The "Bottom of the World" Cost is Around $300 a Day
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA – This fall, winter and spring, inquisitive travelers can take advantage of a new two-week tour that visits Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city, spectacularly located on the island of Tierra del Fuego at the very tip of the South American continent. Beyond this remote port lies the legendary Beagle Channel and then the open waters of The Drake Passage, where the deep rich waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans converge amidst some of the most challenging seas on earth.
Because it designs adventurous trips to such far-flung northern destinations as Iceland, Greenland and the archipelagos of Orkney and Shetland, The Great Canadian Travel Company has built a reputation for travel to the "Top of the World." Its expertise, however, also helps clients explore intriguing destinations at the "Bottom of the World."
The company’s new tour package, labeled "Adventures in Patagonia," is a good example. It flies participants into Ushuaia, Argentina, commonly regarded as the world’s southernmost city. Exploring this remarkable city at the ends of the earth, tour members have the option of visiting the Maritime Museum, housed in what once was a prison, to learn about the harsh realities of life on these unforgiving oceans-or even take a half-day trip out into the Beagle Channel itself to experience a little of the power of these southern oceans.
Travelers begin their adventures, though, in Argentina’s vibrant capital of Buenos Aires, located on the southern shores of the Rio de la Plata. It’s an opportunity to explore the city dubbed "Paris of the South," with its wide avenues and elegant squares and an eclectic mix of European styles of architecture. Visit the site of the famous mass demonstrations in 1945 by supporters of Juan Domingo Peron, organized by his wife, Eva. Explore the La Boca district of the city, originally settled by Italian immigrants, an area famed for its colorful houses and lively street performers. There’s the chance to see the tango performed on some street corners-and, after dark, sample the city’s pulsating night life, perhaps even catching a show at a tango club.
Spending a full day on an excursion to Tierra del Fuego National Park, tour members walk coastal paths, watching for gray foxes and rare sea otters and observing beavers "engineering" their dams. Set in a land of lakes, forest and tundra, the park is set beneath an imposing backdrop of ragged mountain peaks.
After a journey by public bus and by ferry across the Magellan Strait, enter Chile and arrive at Punta Arenas, one of the largest maritime settlements in the region. Originally, it was founded in the mid-19th century, beginning life as a penal colony and growing rich on sheep ranching. Sampling local king crab and Chilean wines is a "must"
dining experience.
Torres del Paine National Park presents a landscape of rugged mountains, turquoise glacial lakes and spectacular wildlife. Alberto de Agostini-a missionary with a passionate interest in nature-named it as "one of the most spectacular sights that the human imagination can conceive." At the park, little known outside of Chile, expect sightings of large numbers of guanacos, as well as black-necked swans, upland geese, pink flamingos and an occasion gray fox. There’s a chance to spot condors and even the elusive puma, larger here than in any other places in the Andes.
Crossing the border into Argentina, arrive at El Calafate, an unassuming little community that has been declared the national capital of the glacier region and provides an excellent base from which to explore the spectacular ice giants of Los Glaciares National Park. Visit the awe-inspiring Perito Moreno glacier, ranking as one of South America’s most magnificent sights and arguably one of the world’s greatest spectacles.
The tour ends on a high note-literally and figuratively-as tour members climb and walk through the Fitzroy Massif area, the mountain with a summit that is almost permanently covered in cloud. Participants may spot the elusive pudu, smallest deer in the world and, in contrast, the condor, one of the largest land birds on the planet. The scale and grandeur of this setting, where the glaciers seem to hang suspended between the jagged peaks, makes this walk a truly rewarding excursion.
Remaining 2009 departures dates for this tour are Nov. 8, Nov. 22 and Dec. 20. For 2010, departures are scheduled for January 17 and 31, February 14 and 28, March 14 and April 4. The cost is from $4220 (Canadian – approximately $4075 US) per person, based on double occupancy. Included are tours and sightseeing as indicated on the itinerary and some meals. Also included are domestic flights and travel by bus, by ferry and on foot. Also included are 10 nights’ lodgings in hotels/hostales, three nights in comfortable cabins with ensuite facilities in Torres del Paine and tour leader plus driver(s) and some local guides. Not included are international flights, airline taxes, fees and other surcharges.
Reservations and additional information are available from the Great Canadian Travel
Company, 800-661-3830, http://www.greatcanadiantravel.com/tours/latin-america-caribbean/latin-america/adventures-in-patagonia-.
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