This was a trip to celebrate my wife's milestone birthday. She planned a trip to Australia for mine last year, so now it was my turn to plan a trip to rival that. It was a tall order because she put a lot of effort into my birthday trip, and it had worked out incredibly well.
Luckily for me, Chris made it easy. She found Awasi, a company that runs three high-end all-inclusive properties, and each booking includes a private guide and vehicle. So all I had to do was book the lodges, and just like that, the majority of the planning was done! The lodges are in Atacama, Patagonia, and Iguazu, which are all places we've been wanting to visit.
I did have to arrange all the plane tickets, both to and from South America, as well as a number of internal flights. The lodges are very far apart and it's almost impossible to get from one to the other in a single day, so we had to spend nights in either Santiago or Buenos Aires in between. But Awasi includes those hotel rooms in the fare when you book stays at all three properties.
The biggest challenge was figuring out how to get from Patagonia to Iguazu. There were no fast options, and everything involved a lot of driving. So we decided to embrace that, and I arranged a 3-day wine tasting tour. We would start in Chile, drive over the Andes, and end in Mendoza. From there, it was easy to get to Iguazu.
I also arranged Brazilian Visas so that we could visit Iguazu Falls from both sides. And then, it was time to sit back and wait for vacation to start. December passed very slowly, and we both worked on Christmas Day and the following week. But once New Year's Day came it was time to start packing, and to get ready for this adventure.
Our itinerary would be to fly from Albany to Santiago (Chile), then on to Calama where we'd be driven to San Pedro de Atacama for our 3-night stay. Then Calama to Santiago, an overnight, and then a flight to Puerto Natales where we'd be driven to our property outside Torres del Paine for a 4-night stay. Once more back to Santiago for an overnight, then we'd meet our guide and driver for the 3-night wine tour, ending up in Mendoza. From Mendoza, a flight to Iguazu for a 3-night stay, then back to Buenos Aires for an overnight before taking a red-eye back to the States.
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