On the night of October 3, 2015 – TotalAdventure boarded LAN’s 787 Dreamliner from Miami to Santiago. It was the start of a two week journey, with the main focus on the Adventure Travel World Summit in Puerto Varas Chile.
The trip covered a huge range – from the snowy Andes to the steamy Amazon.
After clearing customs in Santiago, TotalAdventure boarded a 90 minute flight to Puerto Montt, which was near Puerto Varas.
It was a cold misty day – especially for someone who had just flown from the 95 degree heat of Miami.
TotalAdventure warmed up with a piping hot bowl of Parihuela – a fresh spicy seafood stew. For TotalAdventure’s Chilean adventures – CLICK HERE !
ArcticTropic is now planning 2015 journeys. Three trips are shown here. The first , in February is to Southeastern Australia. The longest flight will be from San Francisco to Sydney – about 15 hours. In March – off to the Polar Regions of Iceland. September – Puerto Varas in Chilean Patagonia for the ATTA Summit. Several other ventures are in planning stage.
Portillo is soon to wind down the Winter 2010 Season. Arctic Tropic’s recent trip there, 3 weeks ago, was nothing short of amazing!
LAN 501 from MIA to SCL was a comfortable 8-hour flight. After exiting customs, a driver from Portillo met us and took our luggage. Two hours later, after a 10,000 foot climb up the Andes, we arrived at the Hotel Portillo. One hour later, we were on the slopes.
Portillo is almost like a private resort. The hotel usually has about 400 guests. Since there is no other accommodation in the area it seems there are never more than 200 or 300 people on the entire mountain at any given time. On weekends, perhaps 100 more skiers arrive from Santiago for the day. The longest line we ever encountered was a group of 5 people. It is very common to be able to ski or snowboard down the mountains by oneself.
Juncalillo Run – 10 AM.
Va I Venti lifts are unique to Portillo and get expert skiers up the mountain in minutes.
Skiing down El Plateau.
Lunch at Tio’s Bob’s !
ArcticTropic was part of a press group and we had the opportunity to sit down with the owner, Henry Purcell at teatime one day. The Purcell family, originally from the United States, has owned the hotel and resort for over 50 years. A very interesting history can be read
HERE.
Après – ski is relaxing and very social. First, a bone –warming soak in the outdoor pools and hot tubs heated to 38 C.
Dinner, like all meals, is included in the one-week package, along with accommodation and lift tickets. There is no need to carry cash. One simply gives their room number if asked, or signs for extras, such as drinks.
Many of the staff have worked at Portillo for 20 to 30 years and greet their guests by name when they return each season.
After dinner a lively crowd gathers at the bar, with different bands every night. For the late night crowd, there is a disco that opens at Midnight. Roaring fireplaces keep all the public rooms warm.
At night the hotel almost has the feeling of a ship, -far away from civilization under the bright cold Andean sky full of the Southern Stars.
ArcticTropic will have regular updates from Portillo during the off-season and lots of news before next season’s opening in June ,2011. Updates are always available on the
Portillo Website.
Yesterday was frigid and snowy. Here, racers practice for an upcoming race. Today is bright and sunny.
ArcticTropic will have some great shots by evening in this time zone.
Sunrise in Portillo this morning.
FOR ADVENTURES IN CHILE, CLICK HERE
Yesterday, Portillo was cold and windy- the temperature never rose above freezing and went as low as 19 ( F) -8 ( C). Many of the upper slopes remained closed. As of this posting it is snowing again.
El Plateau.
Hot water to sooth skiers at day’s end.
Just after sunset – about 6:30 PM.
FOR ADVENTURES IN CHILE, CLICK HERE
ArcticTropic is now on location in Portillo, Chile !We arrived yesterday after a great overnight flight on LAN Airlines. Action shots and videos will be posted later today.
FOR ADVENTURES IN CHILE, CLICK HERE
Next Monday night, August 30th, ArcticTropic will board a LAN Airlines flight from Miami to Santiago.The flight will transition from a hot steamy night at MIA to a sparkling winter morning in SCL, 8 hours later. After clearing customs, we’ll board a van to Portillo, Ski Capital of South America !
LAN has brand new planes, comfortable seats, multiple entertainment choices and complimentary cocktails.
From New York or Miami – one can board a night flight and be on the slopes by lunchtime the next day.
This week the forecast calls for optimum late winter conditions – bright sunshine,mild temperatures ( though very cold at night ) and packed powder snow. ArcticTropic will have periodic updates before next week’s departure.
Tonight I board LAN Argentina Flight 4521 from Miami to Buenos Aires. It’s the start of a twelve day trip to both Argentina and Chile. The main focus of the journey is to meet adventure travel operators throughout the region. I will be posting several times daily , with many beautiful pictures.
