WHY IT RATES: South America is an increasingly popular destination to sell for travel agents, and clients looking to visit the Patagonia region will have new options when planning a visit.-Donald Wood, Breaking News Senior Writer.
For people who want to explore the vast territory of Patagonia yet are limited in time, Australis offers "Gauchos, Glaciers and Penguins." This six-night excursion with sea and land components provides an unforgettable experience and a taste of what makes Patagonia so special.
Guests arrive in Punta Arenas, Chile, and spend the night at the Cape Horn Hotel before departing the next day by ferry to Porvenir in Argentina, where they visit a small King Penguin colony. They then travel along Useless Bay to Rio Grande. Here is an opportunity to visit an estancia and learn about the exploits of the gauchos and their lifestyle and taste a real South American barbeque. The next stop is Ushuaia, the southernmost city on the planet, to embark on an Australis ship for a four-night cruise in the bottom of the world.
The cruise includes a stop at Cape Horn, declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2005. This rocky promontory is only 500 miles from Antarctica. It features an awesome sculpture of an Albatross to honor all the sailors who died trying to get around Cape Horn, which is where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet, a lighthouse, and chapel. In Wulaia Bay, guests follow in Charles Darwin's footsteps and learn about the Yamana, the indigenous people who resided in this area.
One of the most interesting stops is at the Aguila Glacier in Agostini Sound where guests view abundant birdlife and visit a sub-Antarctic rainforest to learn how nature has sculpted this beautiful landscape. Watching the glaciers "calve" as they break off and crash into the fjords is a memorable moment that one never forgets. On Magdalena Island, guests walk through thousands of penguins before the cruise concludes in Punta Arenas.
Australis ships, the luxurious Stella and the Ventus, navigate this journey. The ships are small in order to navigate the fjords and bays. Each holds 202 passengers. All cabins have large picture windows to view the beautiful scenery through which the ships pass. Food and wine on board the vessels are the finest that Chile offers.
Rates for the six nights start at $2,468 per person. Cruises are between September and April.
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