When my friend, whom I met when hiking Mt. Blanc a year ago, asked if I and some other friends would like to join him hiking in Patagonia, my first thought was that doesn’t sound like much of an adventure since “Patagonia” is located right here in southern Arizona, my home state.  Ah, but then the true picture evolved which included the Magellan Penguins which are found around the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Chile and Argentina.  Oh, that Patagonia.  We all signed up immediately. 

Our trip was January 19 – February 4, 2008, the heart of summertime for Patagonia.  Although we were promised high winds and cool weather, this Arizona desert girl was pleased to find little wind and warm sun each and every day.  One of our guides commented that he had not seen such glorious and continuous weather in ten years. 

The trip was fabulous because of many factors.  Right from the start, pre trip, Andes Adventures provided detailed lists, critical information, and was always available for questions.  The group of people bonded immediately, and although some of us went ahead, stayed back, went a different route, at the end of the day, we all had our pictures, our stories, and our new friendships.  Our main guide / group leader was well versed with area, wildlife, flora, and community information.  Our secondary guides were also educated, practiced, and skilled at hiking, explaining, and providing whatever we needed.

When various people were asked about highlights of the trip, some said it was the open plains that wove themselves into mountains like the Three Towers in Chile and the Fritz Roy in Argentina.  Others adored the wildlife with the penguins being a favorite.  For the driven, it was the hiking, the bonus hikes – the higher and the longer the better.  Culture played an important part in the trip as many of us had never been to South America before.  For me, to be literally at the END OF THE WORLD was an amazing feeling, surreal.  There certainly was much more we will all cherish and our pictures prove that.  Diana Lee Pieper

In Argentina the Patagonia expands to the south of the river Colorado between the Andes and the Atlantic ocean. It is characterized by the primitive force of their landscapes in those where the man's hand, without being absent, it usually passes inadvertent.

A vigorous nature is imposed on the observer in the semi-arid plateaus of the east, fitted by deep valleys and canyons, like in the upright western mountain ranges, covered of an arboreal tapestry, crowned of snow and sprinkled of glaciers and lakes.

The above information is from:  http://www.patagonias.net/