Argentina & Chile, and it feels like home

Due to the upcoming Eclipse Experience 2020 that BRU & BRU is organising for next December (and we have all the information already... ask us!) and following our philosophy of testing first what we are going to recommend our clients, I travelled to Argentina to check in person that our program design is working as planned.

One of the first things I really appreciated upon my arrival in Buenos Aires was the airport accompanying services and its Arrival Lounge. You have food, showers and everything you need to recover from your long trip at your disposal and, while you do it, the airport staff picks your bags on the belt and awaits you to go to exit or, as it was my case, to the boarding gate of my domestic flight to Bariloche.

Upon my arrival in Bariloche at noon, I was driven to my hotel for the next few days: El Casco Art Hotel. It is an original 5-star boutique hotel located on the coast of Lake Nahuel Huapi which constitutes the first hotel fully dedicated to art. We can more than 400 masterpieces of the best Argentine artists in both its rooms and common areas.

The hotel stands out for its friendly and fair treatment, its privacy and its extraordinary location. You enjoy wonderful views from its building on the lake’s shore, something I could check myself that afternoon and, also, in the next morning before my early walk.

Already recovered from the trip, I went for a revitalising walk along the Cerro Llao Llao, where you can even find hundred-year-old trees. During more than three hours, you can enjoy magnificent views of the Nahuel Huapi National Park and its lakes. We were glad to have risen early for the excursion, since it enabled us to do the whole visit without seeing anyone else.

After our trekking, we recharged batteries with a “Wine by the Lake Experience”. We have lunch on the lake’s shore and delighted ourselves with some local cuisine and a few of the best wines from the area. Our hosts also surprised us with a live music performance which was the icing on the cake to our wonderful morning.

After that, an essential part of our trip took place. We did the site inspection of the Llao Llao Resort, Golf & SPA, which I consider one of my favourite hotels in Argentine Patagonia. With amazing views to Cerro Tronador, lakes, forests and mountains, it is located in an emblematic building opened in 1940, and is currently undergoing a refurbishment to adapt it to new trends. It has already a renovated wing build in 2007 where guests can enjoy a perfect combination between the Llao Llao style and contemporary Patagonian design.

With an extraordinary swimming-pool and an 18-hole golf course, the Hotel is such an explosion of colour and good taste, which fits perfectly with the surrounding landscape. A magical place.

In the evening, a magnificent dinner was waiting for us at the Quiven Restaurant where we were able to enjoy the great Argentine cuisine with a modern touch. Wonderful!

Another reason for my visit to Argentina was waiting on the next day: I was going to be in the the exact place where the Eclipse Camp will be located. For the eclipse that will happen next December, BRU & BRU will have a pop-up camp in the Argentine Patagonia. Our clients will be able to live the experience in exclusive tents placed in one of the best locations to view the phenomena.

To check that everything we are organising fits our quality standards, our collaborators prepared a taste of the set up as it will be in a few months. The tents, the table setting... everything was ready for our inspection.

And we had lunch there before our return to Bariloche. Specially for our visit, lunch was ready in our improvised camp. Our visit was going smoothly and as planned. All perfect!

On the next (and last day) in Argentina, we could enjoy water in the National Park. We explore some shops before we sailed in a private boat to Victoria Island and afterwards, we had lunch in the boat by means of a delicate picnic followed by some sweets and champagne.

Those Argentinians were feeding us extraordinarily well! Luckily, we were doing many excursions and hiking because, otherwise, I would have come back from the trip with a few extra kilos! 😉

It was time to say goodbye to Argentina and cross the border to arrive to one of my favourite places in the world: Chile!

And what’s better than enjoy this heaven on Earth in andBeyond Vira Vira, an amazing lodge on an organic farm in the Chilean Lake District. Another reason for my trip.

The exceptional andBeyond Vira Vira is located in a beautiful park with natural lagoons, rivers, organic farm and breathtaking views of the Villarrica Volcano. With six suites, twelve villas, a five-bedroom, sole-use Hacienda for up to 10 guests and a little Patagonia house that is used for wine tastings, yoga sessions, etc. is, actually, a destination itself.

Our accommodation was in one of the villas located next to the river, enjoying beautiful views in the morning, apart from total privacy and calm.

After carrying out a site inspection to the full resort and to the hotel rooms to confirm that our clients will feel at home when staying here (in a villa or in the hotel roomswe visit the craft cheese factory which is already inside the resort (we were not supposed to stop eating in this trip?). Very interesting to see how cheeses were made and also… taste them!

Afterwards, we enjoyed an outdoor barbecue, full of natural and delicious products. It was so good to be outside with such a nice weather considering that it was winter waiting for us in the northern hemisphere. Weather was really good during all the trip, actually.

Later, we could enjoy one of the best experiences of the week: an exceptional helicopter flight. Until today, I think it has been my best flight. With an expert pilot who took us to fly over the Villarrica volcano crater, even perceiving its plume of smoke!

We overflew the Blue Lagoon and did a hiking around. As you can only access the area by helicopter (or after an excursion of a couple of days), we were the only visitors around. Finally, our exclusive flight took us to have a picnic on the top of the mountain and we were witnesses to a breathtaking sunset.

On the next day, before going to Santiago de Chile to take our flight back home, we enjoyed a hike on the volcano slope and a goodbye lunch in the hotel. We will come back, for sure.

Because Chile has become homeland (number two) for me.