the Aracari Blog

Hi Cynthia,

Firstly, we would like say a big thank you to the Aracari team! We thoroughly enjoyed our trip, especially the Inca Trail trek. The guide, cook and porters were all wonderful and went out of their way to ensure our comfort and enjoyment. For example, the cook served us “cuy” for dinner at our request one night and the guide/porters even made it possible for us to wash our hair! Some of the little touches provided were also much appreciated (eg. blankets, thermos mugs, good quality tents and sleeping bags).

Hi Marisol and Cynthia,

Thank you very much for all your work.

We have heard from our client already he had a great time, he liked all the guides and learned a lot, as well as enjoying the food. Everything went smoothly.

Please will you say a big thank you to John Alfredo for looking after him so well!

Dear Marisol:

I want to thank you and everyone at Aracari for the wonderful day in Lima. Our guide was terrific and the driver got us everywhere we wanted to go with a minimum of problems. Our lunch at Bolivariano was excellent and really felt like we were in a different world. Our dinner at Astrid & Gaston was enjoyed by everyone and the service, food and ambiance were perfect. It was a good way to see how Aracari operates and I look forward to sending you business in the future.

Hi Friends!

Marisol Mosquera (Aracari’s Founder and President) will be lecturing in London on the subject of Peruvian Gastronomy this coming June 24th, 2008.

April 29, 2008

A second area enjoying the attentions of travel writers in the know, Patagonia is an immense, beautiful land brimming with variety. A mere two and a half hour flight south from Buenos Aires, Patagonia offers a totally different take on Argentina. The North boasts awe-inspiring natural beauty, the Lake District of thousands of kilometres of pine-covered landscapes bursting with impressive waterfalls, forests and, of course, lakes – without a boat in sight. It is a haven for those who enjoy outdoor pursuits – horse riding with the gauchos (cowboys), fishing with the experts or simply contemplating life. Or you can cross into the Chilean Lake District perhaps via the pretty Tyrolean-like town of Bariloche.

Just 100 miles or a four hour car journey north of Arequipa, Peru, lies a stunning natural phenomenon, the Colca Canyon, the deepest canyons in the world. This is home of the Andean condor and a rich, fertile land where centuries of agriculture on pre-Inca terraces sustain the traditional villages that dot this magical landscape. It is also home to one the people closest to our hearts, Mother Antonia, who has run a soup kitchen for over 30 years in the Valley. Now this and the many charms of the Colca Valley have been embraced by the Orient Express Hotel Group, which opens the first luxury hotel in the area this April.

One of the smallest countries in South America is having something of a renaissance in 2008, with the New York Times declaring it one of the top 53 places to go to this year, and Condé Nast Traveller magazine dedicating a sizeable chunk of editorial to Ecuador in its December issue. So what is the appeal and why now?

Amidst the doom and gloom of environmental predictions there are always elements of light shining through. Environmental scientist Oliver Whaley is one such enlightened individual. Based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew near London, Oliver and his team are dedicated to a three-year project supported by the UK Darwin Initiative to save the last few remnants of the Huarango forest on the south coast of Peru, on the edge of the Atacama Desert. Felled for charcoal or to make way for agriculture, this destruction is opening the door to spreading desertification.