By Louise Girvin
I would rate the overall value of this trip quite high.
Days did not always turn out as we had hoped, but that’s part of adventure travel. For instance, one day we traveled 2+ hours up treacherous mountain roads only to have to abort our plans for trekking to El Morado because the road was impassable (due to recent heavy rains). That I might add, however, that not following the planned itinerary many times allowed us to do and see things we would not have experienced otherwise.
All the hotels were very nice, except for one. However, upon learning of the situation, Myths & Mountains immediately took steps to move us to nicer accommodations. The breakfasts in the hotels were quite hearty, especially in comparison to breakfasts in hotels in the U.S, and the lunches that were included afforded us the opportunity to enjoy some of the local cuisine.
We were upgraded to the premium package on the Wine Train. With the sun shining, breezes blowing through the open windows of the dining car, guitars strumming, musicians singing, and food & wine flowing, we literally floated on air by the time we reached our destination in Santa Cruz. This experience was definitely a highlight of our trip!
Thank you very much for all the help Myths and Mountains provided to make our Essence of Chile’s Wines trip so enjoyable. It really was a trip of a lifetime for the five of us!
