Patagonia in Autumn

A two-part traveling Photo Safari & workshop

Part One, Unknown Patagonia:
April 20 – April 28, 2009
and
Part Two, Torres del Paine:
April 28 – May 5, 2009

visiting two amazing back-to-back photo destination:
Unknown Patagonia
& The Torres del Paine

My autumn Photo Safari begins in central Patagonia, a region of temperate turquoise lakes, tumbling crystal rivers, and magnificent forests of native beech trees. A region I call "Unknown Patagonia" because this central zone of Chilean Patagonia bears little resemblance to the harsh and stereotypical Patagonian landscape of desolate wind-swept steppe punctuated by a handful of ice-shrouded spires that has come to represent Patagonia in so many international publications.

Then, for Part Two of our autumn Photo Safari, we fly even further south to Punta Arenas, to visit the spectacular mountainscapes of the Torres del Paine National Park.

Photographers can participate in either part, or, hopefully, in both.

Although Patagonia is wild, pristine and dramatic, we won't be roughing it. Wonderful local food, the best local accommodations, and transportation by comfortable van, are all included – and fabulous Chilean wine is a welcome extra. But there's more. My photo safaris are limited to a very small group: six to eight photographer-participants. But this small group will be guided, looked after, and, so-to-speak, pampered by an amazing team. In addition to myself and my husband Lito there will be two guides and a full-time driver. This adds up to an unusual client-to-staff ratio – actually unheard of in the travel-photography business. And it's not just a matter of numbers. The local insider's knowledge, and the photographic expertise that this team will share is simply unequaled.

From daily gourmet picnic lunches to reservations at the very best lodges in this remote corner of the world, to an in-depth knowledge of the local flora, fauna, weather, topography and people, our outfitter/guides, Cado Avenali and his Chilean wife Ruth Cohen, are totally dedicated to making these photo safaris as enjoyable and memorable as possible. Our driver can take us places in a compact but comfortable van that larger photo groups can't even hope to visit.

This trip demands a certain commitment, spending over two weeks photographing is always intense, and flying to the ends of the earth makes it even a bigger commitment. But, as the portfolios of Patagonia images on this web site, and my articles for Outdoor Photographer magazine, demonstrate, Patagonia is one of the most exciting destinations on the planet for landscape photography. Not to be missed.

Day 1  (Monday, April 20)
Arrive at Coyhaique's airport (in the nearby town of Balmaceda) by air from  Santiago. Transfer to Coyhaique, the capital of Chilean Patagonia, and our hotel. Evening orientation and welcome dinner.

Day 2  (Tuesday, April 21)
A warm-up day, in the form of a day-trip photo excursion from Coyhaique to one of several remarkable nearby locations — the choice depending in large measure on the intensity of the region's fall colors.

Day 3  (Wednesday, April 22)
Early morning departure for Cerro Castillo and Rio Tranquilo. Cerro Castillo (or Castle Mountain) is one of the most photogenic and spectacular peaks in all of Patagonia. We continue along an impressive river valley, past reminders of a volcanic eruption, and over a mountain pass surrounded by glacier-clad peaks. In the afternoon we drive along the western shore of Lago General Carrera, the second largest lake in South America, to the little village of Puerto Tanquilo.

Day 4  (Thursday, April 23)
From our lodge in Puerto Tranquilo, we visit the Cavernas de Mármol (or Marble Caves) one of the most spectacular and surreal landscapes in all South America. (See my eBook, Blue Light, and the Marble Caves portfolio on this web site.) Then we continue around Lago Carrera, photographing the glaciers above the delta of the Rio Leones beneath Patagoina's highest summit, Cerro San Valentin. After a full day we arrive at the Patagonia Baker Lodge on the banks of the Rio Baker.

Day 5  (Friday, April 24)
Today we photograph along the Rio Baker. The Baker river is known to anglers for its world-class trout fishing, but is irresistible to photographers for its otherworldly blue color. En route to the Chacabuco Valley, site of the future, Patagonia National Park, we visit the spectacular confluence (waterfall and rapids) of the Baker and Nef rivers. Valle Chacabuco is such a rich environment that this day we only begin our photographic exploration of it, returning in the late afternoon to the Patagoia Baker Lodge.

Day 6  (Saturday, April 25)
This morning we retirm to the Chacabuco valley. This valley, part of the last great private ranch or estancia in Patagonia, has recently been purchased by the Patagonia Land Trust and is the core area of a large conservation/park project. The landscape changes dramatically into a series of pampas, grasslands and wetland ponds or mallines. Here we always encounter herds of wild guanaco. In the evening we return to Lago General Carrera, and check into Terra Luna, a lovely lakeside lodge near the little town of Puerto Guadal.

Day 7   (Sunday, April 26)
After pre-dawn and dawn photography of the high icefield peaks across the lake, we head off to explore the southern shoreline of Lago Carrera: plunging cliffs, transparent turquoise water, enchanting fundos (farms) tributary rivers and deep red autumn trees provide constantly varying photographic stimulation. We spend a second night at Terra Luna.

Day 8 (Monday, April 27)
Return by road to Coyhaique, photographing the Rio Murta valley, the beautiful Rio Cajon or Box River, a valley of dead trees smothered by ash and lava from Volcán Hudson, and final evening photo opportunities around Cerro Castillo before reaching Coyhaique for a gala farewell dinner.

Day 9  (Tuesday, April 28)
Departure from Coyhaique for home. Or, for those continuing on with Part Two of our Patagonian Safari...

Day 9  (Tuesday, April 28)
Basically a transportation and arrival day. Some participants from Part One may be heading home, Those joining us for both parts of this Patagonian adventure will fly on south with us, to Punta Arenas, the capital of Chile's 12th region, right next to the Straits of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego. And those photographers who are only participating in this second segment, will join us in the evening in Punta Arenas.

Day 10 (Wednesday, April 29)
From Punta Arenas we drive north by van, pausing for a fresh seafood lunch in Puerto Natales, to arrive at the Torres del Paine in the afternoon.. Check into the Hosteria Pehoe, a classic hotel on a small island (reached by a footbridge) in Lago Pehoe, directly beneath the famous Cuernos or "Horns" of Paine

Day 11 (Thursday, April 30)
Our day begins with a dawn shoot of the Horns or Cuernos, directly across the lake from our hotel. After breakfast, we head off by van to explore the center of the national park. We will spend a second night at the Hosteria Pehoe.

Day 12 (Friday, May 1)
Another day devoted to the spectacular peaks and lakes near Lago Pehoe. In the evening we drive to a new inn, the Hosteria Grey on the shores of Lago Grey.

Day 13 (Saturday, May 2)
We focus on the floating icebergs or "témpanos" in Lago Grey; a boat excursion to the face of the giant glacier feeding this lake takes us right beneath the blue cliffs of thousand-year-old ice. We spend a second night at the Hosteria Grey.

Day 14 (Sunday, May 3)
Today, we once more change our base of operations, moving to the other side of the park, an area well known for its wildlife, especially guanacos and foxes that often seem to want to pose just beneath the most dramatic peaks. We spend the night at the Hosteria Los Torres.

Day 15 (Monday, May 4)
After a final dawn shoot, we pack up and head for Punta Arenas. An all-day trip to be sure, with more opportunities to photograph on the shores of Bitter Lake (Lago Amargo) as well as abundant wildlife, birds and dramatic beech forests en route to Punta Arenas

Day 16 (Tuesday, May 5)
Departure by air from Punta Arenas.

Trip Costs:
Unknown Patagonia $4,000
Torres del Paine $4,350

Cost includes all expenses (ground transportation, lodging, and meals) in Patagonia. This price is based on double-occcupancy rooms, To guarantee you a private room, we will need to charge a low-season, single-room-supplement of $400 for the Unknown Patagonia trip, and $500 for the Torres del Paine segment/

Reservations: A deposit of $500 is needed to reserve your place in this limited-participant trip, with the balance due 60 days before the trip starts. Please pay by check. Please send your check for the trip deposit to my assistant, Diane Hoffman, at her Sedona Arizona office. The address is:

Western Eye
Patagonia Photo Safaris
Box 1008, Sedona AZ 86339

Cancellation Policy: We can refund your deposit if you have to change your plans, up to two months before the trip. However, local Chilean business practices require a payment in full of all lodging reservations, at least 30 days ahead of one's stay, therefore we won't be able to refund your deposit, or your trip payment if you need to cancel within 6 weeks of the trip date. For this reason, we strongly advise purchasing "trip insurance" from your travel agent.
To arrange your flight to and from Chile and Patagonia, we can recommend our own travel agent, Marcelo Diaz of America's Travel in San Francisco. He specializes in trips to South America and has always been able to get us great connections and great prices. Marcelo's toll free phone is 1 888 703 9955

These Patagonia photo safaris are limited to a maximum of eight photographer participants. In many ways six is the perfect numbr, but every year it seems, one or two participants have to drop out at the last minute from pressing family and personal reasons. So for that reason we have set our target number at from 6 to 8 participants. (Other photo tours to this part of the world typically set their group size at 14, 16 or more) The only downside of limiting the size of our group is that we will need at least four participants for each segment to cover our expenses. In the past, we have always had enough signups, even waiting lists. But in the unlikely event that these photo safaris don't "make" we will gladly refund your deposit.

The fact that more and more serious photographers are shooting digitally and using laptop computers to download and archive their images has made real image critiquing and iediting instruction an exciting option even far from photo labs, and Patagonia is about as far as one can get.

Participants will be responsible for arranging their own flights from the US to Santiago Chile, as well as their connecting Chilean air reservations, continuing south from teh capital, Santiago, to Patagonia. LAN Chile is the leading local Chilean airline, and offers an extensive schedule of in-Chile flights. (In this age of escalating fuel prices it may make sense to purchase your air fares well in advance to avoid fuel-related travel costs increases.) For photographers who can join us for both Part One and Part Two, we have discovered that it is easier for our outfitter-guides at Salvaje Corazon, to book the connecting flight from Balmaceda to Punta Arenas for the whole group.

Once in Patagonia, all your expenses on the ground are included (alcohol however is extra). As mentioned above, the price of this Photo Safari is based on double-occupancy rooms; To guarantee a single room, we need to charge an off-season, single-room supplement of $400 for Part One (Central Patagonia or the Aisén region) and $500 for Part Two (the Torres del Paine).

Please Note: since our trips are planned more than a year in advance of the depature, we reserve the right to change land costs due to dramatic changes in currency exchange rates. But this is highly unlikely.

Because this Patagonia Photo Safari is such a major commitment, I'd like to encourage any interested photographers to contact me directly, either by email or by phone, for more detailed information. ...