Category: Stories & Inspiration

Stories & Inspiration

Environmental pioneers: Tompkins Conservation in Chile

It’s rare that an environmental organisation can be said to have genuinely helped change the way a country approaches its wild places, but Tompkins Conservation has done just that. Its pioneering donation of private land to the Chilean state and its work to expand the country’s network of national parks have helped put rewilding on […]

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Stories & Inspiration

Puma conservation in Torres del Paine

The pumas of Torres del Paine have captured the world’s attention thanks to TV series like Dynasties and Pumas At The End of The World. To better understand the challenges in conserving these magnificent creatures we spoke to Mark Elbroch, the director of the puma program at Panthera, the global wildcat conservation organisation, about their […]

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Stories & Inspiration

A Patagonia Love Story

Zoe co-founded a hiking company based in the Los Glaciares region of Patagonia. As one of Swoop’s partners in Argentina, we have been working together closely for a number of years. Having grown up in the UK, Zoe’s career began as a tour leader throughout Latin America. It was during this time that she met […]

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Stories & Inspiration Uncategorised

The Nature Of Giving Back

Partners in life and business, Leslie and Cristian – who we have worked with for eight years – run a small kayaking business out of Puerto Natales in Chile. In 2020, their lives were turned upside down by the unprecedented impact of a global pandemic. Spirits weren’t dampened, and the pair embraced new facets of their lives […]

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Reviews

An Englishman in Patagonia: book review

In ‘An Englishman in Patagonia’, John Pilkington beautifully details his eight-month backpacking trip, south from Santiago, winding his way along the Andes, through the heart of Patagonia to the end of the world in Ushuaia, before heading back up the Argentine coastline. Spurred on by the tales of legendary adventurers such as Ferdinand Magellan, Captain […]

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Reviews

Sophisticated Simplicity Hidden in the Lake District

On my recce trip of the Patagonian Lake District in the spring of 2016, I discovered a few hidden gems nestled in the heart of the Patagonian Lake District. This one, a four drive north of Bariloche, was perched on a hillside, in a clearing of trees. The experience of visiting the beautiful wooden house […]

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To guide, or not to guide…

Many of our customers visit Patagonia to enjoy the extensive variety of hiking trails in Torres del Paine, Los Glaciares, Tierra del Fuego and further north towards the Lake District. They will often ask us “why should I use a guide?”. It’s fair to say that most of the walks are well marked in the […]

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Reviews

An Idyllic Kayak Trip from Puerto Aysén

My mission during my recce of Patagonia in spring 2016 was to delve into Chile’s little-known region of Aysén. I tracked condors, mountain biked in remote national parks and took to the water multiple times to see sights only accessible by boat or kayak. In Puerto Aysén, I enjoyed serene paddling and beautiful weather for a day’s […]

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