| Welcome to March and Senderos' (early!) Spring
newsletter.
We’re excited to begin working with the Antarctic
Dream - Southern Patagonia and the White Continent.
Senderos has expanded its work within existing clients.
To all 4 of Rainforest Expeditions’
lodges (3 in Tambapata and1 in the Cordillera Blanca)
With the addition to Suasi Island of Casa Andina Private
Collection in the Sacred Valley.
Coming up…
The next LATA general meeting is on Monday
6th March at 6pm in Canning House. Sponsored by Ecoventura
and the Rainforest Alliance, we’ll be talking about
Smartvoyager.
Simon will be at ITB next week in Berlin
(8-11 March), along with Kurt Holle of Rainforest
Expeditions, Santiago Dunn of Ecoventura,
Enrique Litman of Vida
Sol e Mar, Juan Stoessel and Hernan Carranza from Casa
Andina, and Pilar Fernandez of Antarctic
Shipping.
Now Ready - the New Senderos CD with all
up-to-date rates, new photos and info in general. Hope you
agree it’s useful and looks great; please advise
if you’d like one.
Senderos Partners are:-
The Antarctic Dream
Brazil's north east, Olinda to Fortaleza
Rainforest Expeditions, Peru
Casa Andina Private Collection, Suasi and Sacred Valley, Peru
Pousada Vida Sol e Mar, Brazil
Ecoventura, Galapagos
Puyuhuapi Lodge and Spa, Chile
Pousada Picinguaba, Brazil
Estancia Huechahue, Argentina
The Antarctic Dream (www.antarctic.cl /
www.senderos.co.uk/partners_antarctic.htm)
The Antarctic Dream plies the cold, clean waters from Patagonia
to the Antarctic Peninsula, transporting guests in comfort
to this pristine wilderness of fjords, forests and glaciers,
and south further still to the White Continent.
Antarctic Shipping is the first Chilean company to operate
expeditions to Antarctica. The ice-strengthened ship - Dutch
built and completely refurbished in 2002 - has 39 en suite
outside cabins and on board facilities include a library,
dining room, bar, gym, sauna, helipad, and 4 zodiacs for excursions.
The team of lecturers, guides and crew ensure the finest experience
with personalised service, proudly presenting the extraordinary
land and ice-scapes, the marvellous wildlife, and the epic
history of this region's exploration. A unique journey of
adventure and discovery!
Special offer - 20% discount for Tierra del
Fuego departures 24 and 31 March (Punta Arenas – Ushuaia
rtn). Details on request.
Senderos Highlights by Land Rover - ecology, landscapes
and culture of Brazil's North East (www.caririecotours.com.br/ingles/senderos.htm
/ www.senderos.co.uk/partners_brazil_ne.htm)
A total Solar Eclipse will occur on March
29th in Northeast Brazil. The Manary Praia Hotel
(rooms available) celebrates this rare event with a glass
of champagne and special eclipse glasses (+ telescope). Renowned
astronomer, José Renan de Medeiros, will give a lecture
during the dinner of the 28th on the pool deck and will be
available for questions early am on 29th.
Cariri Ecotours run tailor-made tours in
the Northeast region, which can also coincide with the event.
Contact Simon or Filipe (cariri@caririecotours.com.br).
BNTM takes place this year in Maceió-Alagoas,
from 30 Mar-1 Apr. Eduardo Bagnoli of the Manary Praia Hotel
will attend.
11th April in London - Senderos will participate in the Discover
Brazil Seminar, organised by BRAZTOA (Brazilian Tour
Operators Association), EMBRATUR and INFRAERO. http://www.braztoa.com.br/site/eventos_embratur/calendario.php
 Pousada
Picinguaba (www.picinguaba.com / www.senderos.co.uk/partners_picinguaba.htm)
"Perfect start to our married life! So relaxing
in such beautiful surroundings...Thank you to all the staff
who have been so friendly and helpful. We loved our hiking
adventure and horse riding in the mountains. Wish we could
stay longer!" Rox and Tim, Sept 2005
We have a new reception manager, so that there is always someone
present at a managerial level who speaks perfect English.
The pool deck & new loungers help to make our sea view
even more stunning, and for a relaxing atmosphere in our gardens.
The pool area is great for lunch or sunset drinks.
New activities! Surf classes and holidays, and fishing.
Bird watching now available. A great number of birds, many
of them endemic, are to be seen in the Atlantic rainforest
that borders Picinguaba (Unesco Natural Word Heritage).
Estancia Huechahue (www.huechahue.com
/ www.senderos.co.uk/partners_huechahue.htm)
"The trip of a lifetime, thank
you to all who made the trip so fantastic.” Ali
“Best thing I have ever done,
Fantastic Company. Thank you.” Pauline
Having had to set the dates really late we still have space
on our 3 day cattle drive back from the summer
pastures - 21 to 28 March 06.
Early November we will have a completely new trek - travelling
from Estancia to Estancia - the riding will
be adventurous but the accommodation comfortable! More details
to follow.
The last trip of the season is setting out "Across
the Andes" to Chile. The trips have all been
fully booked. Dates for next season will be 10-21 Dec
06; 1-12 Jan 07; 16-27 Jan 2007; 29 Jan-9 Feb 07; 10-21 Feb
07; 22 Feb-5 Mar 07.
We will also be running a new trip across to Chile
- combining with Loth Kruteler from Currarrehue - dates for
this will be 27 Nov to 8 Dec 2006.
Dates for all our programs are now available.
The stalking season opened today and Jim
Brown, the new stalker is out on the hill. We have started
renovating an old Puesto so that stalkers can be based in
the centre of the estancia. The fishing has
been exceptional this year.
Rainforest Expeditions, Peru (www.perunature.com / www.senderos.co.uk/partners_rainforest.htm)
RFE hosts 12th Annual Guide Course –
we’ve been training guides from tourism schools, biology
faculties and local communities for the past twelve years.
A 3-week workshop gathers students and guides, running them
through a range of wildlife identification workshops, ecology
and local context lectures, and nature interpretation techniques.
This year we received students from the Panamian Embara community,
Smithsonian's Barro Colorado Island and a Sri Lankan committee
who wants to replicate our course across the Pacific.
Parrot Clay Lick Monitoring has begun at
Posada and Refugio Amazonas. After eight years of studying
macaws at TRC, we finally found someone interested in studying
them at Posada and Refugio. Allan Lee has been monitoring
macaws and parrots on clay licks and trails around these lodges.
Thanks to his teams’ work, we have begun to visit the
Posada clay lick right after lunch, a great time for Red and
Green Macaws.
Refugio Amazonas’ dining room is completed,
as are two wings of eight rooms, the kitchen, guide room,
bar, lounge and lobby. The first plank of the third wing of
eight rooms is already laid, and ETA for the tower is late
April - early May.
Konchukos Tambo is operational. We’re
building a pizza oven, and a children’s playground and
barbecue area. When the last of the beautiful stone handicraft
lamps produced in the neighbouring towns of Carhuayoc and
Chavín arrive, KT will be finished. Now accepting bookings
to this beautiful rural mountain setting, 10 minutes from
Chavín ruins in the Huaraz area.
 Casa
Andina Private Collection Suasi Island and Sacred Valley,
Peru (www.casa-andina.com,
www.senderos.co.uk/partners_andina.htm)
Suasi’s Andean Cottage is proving popular
with top end clients (special butler service!) &/or those
looking for that extra privacy. 2 cosy bedrooms and living
room are built with traditional materials such as stone, wood
and totora reed, located lakeshore on a private beach.
Casa Andina Private Collection Sacred Valley
is located at the heart of the Sacred Valley, just 10 kms
from Ollantaytambo. Close to the most important archaeological
sites of the region (Pisac, Chincheros, Moray, Maras), it
enjoys the Valley's wonderful climate and is one of the most
complete options in the area, in services and facilities.
Surrounded by gardens there are 85 guest
rooms, the area’s best cuisine, excursions, an Andean
spa (from April 06), planetarium and observatory (from June
06).
+
Coming soon! Casa Andina Private Collection Puno (April 17th)
and Casa Andina Private Collection Cusco (August 15th)
 Pousada
Vida Sol e Mar, Brazil (www.vidasolemar.com.br
/ www.senderos.co.uk/partners_vidasol.htm)
“Christmas eve night with
the Litmans - what a lovely family, and sharing Christmas
dinner with them was a sheer delight and one night we'll never
forget. We want to go back to see the whales!! We also went
horse riding around the area for 2 hours and that was a wonderful
way to see some amazing sights of the area”
Mr & Mrs Barnes, Dec 05
We have no whales at this time of year sadly (pic taken in
Oct05, expected again end of June,) but it is carnival
and Praia do Rosa is in full swing! A busy time of year for
us, for guests a chance to escape, rest and relax on one of
Brazil’s most beautiful beaches.
The 7 spectacular new villas have been proving very popular,
full since December.
We now have surf packages and prices for
2006. Praia do Rosa is an excellent place to learn / improve
your surf skills. Our team of instructors guarantee to have
you standing up!
Our new brochure is ready, and we’re
also updating our website.
Ecoventura, Galapagos Islands (www.ecoventura.com
/ www.senderos.co.uk/partners_ecoventura.htm)
“The Eric was a fantastic
boat, both in design and the professionalism of the crew.
I was impressed with the dedication of the staff. The public
spaces were comfortable and well designed. It was a pleasure
to relax on the well-appointed sundeck.”
“The crew was highly professional and very passionate
about their work. Both guides were outstanding - knowledgeable
and comprehensive. In particular, Harry's passion and energy
were simply remarkable. It was also a very well organized
itinerary. I couldn't imagine visiting the Galapagos again
in the future without seeing the "outer" islands
again. I was impressed by how much ground we were able to
cover in a short-time.” Gary S,
Dec 05
Space this year on our boats is at a real premium as you'll
know from the information that Doris at Galapagos Network
regularly sends out. Cancellations do happen however, and
it’s always worth making sure. Galapagos Network (Doris,
Irma and Paulina) pride themselves on the speed of their answers
to you! For the latest availability please contact doris@
/ irma@
or paulinac@galapagosnetwork.com
Santiago flies to the UK this weekend for the LATA general
meeting on Monday at Canning House, and ITB.
Puyuhuapi Lodge and Spa (www.patagonia-connection.com / www.senderos.co.uk/partners_puyuhuapi.htm)
We are right in the middle of our busiest Austral summer yet,
proudly showing visitors our beautiful, wild corner of Chile.
Pleased to announce the arrival of a brand new Cessna
208B Grand Caravan, with capacity for 10 passengers.
The aircraft covers the routes between Puerto Montt (La Paloma
aerodrome) and Chaiten from Monday to Saturday, and Puerto
Montt to Quellon (Chiloe) on Tuesdays & Fridays.
Available for charter flights Puerto Montt - Puyuhuapi (only
1 hr 15 mins flight time!). Puerto Montt to Chaiten costs
Pesos$ 45,000 (US$ 87) one-way per person, and takes 40 minutes.
From Chaiten the road transfer to Puyuhuapi is 4 hours.
As a part of continual upgrading of accommodation
for 2007 we’ll be increasing the number of superior
rooms to 29. We’ll still have 6 standard + the Capitania
suite. As a result and to minimise inconvenience we will close
the lodge from April 30th - October 12th 2006.
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