Monday, December 01, 2008

Explora, How Many Ways do I Love Thee?

There are few places more pristine or beautiful than Torres del Paine national park in Chile. The first time I drove through the park, I passed a beautiful hotel perched next to a waterfall. Our guide said, "That is Explora. It is the best." I vowed that I would return to the park soon and that I would stay at Explora.

Explora is truly luxury personified. Don't get me wrong, you are here to convene with nature, and to take hikes and pursue vigorous (or not) physical activity. But it is done with the absolute highest consideration for the guest and his or her comfort.

The hikes are led by naturalists. I found their knowledge overall good, but some guides were definitely not as good as others. One actually got us lost in the wilderness for half an hour!

But the views are amazing!

And the food is delicious. There is simply nothing else like it in the Patagonian wild.


And the hotel itself is architecturally stunning! It is actually designed to look like a boat.

This was the view out of the window next to "our" table, which we claimed for all our meals.

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