PERU ADVENTURE

Hello Eugenio, Our trip was outstanding. The guides were superior and their services outstanding. The hotels were all very good. This has been a once in a lifetime experience and there are so many people that made this journey so special. Don was able to fish as well as pull fishing nets on Lake Titicaca which was a childhood dream. He also fished in the Pacific Ocean. If you would like more specifics I am happy to provide after the new year.

Awasi Atacama,Explora & Mare Australis Trip

We have had a truly wonderful vacation so far. (I told Audrey it shows the wisdom of spending a lot of money quickly.) Awasi, Explora and Australis were each exceptional in their way. And your arrangements have been excellent - we have especially appreciated the quality guides. I have some really terrific photos so far. We had some excitement today as our original flight from Ushuaia to BA was significantly delayed. But the airline graciously switched us to LAN so we made the connection to Iguazu. What is your recommendation for our last night's dinner in BA? Is there a high-end romantic place you would recommend? Maybe steak for the sake of tradition or perhaps we should do steak on the night before? (In case I didn't mention it, Kaupe was very enjoyable. The owners are quite gracious.) d

FAMILY TRIP TO CHILE

Hello Eugenio, Thanks for the follow-up and best wishes for a great 2014 to you! We arrived back safely on 12/30 from one of the best trips we've had. We loved Chile, it's natural beauty and diversity from the north to south - in fact, we've telling our 3 yrs old daughter that she can come and visit us in Puerto Varas, because that's where she'll find us after retirement! Thank you for your assistance and making this trip memorable. Nitin

PORTUGAL TRIP

Dear Eugenio, Thank you for helping us plan our trip to Portugal. We had a wonderful time. As promised, Marina was at the airport to pick us up, as was our guide Paola. Paola and our driver were terrific. As we were recovering from jet lag for the first two days, it was wonderful to have them drive us around in a beautiful Mercedes. We learned so much on our half-day tour of Lisbon, as well as the full day we spent exploring the castles in Sintra and Queluz, then driving through the mountains to Cascais. We didn't have to worry about anything other than where to have dinner. And actually not even that, as Paola recommended restaurants for the entire time we were in Lisbon and even made reservations for us -- including a restaurant/fado club. As for hotels, The Heritage Liberdade in Lisbon was perfect for us -- location the best, and our room was spacious, comfortable, and with a good view. We enjoyed the buffet breakfast there as well. and the hotel staff was very helpful. We loved both the Convento do Espinheiro in Evora and Quinta das Lagrimas in Coimbra. The Quinta upgraded us to what they called just one level below a suite....a huge room in the historic part of the hotel. And the Convento is a beautifully restored old Convent -- our room in the historic section was great. Starwood has done a marvelous job restoring and furnishing it, and the staff is dedicated to helping the guests enjoy it. Their food was absolutely great -- breakfast buffet fantastic, and the tasting menu dinner we had was one of the best meals we've eaten. (I'm glad we chose the Convento over the Posada, although the Posada looked nice, as well.) In addition, at both the Convento and Quinta das Lagrimas, I must say I enjoyed their pools and saunas, which are complimentary to the guests. In addition, I must mention that I'm glad you recommended we spend a couple of days near Tomar -- the Knights Templar castle and the old synagogue were highlights for me. By the way, the Alta Royal Lodge in Ourem I found on Trip Advisor was a great experience for us. The American priest who runs this B&B is totally charming, and we loved it. It's not a big hotel for everyone, but for those seeking charm and a bed/breakfast atmosphere, I do recommend it. Again, thank you for your personal attention and patience with all my questions and concerns, Best, Joan Meyerson

SPAIN FAMILY VACATION

We would like to thank Eugenio Ovalle of Alta Tours for superb organization of our customized private group tour of Spain, which included must-see sights in Madrid and vicinity, as well as major attractions in Andalusia. Looking back at what we have seen and experienced, it is hard to imagine that so many things have been packed in just fourteen short days. One of the reasons we chose Alta Tours was their offer to conduct all travel by a private bus (which had been at our disposal at all times), thus eliminating the need for frequent cab rides to and from railway stations, loading/unloading baggage for ten people, and purchasing expensive intercity train tickets. Miguel and Pedro Marcos, our drivers and co-owners of the bus company arranged by Alta Tours, were highly skilled, conscientious and accommodating, and in general a delight to work with. (In retrospect, I cannot imagine doing this tour using multiple modes of transportation, which, even in the best case scenario, would have made things much more stressful and costly.) The local guides in all the cities we had visited were knowledgeable, intelligent and sensitive to the fact that three children of different ages (9, 14 and 17) were a part of the group. Five included dinners (in Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Seville and Granada) were served at “atmospheric” restaurants, and included fine examples of central and southern Spanish fare. We stayed at four-star hotels throughout the tour, and all properties were very adequate, with some exceeding the standards associated with this rating. Last but not least, one of the things that made this trip a success were the services of our indispensable “virtual tour director” Javier Gomez who literally had been “a phone call away” throughout the entire trip, resolving communication/language problems, making restaurant reservations, providing “real-time” advice on points of interest, and in general assisting in ways too numerous to list. We recommend Alta Tours without reservation to all travelers interested in exploring Spain with a travel provider that is sensitive to the needs of their clients, attentive to details, and very dependable. Natalya Govzman and Alexander Kuzmin Lena Krislasky Marina and Yuriy Tsvetov Tatyana and Alexander Kagan, and also Mark, Daniel and Eugene

MADEIRA SHORE EXCURSION

Eugenio



Your tour in Madeira was one of the highlights of the whole cruise for the group Thank you very much

PLEASE Send our gracious gratitude to the winemaker and Tour guide for their extra special attention.


There was some confusion on the wine exchange – and no wine was brought to exchange – and we are sorry for the confusion.

However upon her return, Ms. Eileen Crane, winemaker at Domaine Carneros in Napa CA is sending the winemaker of Blandy’s a package this week.

And she is telling that wonderful story of his and his grandmothers hospitality.


Have a look at these two different guest comments that I hope you will share with your colleagues in Madeira:

The Madeira Island tour was fantastic, the trip to Monte was fun and beautiful, the town of Funchal was quaint, there was a street market when we were there. The tasting at the Old Blandy Wine Lodge was phenomenal, having the wine maker at the tasting was an unexpected pleasure.

In Madeira having the winemaker come in on Saturday, show casing a number of special wine and even offering his grandmother's cake, that to me is the more than expected side.



Thank You again,



Michael Mastrocola

SANTIAGO,LAKE COUNTRY & PATAGONIA TRIP

Hello Eugenio, I would love to give my impressions of my trip,.. I absolutely loved it and am completely in love with Chile. Our trip was centered in Santiago which I found to be full of warmth and heartfelt welcome from the Chileans. They really seem to love tourist and are all to ready to assist. My entire stay, I felt completely safe, never encountered anything but warmth from the people. The food was unbelievable and I am completely taken with their love for all things fresh from the bread, to the cheese, to produce and meat. The choices for dining are endless and we were able to sample many different types of cuisine including Peruvian, Chilean (both traditional and contemporary), I love the empanadas de queso and cant even begin to describe my love for Pisco Sours, we also sampled the desserts which were wonderful. The weather was great through most of our stay, although we did encounter rain in the south and were slightly hampered by flooding in Punta Arena (the river adjacent to our hotel flooded and we were stranded for a few days in the hotel, but the staff at the hotel were great and the experience just added to the adventure and left us with great photos and stories to tell. Huilo Huilo was incredible, Torres de Paine was unbelievable and it was an all around great experience. I hope to repeat it in the very near future. Thank you so much for everything and I will definitely be in touch with my plans to return to Chile soon. Linda Story