2015 Roundup for Pura Aventura
It is at this time of year when we all like to stop and consider all the places we have been and where we might be off to next year.
For me, the biggest treat this year was to return to Chile's beautiful Carretera Austral. I was lucky enough to travel this remote 1,000km of dirt road back in the early 1990s. Unlucky enough to be hitchhiking, but that's another tale. I was back again some 10 years later and then again in April this year. It is every bit as beautiful as it ever was but now it's easier to explore properly meaning that finally, for the first time in Pura Aventura's 16 years, we have been able to properly promote holidays here. With significant press coverage, we have been able to introduce people who appreciate the combination of independence, comfort and phenomenal landscapes that the Carretera Austral offers.
This review really says it all to me and sums up why are so proud of what we do.
"Thanks to the careful planning by Pura, we saw parts of Chile off the main tourist drag. Every time we thought things couldn't get more wonderful, they did, culminating in the exceptional privilege of being guided to what must be one of the best places in the world for watching condors. They flew up and down and across in the thermals, just a few metres away, like our very own fly past. The day ended with a magnificent Asado of spit-roasted lamb in our guide's farmhouse. The holiday couldn't have been better and we certainly couldn't have planned it ourselves."
It also so happens that this is the review which pushed us over the finish line to retain our Gold Merchant status with Feefo for the second year so thank you to all of you who have travelled with us this year.
My family have had a moratorium on gift giving for adults for some years now. Nevertheless, earlier this week I found myself day-dreaming, wondering what I would hope to find if gifts were to be left under the tree for me. The answer was, quite genuinely, 'nothing'. Now I'm not trying to make myself out to be some Francis of Assisi figure. It's just that I'm very lucky to have been amply spoiled with travel in 2015.
So this Christmas I'll be very happy with nothing under the tree, as long as I can be sure of a 2016 filled with more travels to wonderful places. I do hope you can join us.
Wishing you a peaceful, healthy and happy 2016.
Travel well,
Thomas and the team
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The Pothole is Pura Aventura's popular monthly email. We share what we love, what interests us and what we find challenging. And we don't Photoshop out the bits everyone else does. We like to think our considered opinions provide food for thought, and will sometimes put a smile on your face. They've even been known to make people cry. You can click here to subscribe and, naturally, unsubscribe at any time.
The Pothole is Pura Aventura's popular monthly email. We share what we love, what interests us and what we find challenging. And we don't Photoshop out the bits everyone else does. We like to think our considered opinions provide food for thought, and will sometimes put a smile on your face. They've even been known to make people cry. You can click here to subscribe and, naturally, unsubscribe at any time.
