Winter Newsletter January 2013

With the Christmas excesses firmly in the past, we thought a few of our favourite walks would be a suitable tonic!

In southern Patagonia, the small village of El Chaltén is an ideal base for several day walks in the shadow of the stunning FitzRoy peaks. Best visited from November to May.

No walk round-up would be complete without mentioning Peru, where either the Mountain Lodges of Peru Salkantay route to Machu Picchu, or one of many alternative Inca trails in the region, has to be on anyone's list. Best April to November.

Most people think of the Galapagos as a mainly marine destination, but there is one stunning hike: around the crater of Sierra Negra - one of Isabela island's five volcanos - and down to a small fumarole. Year round. Some yacht itineraries incorporate this walk, otherwise you can extend a cruise with a few nights on the island of Isabela, which now offers some lovely, comfortable accommodation options.

Last September Claire headed off to Mexico for, potentially, her last chance to explore the Mundo Maya before the predicted 21 December apocalypse at the end of their long count calendar. 'I visited Chiapas, Campeche, and the Yucatán Peninsula. On my journey through the south easterly states of Mexico I explored colonial cities, marvelled at ancient ones and relaxed on pristine beaches. Highlights included swimming with whale sharks, releasing baby turtles into the wild, mixing with locals and sampling the local cuisine...

Suffice to say that both Mexico and Claire are thankfully still with us. You can read her full Mexico report here.

In October Jonny visited one of South America's smallest countries, Ecuador, and the Galapagos. 'During my two week trip I visited an animal market and brushed up on my riding skills in the Andes, perfected the art of using a blowgun in the Amazon and climbed an active volcano in the Galapagos. It was an adventure-packed trip, and at one point I found myself being covered in face paint and being married off to a local girl from the Amazon!' Read about Jonny's Ecuador and Galapagos experiences here.

One Ocean offers excellent cruises to Antarctica and we are now able to recommend their Arctic cruises too, following Sue's Canadian Arctic trip aboard Akademik Ioffe.  'After my amazing adventure to Antarctica in 2003 - a dream come true - a visit to the Arctic was high on my wish list. The polar regions are addictive if you are a fan of wonderful scenery, wilderness and wildlife, so when the opportunity arose to sail through the Northwest Passage I grabbed it with both hands. We had close-up sightings of polar bears (they really are huge!), enjoyed the abundant bird life, amazing sunrises and sunsets, and huge glaciers. To top it all the ship, crew, food and activities were all first class and my two weeks on board went far too quickly!'. Read more on Sue in the Arctic.

Those of you with Sky and (ideally) a 3D television are no doubt enjoying Sir David Attenborough's latest Galapagos series which started on New Year's day. It was filmed over two years, and the photograph at left shows the great man sheltering from the sun between takes, while admiring a finch on the edge of the swimming pool at the Galapagos Safari Camp.