Murdoughnut
Well sized member
My wife and I had international frequent flyer miles and decided to take them about as far as they would get us - Santiago, Chile. These are some pics from our trip. We flew into Santiago on AA and spent two days there, with a day spent touring the wine country, and another day spent walking the city.
From there we hopped on a LAN Chile flight down to Punta Arenas - the southern most city in the world with a population of 100k+ We spent two days in Punta Arenas, which included 2-hour ferry boat ride to an island inhabited by tens of thousands of Magellan Penguins.
On day two, our resort on Patagonia picked us up for the five hour ride into the Tierra Del Paine - the national forest. On the way we stopped at a sheep ranch for lunch, and got to see some sheep dogs in action.
We stayed at the resort for five days, four nights. It was sort of expensive ($3600 for both of us) but everything was included, including meals, wine, beer, and moderate priced liquors. We took three hikes, and one horseback ride (although two of the hikes involved riding the horses at the beginning and end). The guides were awesome and the excursions were covered under the package.
After leaving the forest, we went back to Punta Arenas for a night, then hopped another LAN flight to Santiago. One more wine tour, and another day in the city, and we were back - for a total of 11 days. It was an amazing trip - and I saw things more beautiful than anything I've ever seen before - honestly!
Pic#1 - Leaving Tampa for our connection in Miami
Pic#2 - Santiago airport after getting off the flight from Miami
Pic#3 - Santiago after some of the smog lifted (nice town, but horrible air pollution)
Pic#4 - Central cathedral in Santiago - dating back to the 1790s
Pic#5 - Yours truly looking as CIA as possible in the town square
Pic#6 - Standing in front of some barrels at one of the wineries we visited
Pic#7 - Vineyard
Pic#8 - Me trying to be all artsy and what not
Pic#9 - Terraced vineyard
Pic#10 - Airport in Punta Arenas (where the wind averages around 30-knots)
From there we hopped on a LAN Chile flight down to Punta Arenas - the southern most city in the world with a population of 100k+ We spent two days in Punta Arenas, which included 2-hour ferry boat ride to an island inhabited by tens of thousands of Magellan Penguins.
On day two, our resort on Patagonia picked us up for the five hour ride into the Tierra Del Paine - the national forest. On the way we stopped at a sheep ranch for lunch, and got to see some sheep dogs in action.
We stayed at the resort for five days, four nights. It was sort of expensive ($3600 for both of us) but everything was included, including meals, wine, beer, and moderate priced liquors. We took three hikes, and one horseback ride (although two of the hikes involved riding the horses at the beginning and end). The guides were awesome and the excursions were covered under the package.
After leaving the forest, we went back to Punta Arenas for a night, then hopped another LAN flight to Santiago. One more wine tour, and another day in the city, and we were back - for a total of 11 days. It was an amazing trip - and I saw things more beautiful than anything I've ever seen before - honestly!
Pic#1 - Leaving Tampa for our connection in Miami
Pic#2 - Santiago airport after getting off the flight from Miami
Pic#3 - Santiago after some of the smog lifted (nice town, but horrible air pollution)
Pic#4 - Central cathedral in Santiago - dating back to the 1790s
Pic#5 - Yours truly looking as CIA as possible in the town square
Pic#6 - Standing in front of some barrels at one of the wineries we visited
Pic#7 - Vineyard
Pic#8 - Me trying to be all artsy and what not
Pic#9 - Terraced vineyard
Pic#10 - Airport in Punta Arenas (where the wind averages around 30-knots)
