Hello Carolina!

Thanks for the advices you and your agency gave me, I used a lot of them, especially ones about the restaurants, keeping that in mind it could be nice of you also to provide list of favorite cafes in Puerto Natales, because I've had them only for Calafate and Chalten. It is a small town, but anyway it could be useful.
It is a weird thing that in countries where people drink a lot of mate, all the hotels I've been in, which were like 3*, didn't have a teapot in the room. In the Kau Kaleshen the only thing I can colmpain about is the lack of TV, though they have it in the public living room, in the personal rooms after a busy day it is a good thing.
Well, other than that, I don't know - you gave me more than I needed :)

Hola Carolina,

It was an amazing experience, thank you so much for your arrangements.

which hotel did you like the most?
-La Dunas, but all those hotels I stayed at are nice, especially staffs are great.

What was the best of traveling with us? Is there anything you think could be improved?
-Fits Roy is the best, because the palce is the my long admired mountain, and off course I was happy to trek there with great guide.

Just one thing, there was something wrong with my printed voucher for bus trip from Puerto Natales (no ticket I message are delivered the night before the trip ) to El Carafate and I was kept waiting for a while ( 20 min.) , but eventually I took the bus.

Anyway, I think my choice of Say Hueque is the right and the best choice and I am happy with your service at reasonable cost.
Thank you so much.

Regards,
Nao

Hola !!

Thanks again for all your help

We had a great time

Our guide was wonderful a lovely person and helped provide an awesome day.

We will now head to buenos aires mar del plata iguazu then home to australia

Argentina is a magnificent country

Thank you for having us

Much appreciated

Bill & Johnny

Deborah is intuitive in knowing what problem has developed and how to handle it. I did not have to ask or suggest anything. She was on it before me. She’s great tour guide for the Falls and very knowledgable about that. However, anyone can learn facts and figures. She just knows when thing are not going well and she has the contacts to make things happen. Within minutes of my husband’s becoming ill at the falls she had him in clinic and reviewed by a nurse practioner and on the IV drip he needed for dehydration. It waa amazing how quickly she arranged things. She explained what she was doing and we felt so safe and taken care of . My husband had an intestinal virus of some sort that had caused problems for several days. He is diabetic so I was really concerned when he seem about to pass out.

Deborah is a jewel and you all are fortunate she works for you. I am going to write many nice things in on line reviews about the best agency for Iguazu Falls.

Nancy Harrington

Dear Carolina,
We so appreciated the help from Say Hueque! I now have a few moments that I can respond to your questions.....

How were your last days in Ushuaia?
My comments -
Wonderful, but we ran out of pesos. The entrance fee to the Harberton Ranch was AR$140 per person rather than AR$80 as your notes showed. Also since the hotel was so far out of town, we used a lot of pesos on taxi cab trips. We looked for exchange stores, but all were closed down and the people at the local bank could not help us. In fact the bank personnel sent us to casinos, but they only wanted to exchange "new" American money, and ours was not new enough for them. So I called a young man at Antartur travel agency, the one which picked us up at the airport. He suggested we try to exchange at local businesses, which we were able to do!

Did you enjoy walking with the penguins?? Yes, it was the best part of the trip!! The young man who was our guide led a wonderful excursion! He was very clear in his explanations and very helpful in answering questions.

The Tierra del Fuego National Park Tour was nice, but the moderate 6 km trek included a lot of up and down and seemed more than 6 km. Our family did OK, but there were others in the group who were having a difficult time; one man was limping. Again this guide was very knowledgeable and friendly.

The Beagle Channel trip with the Patagonia Explorer was again lead by a very knowledgeable young man who was also very friendly and interested in his clients. Also it was neat to see the wildlife - sea lions and birds.

Some suggestions for future clients:
-New Year's Eve in Ushuaia restaurants needed reservations. We went to town, but could not find a place which had space, so we returned to the hotel.
-Getting a taxi on New Year's day for the Patagonia Explorer trip was very difficult. In fact, a waitress from the hotel drove us into town and it was great because the taxi driver did not come until an hour later. We would have missed the trip.

Also Las Yamanas Hotel was wonderful! It had beautiful views through its large glass lobby windows, the restaurant was very nice, but had the same menu for lunch as for supper; breakfast was very nice; hotel desk workers were very helpful and could speak English.

Thank you so much for assisting us with our wonderful vacation!

Linda Miller

Hola Carolina,
Thank you so much for your sweet note. I've been in Buenos Aires studying for 2 weeks and the trip to Patagonia in the middle was amazing. I can't thank you enough for the organization and ease of the trip. Everything was perfect for a quick trip. I felt truly cared for in going alone to a place I had never been. It was gorgeous. As I'm still in buenos aires and have yet to upload my pictures, I can send you one when I return to New York.
Thank you so much for everything. I'll definitely be. Asking the empanadas.
Beth

Hi Juan and Pato,

I’m sending this to both of you since you both played a large part in my trip——Pato, particularly all your patience with my constant questions. I think you should check into being able to write a review on your web site, because I found it impossible to get to anywhere that allowed me to write a review. Juan, whatever snapshot of a page you sent me was nothing I was able to access.

So, here goes—probably more than you want to know :-)

Santiago
• Would ditch Diego Velasquez for another hotel. Staff great, but rooms small, and no aesthetics. Park Lane Santiago a block away was a great hotel and had a great bar, but I’m sure more expensive.
• Pre Columbian Museo de Arte is a must for anyone visiting Santiago
o Restaurant Cucina Peruana Travesti, in Bella Vista, if FABULOUS. Had only been open a month when I went, but great!!!!!!!
• Castillo Forestal restaurant and cafe, across from Bellas Artes Museum, great place for a drink and great view.

Valparaiso
• Fauna Hotel was SUPER. Great location, great restaurant, wonderful rooms, great view.
• Would recommend anyone going there to arrange a tour. I used Michael Arnold, the German Pirate, and got great input during a 6 hour tour. Would not have been able to do that myself.

Isla Negra
• I hired a guide to drive me from Valparaiso to Isla Negra and back to Santiago. I would encourage anyone going to Valparaiso to go to Isla Negra, but be sure and have a guide as they do NOT take reservations, and I would have had to wait 4 hours without my great guide Pablo Matus. Neruda’s home is a MUST for any culturally oriented person

Mendoza
• Bus trip over Andes from Santiago was spectacular, comfortable.
• Hotel Diplomatic was fabulous. All the amenities of life. Great location
• A SA Fran—great restaurant. has a joiner’s table for those of us who are single and like company when going out to eat.
• Tapis Winery was a kick. Carolina, who did the tour was a real character, and the tasting was done in the fermenting rooms. Plus, they train local women in weaving with llama wool—great community involvement.

Cordoba
• NH Urbano Hotel was ?????. Room was OK, but the hotel is pretty depressing. Breakfast was awful. Staff was VERY nice. Location good, but would suggest you find another hotel
• Jesuit tour was wonderful and worth the time in Cordoba.
• There was a dance performance at the Cabildo which was wonderful

SALTA
• Definitely a highlight of the trip. PLEASE encourage your clients to go there. I had never heard of it and thank you Pato for recommending it.
• Hotel del Virrey was a little gem. Small, nice rooms, knowledgeable staff and great location
• Museo Pajcha is a MUST for anyone interested in crafts.
• MAAM is a must for anyone visiting Salta. Displays the Inca mummies found on top of some volcanoR and the display and history is top notch
• Bartz restaurant was very enjoyable
• Restaurant La Lenita-Adelina on Balcacere. Probably had the best meat on my whole trip, plus great people watching place
• La Casona de Molino. Probably the most authentic of all the penas. Went there twice and loved it both times. Had dinner there the 2nd night and the food was pretty good, altho I had been advised not to eat there. For someone wanting a wonderful evening of music, this is the place!!!!!

Purmamaca
• This was a great trip. Liked the tour there.
• Los Colorado was a delightful place to stay—had a nice little casita. It’s also on the incredible 3 km trail that winds around the Colorados. It’s a little walk into town. They serve breakfast in your casita.
• El Churque was a very nice restaurant. Had a great loco
• Loved the tour to Humahuaca and Jujuy. Great place to eat in Humahuaca was Pacha Manka—off the tourist area and very charming. Would be a great place for overnight stay
• Tour to Cachi was also interesting, but the timing was bad as we got to Cachi at noon when everything was closed. My suggestion for the tour would be to go directly to Cachi and do the sightseeing after lunch on the way home.
o I WOULD ALSO RECOMMEND AN OVERNIGHT TRIP——GOING TO CACHI, STAYING OVERNIGHT——AND THEN DOING THE DRIVE TO CAFEYATE WHICH I READ WAS SPECTACULAR——AND THEN GOING BACK TO SALTA. Going to Cachi one day, and then Cafeyate the next, was a lot of repeat driving, and I think doing what I did with Purmamarca and Humahuaca and making an overnight stay would make much more sense.
Iguazu
• One of the most amazingly beautiful places I have ever seen
• St. George Hotel was a nice, conveniently located place to stay, Great staff.
• Do with this what you want———I didn’t feel like paying the $160 reciprocity fee to go to the Brazilian side, so when I checked in at the St. George, I asked if anyone did “illegal tours” over to the Brazilian side. One of the clerks knew someone, and for $40 US I booked a ride over and back with him. Coming back from Brazil we went through what looked to me like an old customs area, but no one was there, and we just whizzed back into Argentina. The view from the Brazilian side was so spectacular!!!!! I have the gentleman’s name, but figure this is probably something you could not recommend to your clients to do. Let me know if you want his name.
• TOURS AT IGUAZU PARK. The boat ride under the falls was amazing, but the combined “jungle ride and boat tour” is a rip off. The jungle ride is nothing but packing people in a jungle vehicle and driving through the landscape. I would tell your clients to just do the boat ride—half the price.

Buenos Aires
• Sure I don’t need to tell you about this city. The Duque Hotel is an amazing gem, and the 3 gals who were the staff were the best!!!!! I was a hotel concierge for 12 years, and these gals were top notch. Even though I had the smallest room in the place, it was a lovely facility, great location and loved my time there. I must say if one doesn’t want to be constantly paying for cabs, it’s not easy to get around by subway, and I think I must have walked 50 miles while I was there. Highlight was the GraffitiMundo tour. Guide was so knowledgeable and learned so much history along with seeing all the murals. I did the North part of the city.
• The Fortabat Museo and MALBA were highlights
• Had a great lunch at San Juanino, and a horrible bife chorizo when I went back another day for dinner.
• Had a good meal at Don Julio, and great atmosphere
• Dinner at a Puerto Cerrado restaurant, I Latino, on Murillo Street, was AMAZING.

Colonia, Uruguay
• Uruguay was the most wonderful surprise of the trip. I loved Colonia. The Posada was a very comfortable hotel. Had dinner at Meson de la Plaza and beautiful atmosphere but the food was average.
• Did not get picked up at the hotel to go to the bus station the day I left.
Montivideo
• Fell in love with this city. Beautiful architecture and incredible location. Was fortunate enough to be there for the Museos en el Noches in the old city. I think 2 nights would be good to stay there——to see the city and have time to wander around the old city.
• The Golf Regency was very comfortable, modern and good location. Very nice room. Great staff.
• Alicia, the gal from the travel agency, was wonderful.

So, my friends, I hope this gives you some tips to pass on to your future clients. I know that not everyone travels like I do, but I like to immerse myself in a city or country, and not do just the tourist things. Obviously, I’m culturally oriented to museums and architecture.

Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for a wonderful, broadening experience and the chance to see 3 new countries. I wish you both a wonderful 2015.

Joani

Hola Carolina,

All of the hotels were quite nice. The one in Calafate was a bit far out of down which was inconvenient at times.

I enjoyed the travels through Argentina and I'll be sure to recommend your services to my other friends.

Cheers from New York,
Zach