Hi Carolina,

Sorry for the delay getting back to you put I can down with a nasty cold upon our return and I am just getting back to normal

We had a wonderful time and would really like to return. The people were very friendly and food and wine excellent! All excursions we did were excellent and very well run and organized

EL Calafate
• Had a great time there and a very nice town.
• Ice River cruise was probably the highlight of our trip followed very closely by the mini trekking on the Perito Moreno glacier.
• Glacier museum was pretty good and we also went to the Ice bar as well.
• We walked extensively in Calafate and also biked along the water front of the lake, Awesome views and an easy ride. Our hotel Kai Yutan had bikes for free but for the serious biker I would suggest renting some good bikes in town, Very reasonable prices and nice equipment
• Missed going to El Chalten, I would suggest a day trip up there to see Fitz Roy however I have heard that unless the weather is good you really cannot see anything.
• Kai Yutan hotel was very nice, we loved the lobby, restaurant and staff but we had a room in the lower part of the hotel and it was very old and very small. No view at all but it had a very nice King size bed. Which was much appreciated after busy days trekking. Rooms on the front of the hotel had a better view and seemed bigger (just looked in from the hallway when other guests checked out)
• Staff in the local travel agency were wonderful, in fact one of the employees came to our hotel the afternoon of our arrival and organized the last minute change to allow us to do the mini trekking. Truly about the and beyond the call of duty
• Very hearty breakfast, whole grain breads, eggs & bacon (had to get there early or that ran out). Lots of fruit & cereal & sweet pastries
• Only negative comment, upon our arrival the local tour guide that met us at the airport spoke virtually no English which was a little distressing at first because she was giving instructions in Spanish but we did not understand. However Hotel staff were great and then the Juan Jose (I think that was his name) came to our hotel to make the mini trekking change for the next day.
• Unfortunately we did not fit in the ½ day Cerro Frias tour (we wanted to horseback ride) realized to late in the day.
• Found a nice little wine bar called the “Wilkens” located on main road just past Av 17 de Octubre across from the Distro Sur grocery store

Ushuaia
• All tours were great!
• Went to Maritime and Ushuaia jail the afternoon we arrived, it was pretty good and we learned a lot about the area.
• Enjoyed the hike and paddling in the Tierra Del Fuego park. We had a beautiful day. Lunch was great then went paddling for about 45 mins
• Penguin farm was excellent, we were able to get very close to the Penguins and being able to walk with them was great. However some people thought that it was a little far to go 1 ½ bus ride (each way) for a 1 hour walk with the penguins. I would suggest the morning tour since it was a smaller group about 16 (smaller group then the afternoon) big bus of about 40. For the morning tour we all went to walk with the penguins together, then had cup of tea/coffee in the tea room followed by a quick visit to the Marine Museum. We really enjoyed the museum and would have liked a little more time there since we only got about 35 mins. We thoroughly enjoyed the day.
• Cruise on Beagle Channel, this was good tour for the day of departure since we were done about 2:00 pm and still had time to do some shopping before heading out at 8:30 on the plane. Tour guide on the Patagonia Adventure Explorer was excellent! Also the boat is a little smaller and can get very close to the sea Lions which was great
• Hostel Jarko was great, very clean and staff was very helpful. Breakfast was a little sparse, not much selection, toast, fruit, limited cereal and some cheese and ham.
• Rooms very small but great views off the front ( in the upper newer part of the hotel) and they had an electric kettle in the room to make tea or coffee at night.
• Had a great dinner at Volver, recommended by the hotel, crab was excellent
• BTW the chairlift just at the edge of town is not operating anymore, it has been shut down for a couple of years. You can still hike up there but cannot ride the chairlift

Aerolinas Argentina flights were excellent. On time and all new planes. Travel was very comfortable.

I will forward some pictures from our trip in separate email.

Nancy O'Donnell-Jeffery

Hi Carmen and Say Hueque!

Our trip to Argentina was very well organized... - because of that there was no stress to us despite us not being able to speak Spanish.

The programme in El Chalfate could not be improved upon. The hotel was ideal - comfortable and cosy . The guide was fantastic - even the minibus driver deserves mention for playing my husbands favourite music . The trips were breathtakingly beautiful and the length of the tours ideal.

Ushuaia was also very interesting - the only disappointment we had was the train to the end of the world - it was just too commercial - to your credit you had suggested a canoe trip and we would have been better off doing that . The hike with the guide was fantastic - he was so informative and we saw some stunning countryside as well as some interesting birds and plants. He was very patient and we really enjoyed it our only complaint was it was too short.

The trip to walk amongst the penguins was an experience - especially getting 3 middle aged women on and off the rubber boats - we had fantastic photo opportunities - it would have been nice if we had had an extra half an hour in the museum because it was so interesting and the guides were so informative.

I don’t think I have seen as beautiful sunsets and sunrises as we experienced in Ushuaia - they were indescribable.

The tango evening saved the day as I think we would have been very deflated had we not had that planned for the last night - it was a good show, excellent dinner and fun to do the tango lesson.

Thanks so much for the good care you gave to us - we had a superb trip and I have already recommended you to one set of friends .

Kind regards

Esther

Very well organized all the excursions were well worth the price. We got a very good flavor of Patagonia
Tour guides were awesome. Very informed and passionate about Patagonia's beauty and history

Dear Carolina,

Thank you for your email! My trip was great and just finally returned home this past weekend! I have been extremely busy with the start of a new job and have not had time to review photos and publish a review. I will do so however at my earliest convenience.

Thank you for organising everything.

All the best,

Vasilis

Dear Carolina

Thank you for your kind e mail and empanada recipe.
I am sorry for my late reply, my everyday life in Oslo has caught up we me so the time just flies. I really miss Argentina already, I had just a fantastic trip. Three weeks in Argentina and only two half days without sunny weather, no negative experiences except the occasional dishonest taxi driver in BA..

I will write a testimonal of the trip when I have a little more time, work is taking a lot of my time these days. Trying to keep mye vacation calmness and shoulders low :)

I hope that all is well in Buenos Aires, have a nice evening!

Kind regards, Anne-Kristin

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Say Hueque! They truly helped me plan the best vacation I have ever experienced and held my hand every step of the way, from planning and booking the trip to making themselves available throughout my trip for any questions or inquiries I had. Their services are worth every penny and if you have any interest in booking a trip to Argentina please check them out.

Hi Veronica and Gastón,

We're home in Sydney again after a fantastic trip - thanks to you both for making it happen so seamlessly and well - indeed, as you arranged especially for us, Veronica, it was sunny all the week we travelled around Salta and continued sunny until till we hit Santiago, where it rained again. Does it only - and always - rain in capital cities in South America! We only had one little disaster - which was not your fault - when Christine fell over waiting for the bus at Salta (tripped over her bootlaces!), so she had a somewhat painful trip over the Andes (fortunately only 8 hours, not the promised 12) till we got to San Pedro, where she could get it put in a splint at the medical centre. We've just had an X-ray (no such facility, unfortunately in San Pedro, but the pain disappeared by the time we got to Santiago and so we decided to wait till we got back to Sydney for an X-ray) - a small fracture, but it should come all right with care.

All the trips in Salta region were great, with really excellent guides. We loved our stays in Purmamarca (with a great pena) and Cachi (El Cortillo was our favourite hotel on the trip), breaking up the long trips involved in the more usual tours was a masterstroke, even if an accidental one. The guides in Chile were also very good (one in Atacama, who was only average, showed us just how lucky we were with all the rest). All the hotels were very acceptable; the Katarpe Hostal in San Pedro was somewhat minimalist, but they did lest us stay in the room until mid-afternoon, thanks to Nicholas' negotiations with the non-English speaking staff. We were surprised at how little English was spoken in a big tourist centre like San Pedro, especially compared to elsewhere, but that is probably just the arrogance of monolingual English-speakers who had become used to some English being spoken everywhere we went in Argentina.

We did get to try many wines, including one from Patagonia (a malbec from Fin del Mundo - indeed interesting) and found them all very drinkable, though I have not been converted to drinking white wine by Torrontés; my favourite remained a Catena Zapata Saint Felicien malbec from San Juan (perhaps it had something to do with it being the most expensive one we had!). I was also pleased to see (and try) much tannat - a grape I discovered and came to enjoy in France. Generally, I felt that the wines were not greatly different from our Australian ones - which meant they went down very well.

Great that Say Hueque took up your mini-guides - they were brilliant in every way (but especially size-wise) and invaluable in picking out museums, eating places etc. We had some great meals selected from them (especially when we learned to order one lomo for two people!), and thanks especially for recommending Parilla Pena for Christine's group dinner. We're resting from beef for a while.

Overall, thanks so much to you both for organizing a trip that has proved both easy and memorable and we are happily and strongly recommending Say Hueque to everyone we talk to about our trip. We hope to get back in the not too-far off future to visit Patagonia (but not in winter), so we'll be in touch again then. But first, Ethiopia for Christmas!

With our very best wishes,
Peter B.

Hi Carolina, We are having a great time in El Chalten!! Everything has been so wonderfully arranged and provided!!! Say Hueque is a terrific organization and we are so appreciative.

We are sitting in front of Mt Fitzroy in hotel Aldea enjoying the bottle of wine you gave to us. Here is a picture of Carly and Theresa toasting you!

:) Jackie