Itinerary: CHILE & ARGENTINA

Andes, Patagonia, Pampas
Tierra Del Fuego and Iguazu Falls
General Natural History and Birdwatching

November, 2009

November is spring in the south of South America. This tour visits the most beautiful natural areas of both countries, an itinerary seldom offered. Beginning in Santiago we pass through Mediterranean-like wine country to La Campana Park, a land of rare palms, cactus, and native dry forest, full of wildflowers and unusual birds. On the rocky Pacific coastline we embark on a tranquil boat trip into the Humboldt Current for some of the world's finest pelagic birdwatching; six different albatrosses, varied petrels and penguins can be seen.

South, we pass through the picturesque Chilean Lake District to the slopes of the Andes and Puyehue National Park, where we stay in a fine ski lodge at timberline and walk through flowering alpine meadows and forests of southern beech forests. There are grand vistas of Andean volcanoes north and south. Still further south in the Andes are famous Torres Del Paine National Park (Chile) and Los Glaciares National Park (Argentina), with impressive glaciers, blue lakes and granite peaks. Condors, Black-necked Swans, and Guanacos and Rheas, relatives of Llamas and Ostriches respectively, are common through the vast Patagonian steppe.

From El Calafate we fly south to Tierra del Fuego, a land of windswept grasslands, beech forests and snow-capped mountains. At Ushuaia, the southernmost town in the Americas, we cruise the Beagle Channel to view mountainous islands and seabirds.

After a flight north we stay three nights on the Valdes Peninsula, a park of Patagonian steppe that juts into the Atlantic. Here we observe Elephant Seals, Sea Lions, a huge Magellanic Penguin colony, and boat out to view Southern Right Whales. Near Buenos Aires we explore the Pampas; the variety of marsh, meadow and coastal birds is astonishing, including Screamers, Greater Rhea, and the Firewood Gatherer. Iguazu Falls is a mile-long arc of more than a dozen falls, surrounded by verdant subtropical rainforest inhabited by parrots, trogons, and the Toco Toucan, the world's largest.

The incredible geographic variety and the diversity of large, spectacular wildlife combine to make this one of the most exciting and interesting tours in the Americas. Popular Argentine naturalist Santiago de la Vega, author of five books on Argentine nature, has led this tour five times for this unique tour exploring the "Southern Cone."

Leadership

Santiago de la Vega is an Argentine naturalist and birdwatcher with special interests in Argentina's history and culture. Santiago has a degree in Marine Biology and has been guiding natural history groups in Argentina for 15 years. He lives in Buenos Aires, but when not guiding, Santiago is often exploring remote parts of Argentina researching and writing travel guidebooks. His great enthusiasm for Argentina and his willingness to share his knowledge has made Santiago a favorite with travelers.

Preparation

By June 2009 participants will be sent maps, an equipment list, health suggestions, entrance requirements and visa applications, bird lists, selected articles and a list of suggested readings.

Lodgings, Transportation and Gratuities

All overnight accommodations and all but one meal are included. All accommodations are in hotels and lodges where each room has an attached bathroom. Transportation will generally be by small bus. Boat trips and park entrances are paid by the tour. Local airport taxes of over $50 will also be paid by the tour. A late evening tango show is optional and costs about $50. Gratuities to staff at all hotels and restaurant staff during group meals are included.

Activities and Expectations

Most days we will have morning and afternoon walking or driving outings. Before breakfast, optional birdwalks are also usually offered. Rain and mud will be encountered somewhere during the tour. Temperatures may reach the 80's a few days, but cool (50's and 60's) and windy conditions will also be encountered. Freezing temperatures may occur a day or two in the far south. Walks will seldom be over four miles. There is always the option to relax at our beautiful accommodations.

Trip Cost and Reservations

Initial reservation deposit is required to reserve one of the 9 available spaces.	$ 500
Final payment, due Sept., 2009	$5,000
GROUND FARE TOTAL	$5,500

Single Supplement $850 Small Group Supplement

If the group size is fewer than 6, a reasonable small-group supplement will be added.

Air Fare including internal flights $2100, approximately from Miami or Dallas, including internal flights.

Reservations and Final Payment

Make deposit and final payment checks payable to Mark Smith and send to:

Mark Smith
PO Box 3831
Portland OR 97208-3831

Include your address and phone, and the name of the trip. You will be sent a letter acknowledging your deposit.

The final payment is due 60 days before departure. Mark's phone is 360-566-0458.

Mark's email is pamd@wittravel.com

Air arrangements will be coordinated by:

Pam Davis, Willamette International Travel
1314 NW Irving Street, #101
Portland, OR 97209
Phone: 503-224-0180 or 1.800-821-0401
Fax: 503-242-3861
E-mail: pamd@wittravel.com

Cancellations and Refunds

Cancellations made 90 days prior to departure receive full refund less $50. Cancellations made between 90 and 60 days prior to departure forfeit $500. Cancellations made 60 and fewer days prior to departure forfeit 70% of ground costs. Trip cancellation insurance is available from Willamette International Travel.

ITINERARY

Chile and Argentina

(Meals paid for independently are indicated by "individual lunch,"etc.)

Day 1		USA to Santiago
We depart Dallas or Miami late this evening and arrive into Santiago mid-morning.
Day 2		Santiago/The Central Valley
As we arrive in Santiago around 10:30 AM, we'll enjoy fine views of the Andes and the coast range, which cradle Chile's Central Valley, an agricultural region of Mediterranean climate where 70% of the country's 12 million people live. Santiago is an attractive city of four million. After hotel check-in, we will visit the Farellones Ski Resort area at over 10,000 feet in the Andes. Here we may see Andean Condors and Mountain caracaras, as well as various ground tyrants and Crag Chilia. Classic Andean flowers abound in alpine meadows and arid shrublands, all surrounded by the snow-capped Andes. We return to Santiago for our welcome dinner. Lunch, if required, paid individually.
Day 3		Santiago to Viña del Mar, on the Pacific
We depart early for the coast range, passing through fields of grains, vegetables, fruit trees and vineyards as we cross the 40-mile-wide Central Valley. After two hours, we reach La Campana National Park at 2500 feet in the coast range. The park is reminiscent of arid Arizona mountains, with chaparral-covered hillsides, cactus, and creek-side woodlands of oaks and palm. Flowers should be at their peak here, and numerous birds will be active. By late morning we retreat to the rocky coast to observe shorebirds and seabirds. We spend the night in the resort town of Viña del Mar.
Day 4		Viña to Santiago
Early this morning we embark on one of the finest pelagic birdwatching trips anywhere. The sea is typically calm, and we will boat out for four hours to view the spectacular birdlife that the rich upwelling of the cold Humboldt Current supports, including as many as six albatross species, petrels, two cormorants, Humboldt Penguins, Inca Tern and many others. Following a quick lunch overlooking the historic port of Valparaiso, we return to our Santiago hotel for a short break before our afternoon city tour to view historic buildings and interesting places of Santiago, which was founded in 1541 by Pedro de Valdivia, one of Pizarro's men. Overnight in Santiago.
Day 5		Santiago/Puerto Montt/Puyehue Park
At 9:00 AM we fly south over 600 miles to Puerto Montt, gateway to the Chilean Lake District. Puerto Montt was settled in the mid-1800's by Germans, and many buildings are of German design. From here we drive through the forests, agricultural land, and past lakes of the Chilean Lake District on our way to Puyehue National Park. We'll make stops for photos, birds and flowers, and by late afternoon arrive at our ski lodge, the Antillanca Refuge at timberline, about 5000 feet.
Day 6		Puyehue Park
A full day to explore the park. We'll drive down into the Valdivian forests of Southern Beech, bamboo, treeferns and firebush, to search for the giant Magellanic Woodpecker, parakeets, and the Green-backed Firecrown hummingbird, among others. This is a beautiful forest, and there are numerous photo opportunities for falls and flowers. Above the refuge there will still be much snow, but we may be able to take the chairlift or walk a rough road to the mountain crest for a grand view of six lakes and seven volcanic peaks, the whole of the Andes stretching north and south. In this area we'll watch for chat-tyrants, cinclodes, and alpine flora.
Day 7		Puyehue to Torres del Paine Park
We depart early for Puerto Montt, making a few stops en route, and catch our 10:40 AM flight for Punta Arenas, enjoying views of the Andes, Patagonian Steppe, and the Straights of Magellan during the flight. From Punta Arenas we begin a beautiful five-hour drive with stops north to Torres del Paine (Towers of Paine) National Park, where we settle into the Hosteria Lazo, an estancia that typifies the large ranches granted to early Spanish military colonizers and to settlers. We are here two nights, beside Lazo Lake with a fine view of the Paine Massif.
Day 8		Torres del Paine
Torres del Paine is one of the most famous and photographed parks in all South America. The glacier-carved “towers” rise from undulating hills covered in grass and stunted beech. Glaciers calve blue icebergs into cold lakes, and Guanacos and Lesser Rheas are common. We'll see Black-necked and Coscoroba Swans, as well as various ducks and geese, and Andean Condors patrolling the crags. It will be spring here at 50˚ S. Lat., and many flowers will be emerging.
Day 9		Torres del Paine to El Calafate
This morning we traverse the true Patagonian Steppe as we drive to El Calafate. Nearby we'll visit the Perito Moreno glacier in Los Glaciares National Park. We'll see more Rheas and Guanacos, as well as great flocks of sheep. On lakes we'll find flamingos, waterfowl, grebes and shorebirds. Night in El Calafate.
Day 10		To Ushuaia
After a morning watching birds at Laguna Nimes, near Lago Argentina, we fly at 12:30 PM to Ushuaia, southernmost city in the world. Ushuaia overlooks the Beagle Channel and is backed by glacier-sculpted mountains. After checking into our attractive hotel, we'll leave this city of 50,000 for a walk in Tierra del Fuego National Park amongst grasslands and beech forest, weather permitting. Special birds of the region include Ashy-headed and Kelp Geese, White-throated Caracara, and Austral Parakeet.
Day 11		Ushuaia to Trelew
This morning we embark on a half-day boat trip on the Beagle Channel to view great colonies of seabirds such as cormorants, steamer ducks, Snowy Sheathbill, skuas and Diving Petrel. All this against the snow covered mountains of Tierra del Fuego National Park. At 8:00 PM we catch our flight to Trelew, about 1200 miles north at 43˚ S. Lat. on the Atlantic. Here we settle into our hotel.
Day 12 - 13		The Valdes Peninsula
Today and tomorrow we explore this animal-rich area at the north end of Patagonia. The shrub desert is reminiscent of our West and hosts Guanacos, Rheas, the odd Mara (a rodent) and many interesting birds. Creosote is one of the dominant shrubs, and there are other parallels with our western deserts. We'll view colonies of Elephant Seals and Sea Lions, and will boat out to watch rare Southern Right Whales. This coastline of beaches and headlands is magnificent, and we stay at the end of the Valdes Peninsula for a night at the Estancia Rincon Chico near the lighthouse. Saturday night we return to Trelew.
Day 14		Punta Tombo, Trelew, Buenos Aires
We depart early for Punta Tombo to visit the breeding colony of a million Magellanic Penguins. Rheas and Guanacos are common in grassland and shrub habitats, as are many unusual landbirds and cold-desert plants. We'll enjoy some short walks and a field lunch before returning to Trelew for our 7:30 PM flight to Buenos Aires where we spend the night.
Day 15		Buenos Aires to the Pampas
We leave this morning by bus and travel the old coastal highway south through rural pampas, past ranches and fertile agricultural land, and through marshes and relict forests to San Clemente del Tuyu. This Atlantic coastal resort is our base for exploring the grasslands, marshes, woodlands, farmland, tidal estuary and salt marshes that together make the pampas one of the richest environments on earth for viewing a large variety of colorful birds, including Southern Screamers, Monk Parakeet, swans, storks and varied raptors and waterfowl, to name just a few. Like the wetlands of the American West, the pampas will be alive with birds in this spring season.
Day 16		Pampas
Further exploration of the pampas, described so beautifully in W.H. Hudson's famous work, The Naturalist in La Plata.
Day 17		Pampas, Buenos Aires/Iguazu Falls
An early departure for our return through the Pampas to Buenos Aires, where we catch a 1:00 PM flight for Iguazu Falls in the subtropical northeast of Argentina. We arrive at 2:30 PM and settle into the Hotel Iguazu in the heart of the national park, with views of the falls. We'll have an evening walk near the falls.
Day 18 - 19		Iguazu/Buenos Aires
These days we wander the trails of Iguazu Falls National Park, enjoying the different views of this 230 foot high system of many falls which stretches over a mile. There are beautiful trails through subtropical (26˚ S. Lat.) forest along which we will find butterflies, flowering orchids and bromeliads, and colorful birds such as cotingas, trogons and toucans, including the world's largest, the Toco Toucan. At 2:30 PM Friday we catch our flight for Buenos Aires, where we settle into our hotel in the city center. Tonight there will be an option to watch a tango show, which will keep some of us out late.
Day 20		Buenos Aires/Miami
There will be an early option to visit a reclaimed wetland within the city limits, rich with waterbirds. Today we will have a city tour including the presidential palace, the ornate Colon opera house, the Plaza de Mayo, the Recoleta Cemetery where many historic figures are buried, and the old port district, called La Boca. After our final group farewell lunch, we head for the airport to catch our late evening flights to the United States.
Day 21		Miami to Home
After connecting with flights in Miami, most people will be home by midday.