My husband and I have recently returned from the Chile and Argentina Birds and Wine Tour, and it gives me great pleasure to relive those wonderful memories by writing this review. Since birds and wine are two of our primary interests, the content of the tour seemed custom tailored for us.
The group size of 7 was just right for this type of tour. The hotels were all comfortable and provided excellent service; a few were exceptional, including the accommodations at the Salentein Winery. The locations for dining were all carefully chosen and gave plenty of opportunity to appreciate local foods and wine. We also appreciated that dinners were scheduled at a reasonable hour, often with enough down time to refresh ourselves in advance, which makes for a more relaxing and enjoyable experience.
We have nothing but praise for the guides on this tour, who were all friendly and extremely knowledgeable.
Our leader, Adam Walleyn readily shared his birding and cultural expertise with the group. He also made every effort to seek out birds and ensure that everyone could get a good view. He was sensitive of and very responsive to the needs and desires of the group and kept all of us informed on what to expect. The length and effort of the daily walks was for the most part easy to moderate, and we were advised in advance if any difficulty was expected, which made it possible to pass if we wished, without exerting ourselves unnecessarily.
Claudio Vidal provided local expertise, assisting with locating and identifying birds. He also had a broad knowledge and appreciation of fine wine, especially the wines of Chile and Argentina. His organizational skills were also well applied.
Jurgen Schulmeister and Flavio Martinez, who joined us for different parts of the tour, were also very good guides, helping us to find and view birds. Rodolfo, our driver, also deserves mention for his expert driving and companionship.
The road trip over the Andes was a highlight: impressive scenery and we caught our breath at the sight of an Andean Condor swooping over the mountain. Other highlights included the pelagic trip from Valparaiso; the stops we made at Lago Colbun, where we saw the burrowing parrots, and the stops at El Yeso, which also delivered a lot of interesting birds. Seeing the Humboldt Penguins, one swimming in the Valparaiso harbor and others at the Penguin rocks, was also a thrill.
We very much enjoyed the winery visits, which we found to be a nice balance to the overall tour. We had visited many wineries before this trip and were familiar with many of the production processes, although there is always something new to be learned. Consequently, we could have done with fewer tours of the winery facilities, and focused more on the tastings. The one winery that could have been omitted was Concha Y Toro. While it is the largest winery in Chile and their grounds are impressive, the tour and tasting is directed toward the masses. We got a much better feel for Chilean and Argentinian winemaking from the smaller wineries, where we experienced a more personal connection and better quality wines to taste. The stay at the Salentein Posada was a real treat as was the dinner there. It may be nice in the future to combine more of the tastings with lunch, as we did at the Krontiras Winery in Argentina.
I would also like to add that we extended this trip in Punta Arenas with four birding tours with Far South Expeditions. This unique experience could make an excellent extension to the birds and wine or any other tour in Chile.
Overall, the birds and wine tour exceeded our expectations.
Our thanks also go to Cecilia Morales for assisting with all of the...
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