Pippa returned in November from a Full Circuit Trek in Torres del Paine, half guided and half self guided, supported by Swoop’s local partners throughout. Here she tells us about her experiences o the trip and in booking with Swoop and our partners…
How were Swoop Patagonia?
Swoop Patagonia were great. Luke was fab at the start helping plan the trip and your correspondence after that was helpful & smooth,
How were Swoop’s partners in Torres del Paine?
Swoop’s partners were also very good. Their correspondence was very good, with consistently rapid and helpful responses. We had a small hiccup with buses at the airport and they sorted us out very quickly.
What did you think of the Half and Half Circuit Itinerary?
The Half and Half itinerary was great, we at first thought it was going to be slow with only a few hours a day but in the end we really enjoyed that we were not rushing the hike and felt like we got to know the mountains really well.
How was your guide?
Our guide Nico was really good, very patient, easy to chat too and helpful. The porters were also really nice guys.
What did you think of the accommodation on the Circuit route?
The facilities were more modern than expected, we were expecting huts and we got country houses for half the trip but we loved the more basic huts at the back of the Torres circuit.
We would recommend the hired tents in the W to be selected by the lengths, my husband is 1m80cm and lying in a tent that is 1.70-1.80 was quite uncomfortable for him and we had 3 nights like this in a row.
The tent brought in by Swoop’s partners for the remainder of the trek was good, the recommendation here would be for them to get additional ground sheets as the damp seeped through to our mats and belongings on the tent floor.
Did you visit anywhere else on your trip?
Afterwards we went onto visit Perito Moreno glacier, the Fitz Roy range and then onto Mendoza and Buenos Aires before returning back to Brazil.
What was the highlight of your trip?
The whole trip was a highlight. We had a really good time and we got on with all the group members very well. We were blessed with good weather for 9 out of 10 of the days, which made a huge difference to the trip! The winds stayed away after day 1 so we were all really happy.
