Two trips in one, and they could not have been less alike. The first half was the north, near the Lake District – six or seven villas on a sanctuary property, each one multi-room with its own hot tub and the Pacific in view. Built for families in a way most lodges only claim to be. The food program was the standout.
The calendar was the strange part. This was the end of December, deep winter if you have spent your life in the northern hemisphere, and instead it was full summer. Farmers' markets, people doing handstands on the grass, everyone outside making the most of the light.
Horses and hiking on the property. Off it, the local towns, a famous fish market, and a day in a German settlement about ninety minutes away that does not feel like Chile at all.
Then south, properly south, to Puerto Natales. The classic walk up to the Torres del Paine, and days either side out by boat to the glaciers and into a working farm for a shearing demonstration. The walkthrough with the shepherding dogs was more impressive than it has any right to be. Biking, hiking, horseback, everything in between.
Then nobody flew home. The family carried straight on to Punta Arenas and boarded for Antarctica.