The amazing Boabab Lodge in the heart of the Huilo Huilo Biosphere Reserve
I have just finished making changes to our Patagonia Pirenwinkul holiday in southern Patagonia. It’s the last standing holiday from our original portfolio of adventure holidays so dates back to the year 2000.
I love this holiday, for me the Chilean Lake District and Patagonia are just the most beautiful areas imaginable. In fact I remember on my first visit there thinking, “That’s that then, I can’t expect to ever see anything more beautiful than this again in my life.”
We have traditionally run this deluxe adventure holiday as a group trip, just because frankly that was the only way to really offer this experience. Over the past couple of years though we have seen the emergence of some wonderful lodges which great activities.
This led me to take a look again at the Pirenwinkul holiday. I realised that for the same price we were charging for the group holiday, we could have people visit pretty much exactly the same places but stay in deluxe boutique style lodges with oodles of character and charm, in great locations being looked after by lodge based guides.
What we now have is a tailor made i.e. private departure holiday which can start on the day you want to go. You stay in a series of gems from the Huilo Huilo Biosphere Reserve to Puerto Varas to Torres del Paine. You choose what to do each day from hiking to rafting to horse riding to mountain biking. You eat incredibly well. And all for the same price we were charging for the group holiday.
Suddenly it looks to me like the most amazing honeymoon or just a top notch tailor made adventure holiday to Chile.
By the way, just so you know, Pirenwinkul (pron: pi-ren-win-cool) is the Mapuche word for the Milky Way. The first part of this trip is spent within the Mapuche lands (Chile’s largest indigenous group) which encompass the bulk of the Chilean Lake District. Just in case it comes up in a pub quiz or Trivial Pursuits any time soon.
Find out more about Chile with our Guide to Chile or read about our Chile holidays.
The wonderfully colourful police station at Punta Islita
The remote Hotel Punta Islita is a remarkable place for what appears to be a genuine and deep-rooted commitment to sustainability and social responsibility.
When the hotel was set up the small village of Punta Islita was dying on its feet. Today it is a tiny yet vibrant place.
The village itself is very colourful indeed.
The road surface is decorated with representations of traditional dwellings, there are carvings on the corner of the village green, the nursery is painted in a bright, naïve style. Even the police station is clad in a bright mosaic.
The hotel commissioned five Costa Rican artists to come in and decorate different parts of the village to improve the surroundings. My favourite is the police station which has to be the prettiest I have seen anywhere in the world.
The hotel also needed materials. Sewing kits, butter pots for the restaurant, paintings and sculptures for communal areas, decoration for rooms.
The same artists they brought in to liven up the village worked with several local artist co-operatives to create materials for them using local materials and ideas but helping them to sharpen their techniques and styles.
This training continues to this day with regular workshops provided by the hotel for one of the six or seven co-operatives who work locally. One group does screenprints, another ceramics, another paints. One works with driftwood to great effect as you can see above.
As a result, the quality of the artwork and handicrafts in the tiny giftshop in the village, is beyond anything you are likely to find elsewhere in Costa Rica.
Punta Islita forms part of our Costa Rica Honeymoon holiday but you can visit there from Nosara and Samara which feature in most of our self drive Costa Rica holidays.
Sunset over Volcan Concepcion seen from Totoco lodge on the Island of Ometepe, Nicaragua
I’m quite a sucker for a good sunset, so Totoco Lodge on Ometepe Island was my idea of paradise. This was taken from the balcony of my cabin on my first (and only) night there and it still gives me tingles to remember it.
I was on a whistle stop tour of the island in May, towards the end of the country’s dry season. I had spent most of the day dashing around, trying to see as much as possible during my short time there. This had mainly involved struggling to hold on to my lunch whilst navigating the more rustic roads on the eastern side, or “getting a free massage” as my guide eloquently put it.
The day had been incredibly hot, so I arrived at the lodge in a rather dubious state of repair. Quite fortunately I was one of only three guests so I got a whole private cabin to myself. Actually at the time of visiting the lodge only had two cabins, nestled on the hillside next to the organic garden and overlooking the lake and mighty Concepcion volcano. They have since added two more, both private and with a similarly stunning setting.
The lodge itself is the brainchild of three friends and only opened in January this year. The focus is very much on sustainability and the owners involve the community as much as possible. This includes a dedicated development centre, a hub for local community projects. Accommodation is rustic but thoughtfully crafted, right down to the handmade furniture and composting toilet.
The setting itself is the real star, however. I had just enough time to dump my bags and splash my face before heading out onto the balcony to capture this photo. Truth be told I got a bit carried away and ended up seriously editing my memory card that night. Not being a natural photographer I couldn’t believe my luck at capturing so many great shots, with next to no skill required on my part.
I did manage to put the camera down in the end however and just soak up the majesty of it. Watching those colours play across the gathering clouds, with only the lazy chirrup of the local cicadas as company, is a moment that will stay with me for a long time. At the risk of sounding like a Hallmark card, just seeing the image again back here in rainy Blighty warms my heart a little.
Read more about our Nicaragua holidays.