Lynch + 7 trip to Chile.

Chile | Jan 21 - Jan 26, 2024

Paul was excellent and the resulting itinerary was what the group wanted. However, when we arrived at some of the locations, the itinerary was not what we had planned with Paul. It would seem that local people did not get information from Paul or ignored information from Paul/Kim-Kim. Transfers were handled well except at Las Torres Hotel.

Atacama: Thoroughly enjoyed the stay in Atacama. One of my favorite parts of the trip.

Punta Arenas: Enjoyed the Magdalena Island tour from Punta Arenas. However, the hotel room was awful - small for two people in twin beds. Window did not open, AC did not work. Others on the trip had much better rooms. Also did not have good information on options for dining.

Patagonia: Long trip by van to Hotel Las Torres. This part of the trip did not go well. We had communicated with Paul about each of our desires for activities during our stay. But the excursions were not personalized according to each of our requests. The following were problems:
(1); Horseback riding for Martha was approved after many exchanges via email before we arrived. However, when we arrived she was told that she couldn't do horseback riding. Martha has been horseback riding for over 40 years, owns her own horse and rides every week. I had to get firm and somewhat aggressive with Chris and eventually Martha got her rides. But it was a bad start to the time we had there.
(2): Hikes and other excursions: Again, the group had worked together and each of us had our preferences for activities. However, I question the sensibility of assigning myself and Richard to two 13km hikes in one day for people who were 74 and 85 years old! While I can do a single 13 km hike - two in one day was not possible. That left me with a free afternoon and not much was offered in terms of activities.
(3): The transfer from Las Torres Hotel to Punta Arenas Hotel was initially supposed to be in late morning - providing us time for a leisurely breakfast and some exploration around the hotel (including an easy hike). However, at the last minute that morning we were told that we had to leave right away because another couple had to get to the airport. That left no time to enjoy the park that morning. In addition, the van was crammed full, a flat tire had to be repaired in route, and there was no plan for what we were going to do with the 6-7 hours we would have had at the airport. Fortunately we worked with the driver to get us transferred into town at a hotel that kept our luggage, provided an opportunity for a nice lunch, and found a van to take all of us back to the airport at the appropriate time. What frustrates me is that 7 hours could have been spent at Las Torres enjoying more of the area.
Overall I was disappointed with the arrangements in Patagonia.
Easter Island: Amazing! Great guide, interesting history, wonderful hikes. Great hotel. So glad we added this to the trip.
Santiago: Wine tasting tours were excellent and the Santa Rita tour of the garden was an unexpected treat! We arranged a separate tour of the city on our final day - great tour guide.