Whatever the downside of our industry, we cannot escape the fact that we are privileged to be able to visit, and work in, the remotest corners of the globe. I’m in Ushuaia, the southernmost town on earth, on the southwest tip of Tierra del Fuego (land of fires) 90 miles north of Cape Horn, about 300 miles southwest of the Falklands, 1,800 miles or so south of Buenos Aires and, I think, about 2,400 or so miles from the South Pole.
I feel numbed by what I’ve seen. The sheer scale and power of nature makes me feel insignificant.
Argentina is a land of superlatives. At about 2,400 miles from top to bottom (about the same distance as Gatwick to Larnaca in Cyprus) this is the second largest country in South America. The Iguazu Falls in the north are stunning, about half as big again as Niagara. Patagonia, home of 30m sheep, where I am now, occupies 30% of the country and, within Los Glaciares National Park, in the Patagonian Andes is the Perito Moreno Glacier.
With a length of 18 miles, a surface of 150 square miles, a front width of 2.5 miles and a front height of 70 metres, this deep blue mass plunges into a lake and must be one of the world’s most beautiful and awe-inspiring sights.
In the subtropical rain forest of Iguazu, the temperatures were around 20C (we are approaching winter in Argentina). Here in Ushuaia the wind-chill factor takes the temperature well below zero.
The low Andean peaks around us are dusted with an early winter snow fall. The Magellan penguins have already migrated north to Brazil and the Beagle channel, on the shores of which Ushuaia nestles, linking the Atlantic with the Pacific, teeming with seabirds and dotted with the odd sea lion head, looks very cold and uninviting. Huskies howl in the distance.
Yes, we are extending our Sunvil Discovery programme to Argentina. This place is so vast that Gus from our office covered one part in November and I’m doing the rest now. But we are only scratching the surface. I’m travelling with our agent from Costa Rica and the pace has been non-stop. In the 10 days that I am here, I have to live, breathe and eat Argentina.
From morning until night we are with the best possible local guide we can find.
We sample as many local excursions as we can, eat in as many restaurants and drink as many different wines as possible and stop over and over to take photographs with four cameras.
We find out about local politics, environmental considerations, tourist flows and seasonal variations. When I am not travelling, making notes or talking with the guide I’m reading many local guide books – covering everything from history and culture to glaciation – bird watching and trekking.
Most of this I’ll never need but I have to be prepared for every type of question from prospective clients.
Oh and yes, we look at lots and lots of accommodation. Is this the sort of hotel a Sunvil client would like? We shall be using estancias (haciendas) as much as possible. In some areas we are planning flydrive itineraries using a combination of hotels and estancias.
It’s friendly, spectacular and an absolute must for clients who practice one-upmanship over the dinner-table talk – provided they can afford it!