you what to expect. We had an early morning breakfast and took all of our things to the van. We said our farewells to our friends and guides we met. We headed to Cerro Castillo, about an hour away from EcoCamp. We shopped for a few minutes at the souvenir shop …