Category: 2009 World Tour

Argentina, Chile, Patagonia2 Comments

Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn Cruise

Raj Choudhury

The hotel in Torres del Paine transferred us back to Punta Arenas by van along with 2 other couples who were going on the same cruise. We spent about 7 hours with them between the journey and waiting to be able to board so we learned quite a lot about each other and began the cruise with new friends. One couple, Hans and Rena, were in their 70s (actually Hans was 80) and had travelled absolutely everywhere! They amazed us with their endless energy and fabulous stores from their 50 years of travelling.  The other couple, Jeff and Midge, were … Continue reading Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn Cruise

Chile, Torres del Paine1 Comment

Torres del Paine

Raj Choudhury

The day before we left the Lake District (in Northern Patagonia) to fly to Punta Arenas (Southern Patagonia) we realized that we should look into where we were going to stay.  The main attraction on the Chilean side of Southern Patagonia is the enormous National Park, Torres del Paine.  It is about 4-5 hours drive away from Punta Arenas and the roads, we had heard, are not that great. (travelers note:  other than being mostly gravel and no gas stations for hours, the roads were fine… just lots and lots of flat nothing, like driving through Texas).  We had also … Continue reading Torres del Paine

Chile, PatagoniaLeave a comment

The Lake District

Raj Choudhury

After checking back into the Holiday Inn Express in Puerto Montt we decided to get some much needed laundry done and contacted some guy our cab driver gave us in order to book a rental car for the next three days. It was a Saturday night in Puerto Montt, but all we could handle was room service and some R&R after a long week of exhilarating riding. The next day we picked up our rental car, which I like to call “piece of shit car” after the Adam Sandler song (Jeff you know which one I mean). No joke, this … Continue reading The Lake District

Chile, Futaleufu4 Comments

6 days and 5 nights of horseback riding and estancias (Part 2 of 2)

Raj Choudhury

Day 3: We woke up at Irvin’s a bit sore from sharing the tiny bed that sinks in the middle, and certainly in part from 2 long days of horseback riding. Seeing the location by daylight, however, was illuminating.  Though the small house was similar to how it looked by candlelight, the scenery around it was a pleasant surprise, as it was on hill overlooking the lake.  Once Fabian returned from a ride to the neighbors to buy some bread, the four us had breakfast, I helped Fabian remove a big splinter from his hand (thank you big tree from … Continue reading 6 days and 5 nights of horseback riding and estancias (Part 2 of 2)

Chile, Futaleufu, Santa Cruz, Santiago1 Comment

As promised…

Raj Choudhury

Sorry for the week-long teaser! It wasn’t really intentional – we just ran out of time to write and also had no access to our computer or Internet all week. So, here we go… 1. Getting pulled over by la policia after drinking a bottle of wine – In Santa Cruz we drove out to a lovely dinner in a rural area at a traditional family owned restaurant. We shared a really nice bottle of Montes wine (for $13) and asked the owner/waiter to order for us (meat for raj and fish for me-although I’m eating meat on this trip, … Continue reading As promised…

Chile, Futaleufu, Santa Cruz2 Comments

10 Things we will tell you about next weekend (after we get back from #10)

Raj Choudhury

1. Getting pulled over by la policia after drinking a bottle of wine 2. What Santa Cruz Wine Valley is like 3. Wine tasting by horseback 4. GPS getting directions to Santiago airport wrong 5. Raj giving away his burger to the needy 6. Charter plane to Palena 7. Ride to Futaleufu Valley 8. “The Lodge” in the Valley 9. Why Tovah is no longer interested in Kayaking 10. Our 5 day tour through the mountains that have not been ridden this season (due to volcano eruptions that wiped out a town last year) and staying at haciendas with locals … Continue reading 10 Things we will tell you about next weekend (after we get back from #10)

Chile, Santa Cruz, SantiagoLeave a comment

Riding Horses through vineyards. What could be better?

Raj Choudhury

Unfortunately this is a quick post as it’s 2am in Peuto Monte, Chile and we have a 8am charter flight to Futaleufú Vally for a week of riding. more to come on the next post in about a week. Anyway the last few days in Santa Cruz have been amazing. From jumping into a rental car and finding our way down to what I’d like to call the James bond on wineries (Casa Lapostolle’s Clos Apalta), to riding through vineyards experiencing the beauty of the back country on amazing strong horses. I wish I could write more, but you’ll have … Continue reading Riding Horses through vineyards. What could be better?

Chile, Santa Cruz, Santiago1 Comment

Have we really only been here 36 hours???

Raj Choudhury

That is what I asked Raj about 10 minutes ago as we sat by the pool enjoying recounting everything that we have already experienced… So, our flight arrived in Santiago, Chile yesterday (March 10th) at 6:30 AM. We easily got through customs/immigration and hired a taxi to take us to our hotel. As you can imagine, the hotel wouldn’t allow us to check in at 7:30 am, but they were very nice and were willing to hold onto our bags so we could explore for a bit. So, without the opportunity to change or freshen up from our 16 hour … Continue reading Have we really only been here 36 hours???