Cox & Kings Travel Blog

Patagonia – Following the Flock

By Annabel | Published: January 24, 2012

9,000 miles from London and yet everything seemed to have been made in Britain. Katie Parsons, PR & Publications executive at Cox & Kings, recently visited Chilean Patagonia and found that links to 19th century European pioneers were everywhere.

With the introduction of 300 sheep from the Falkland Islands in 1877 and the subsequent arrival of European settlers to the Last Hope Province, a flourishing sheep farming industry developed, expanding rapidly throughout Patagonia. This led to the formation of the Sociedad Explotadora de Tierra del Fuego, which was established in 1893 with Briton Peter McLelland as its director.

My first encounter with the Brits was at the newly-opened Singular Hotel just outside Puerto Natales. The cold-storage plant at Puerto Bories was built by the Sociedad in 1906 and was fully functioning from 1915 until the 1970s. The workers, many among whom were British, needed somewhere to live and so founded the neighbouring town of Puerto Natales. Many of the town’s residents still have British-sounding surnames such as McClean and McLelland, or can trace their ancestry back to Britain. The post-Victorian industrial style plant was declared a National Historic Monument by the Government of Chile in 1996 and in 2011, the luxurious Singular Hotel opened after a sensitive restoration to preserve the building’s heritage and cultural legacy.

Puerto Natales

Guests first arrive in the former sheep holding sheds and then can choose between descending in an original funicular or taking some steps down into the pump and boiler rooms. A mezzanine floor has been created to preserve the original flooring but the Victorian pipes and brick walls are still very much a part of what is now the reception area. To the right of the reception is the former tannery and washing rooms; now the hotel’s communal area. The water drainage channels and original beams have been kept and the high ceilings are reminders of the building’s past.

The excellent restaurant ensures guests are well-fed in preparation for their day’s excursions in the surrounding areas and the bar’s inviting chesterfield sofas, cosy armchairs and under floor heating are greatly welcomed on their return. The larger-than-average luxury guest rooms have been built in the area where the freezers would have once stood and all have floor to ceiling windows offering magnificent views across the Last Hope Sound to the Rotundes and Felicita mountains.

What is really striking, particularly for British guests, is the machinery in the open museum next to the reception. Almost every item, from the boilers to the engines, has a ‘made in’ Birmingham, Derby, Glasgow or London sign on it. To think that such a large quantity of heavy machinery was transported so far from its source at a time when people knew relatively little about that part of the world made me oddly proud to be British. I did wonder what other nationalities staying in the hotel must think…

Moving on from the Singular Hotel, I went to stay at Cerro Guido, a working sheep estancia which is closer to Torres del Paine National Park and has views to the famous torres (towers). The small community has a school for its three pupils, houses for the workforce, a canteen for the gauchos, and a large shearing shed where once again, all the machinery in the shed came from Manchester and Birmingham. Walking through the shearing shed felt like being in a museum of a farm from the 1940s and I can’t imagine anything’s changed since it was originally installed. Even the estancia’s guest accommodation, whilst perfectly comfortable, had a distinctly dated English country home feel but that just added to the owners’ hospitality and welcome.

Horse riding, Cerro Guido

Cerro Guido was part of the Sociedad Explotadora, which gave a sense of authenticity and completion to the trip: it became easier to visualise the life of the pioneers one hundred years earlier. Torres del Paine National Park is the same latitude south as London is north, yet I can’t imagine feeling as remote anywhere in England as I did at Cerro Guido. Set in the foothills of the Sierra Baguales, close to the Argentinean border and the entrance to the national park, the estancia has a vast expanse of private land, where guests can walk and horse ride with the gauchos without seeing anyone else around.

Excursion Las Condoreras

Tierra Patagonia opened in December 2011 on the shores of Lago Sarmiento, just outside of Torres del Paine National Park. It’s been built on land belonging to Cerro Guido, which means some of their excursions are on the estancia’s private land. Walking up to Las Condoreras, seeing no one but the occasional gaucho, some sheep and soaring condors, it’s easy to see the benefit of doing excursions outside of the park. Of course it’s essential to spend a full day in the national park and guests can and are encouraged to do short walks there as part of that, but the thrill of being out in the Patagonian wind with no one else around is something I’ll never forget.

Cox & Kings has a 10-day / 8-night luxury tour to Chile, Patagonia: Peaks & Pioneers, priced from £3,950 per person including 2 nights at the Hotel Lastarria, 2 nights at the Singular, 3 nights at Tierra Patagonia and a final night in Santiago at the Hotel Lastarria. Price also includes international flights with LAN via Madrid, transfers, all excursions in Patagonia and accommodation with breakfast in Santiago and full board in Patagonia.

To read an article by Teresa Levonian Cole from the Daily Telegraph who travelled to Chile with Cox & Kings, click here.

Posted in Chile | Tagged Cerro Guido, Hotel Lastarria, luxury holiday to chile, luxury holiday to patagonia, luxury holiday to torres del paine national park, luxury holidays to patagonia, luxury hotels patagonia, luxury tour to patagonia, patagonia luxury tour, Singular Hotel, singular hotel puerto natales, Tierra Patagonia | Leave a comment

Where to go in 2012

By Annabel | Published: January 23, 2012

Cox & Kings’ team of experts have come up with their predictions of the places likely to capture travellers’ attention in 2012. There is the tranquility of Sri Lanka; the unique fauna of Madagascar; the temples of Burma; the historic coast of Croatia; the Islamic wonders of Uzbekistan; and Central America, focus of a Mayan mystery.

BURMA

Now that Aung San Suu Kyi has been released and the government appears to be relaxing its attitude to opposition, visitors are returning to Burma (Myanmar) and beginning to embrace this beautiful country once more. The Burmese people’s deep-rooted belief in Buddhism and spiritual worship is reflected in the thousands of magnificent pagodas in ancient Pagan and the monasteries of Mandalay. Burma’s colourful culture, ancient temples, golden pagodas, remote villages and charming people offer a beguiling mix in a country which remains relatively untouched by mass tourism. View our luxury holidays to Burma.

Golden Shwedagon Pagoda

SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka is set to be back on the map this year. Part of its growing popularity can be attributed to pent up demand from the recent years of unrest. There is also now an excellent choice of boutique hotels for tailor-made options, and for a small country it offers enormous diversity in terms of culture, landscapes and wildlife. From the ancient sites of the cultural triangle, tropical interior and perfect beaches, to the picturesque “tea country”. Sri Lanka looks set to be a favourite for 2012. View our luxury holidays to Sri Lanka.

Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka

CROATIA

Now is a great time to visit Croatia. The country’s 1,788km of coastline, Mediterranean climate and over a thousand islands dotted along the Dalmatian coast make it a sensational European destination. Another bonus is that being a non-Euro country, your pound should stretch that little bit further. Roman ruins, Renaissance palaces, medieval towns with atmospheric squares and pristine beaches await visitors. View our luxury holidays to Croatia.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

MADAGASCAR

Madagascar had a great 2011 and we expect that to continue, largely thanks to the publicity off the back of the BBC’s David Attenborough series at the start of 2011, as well as glowing word-of-mouth tributes from returning visitors. The island features every kind of environment from dry desert to dense mountain forest and is home to over 70 varieties of lemur, over 120 endemic bird species and the distinctive baobab trees. It has the greatest diversity of chameleons in the world, including the world’s smallest and largest. An added attraction is that the accommodation has improved in recent years. How many other islands can boast all this? View our holidays to Madagascar.

Verreaux's Sifaka, Berenty, Madagascar

UZBEKISTAN

For a long time now Uzbekistan has remained off the beaten track, but there are signs that word of its wonders is beginning to reach a wider audience. This land-locked country is a mixture of desert, steppe, oasis and river valley, which contrasts with the soaring Islamic architecture, in some of Central Asia’s most stupendous ancient cities; Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. Recent investment has also improved the standard of accommodation and there are now a number of good quality hotels for the visitor to enjoy. View our cultural holidays to Uzbekistan.

Khiva, Uzbekistan

CENTRAL AMERICA

Our in-house experts at Cox & Kings predict that Central America, in particular, Guatemala, Mexico and Belize, are going to be big in 2012. There will be celebrations throughout these countries to mark the end of the Mayan calendar, when it will complete a 5,125-year cycle. The calendar is believed to have prophesised many events up until recent times. However, no more dates were created after 21st December 2012. While many believe something catastrophic will occur, a New Age interpretation of this transition predicts that, at this time the Earth and its inhabitants will experience a positive physical or spiritual transformation, and that 2012 could well mark the beginning of a new era. View our luxury tours to Central America.

Jaguar, Belize

Posted in Belize, Croatia, Guatemala, Madagascar, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Uncategorized, Uzbekistan, burma | Tagged 2012 hotspots, best holidays for 2012, best places to go in 2012, burma holidays, central america holiday, croatia holiday, madagascar holidays, sri lanka holidays, top holiday destinations for 2012, top places to go in 2012, uzbekistan holidays, where to go in 2012 | Leave a comment

Best of Burma: The People (Part 5)

By Annabel | Published: January 20, 2012

In the last part of Hannah Busby’s five part blog, she tells us about why the people add so much to a visit to Burma.

The People

It could be seen as a bit of a cliché saying that the people were the highlight of my trip. It seems that people always come back from holidays saying wonderful things about the local people. I guess that, living and working in London as I do, one becomes accustomed to avoiding eye contact let alone conversation with strangers, and so holidays always do take me to more open and friendly environments. However, out of all the places I have visited, the Burmese people are by far the friendliest and most welcoming.

It is very humbling to think about what the people of Burma have lived through – the repressive military junta, combined with international sanctions, mean that people have little to no rights and are also generally very poor. The country is resource-rich, but does not have the investment to tap into the resources, resulting in terrible infrastructure, rationed electricity and ultimately a country that is the poorest in South East Asia. Not only this, but it is still recovering from the devastating effects of Cyclone Nargis that hit Burma three years ago. However, despite all of these things, the people are so honest, so witty and so hospitable.

The warmth of the Burmese people is, in part, because of the problems they have faced. There is a sense of people rallying together in the face of adversity. The ground agents we work with invest a large proportion of their profits into development projects. The tour leader was not only excellent at guiding but had also overseen the building of wells in villages, housing and educating orphans, and sending doctors to remote villages. But, it was the work that he and many others like him carried out following Cyclone Nargis that touched me the most. When the Burmese government disallowed international aid, it was the normal local people that worked together to get the country back on its feet. For many months after the catastrophic event, our ground agents loaded up boats with supplies and doctors and spent each weekend sailing up the Irrawaddy to provide basic supplies, medical attention and counselling to people.

Having said this, their help didn’t always go quite the way they planned. One lady had suffered a severe head wound during the cyclone. The doctors they had brought were not well enough equipped to deal with an injury of such severity, so they gave the woman some money to take her to hospital. When they returned to the village the following weekend to check on her, they found her with the same, untreated injury, and a new television set that she had bought with the money! This time, they made sure they accompanied her all the way to the hospital!

Our guide said that it is ok to walk into anyone’s house in Burma so long as they are not holding a funeral ceremony or having an argument. Being a somewhat alien concept to us, we awkwardly followed the guide as he took us into villages and into people’s homes. However, it soon became apparent that people were genuinely glad to have us in their homes. After years of isolation caused by sanctions and tourist boycotts, people now relish the opportunity to talk to people from the outside world.

During the trip we met so many people – old ladies smoking cheroots, tribes people who had never seen Westerners before and were enthusiastically taking pictures of us, a lady who let me shelter from the rain in her house while she fed me coffee and biscuits, young children who would run to wave at us and teenagers selling wares who would cheekily apply tanaka to our cheeks before we had a chance to realise what was going on. All the people I met seemed so happy to see us. Whilst the temples and other sights in Burma are spectacular, it was most definitely the people that made it a trip like no other.

Cox & Kings organise tailor-made holidays to Burma.

Posted in Burma, Burma | Tagged best of burma, burma highlights, holiday to burma, luxury holiday to burma, luxury tour to burma, tailor-made holiday to burma, tailor-made holidays to burma, tour to burma | Leave a comment

Best of Burma: Inle Lake (Part 4)

By Annabel | Published: January 19, 2012

Part four of Hannah’s “Best of Burma” blog.

A leisurely longtail boat ride on Inle Lake

For me, there was no better way to relax after a week of busy sightseeing than to sit back on a longtail boat and watch as the hustle and bustle of Inle lake drifted by. Unlike elsewhere in Burma, where the main (but not the only) attractions are temples, monasteries and buildings of historical significance, Inle Lake is all about the people.

The shallow lake is populated by people from a number of ethnic groups, such as the Intha people, known for their unusual leg rowing technique and the Pa O tribe identified by the brightly coloured headscarves they wear. Not only are there villages on the banks of the lake, but also located directly on the lake where people live in houses on stilts and farm crops on floating gardens. The floating gardens are formed using a bed of water hyacinth and reeds and anchored by bamboo poles. The nutrient-rich water makes for abundant harvests, as is obvious by the numbers of boats on the lake that are heavily laden with juicy tomatoes and other fruit and vegetables.

The lake is a hive of activity, perfect for people-watching fans like myself! Not only is it possible to see people fishing or tending to their floating gardens, you can also go into the villages and see various industries from cheroot rolling to the weaving of expensive lotus thread. The vibrant rotating market at Inle Lake was my favourite market I visited in the country. People from tribes who live in the surrounding hills come down to buy and sell, many wearing tribal dress. The gambling area of the market was particularly fun. Photography is prohibited here, as gambling is illegal. However, the locals are more than happy to let the Westerner have a flutter.

Cox & Kings organise tailor-made holidays to Burma.

Posted in Burma, burma | Tagged best of burma, burma highlights, holiday to burma, inle lake, inle lake burma, lake burma, luxury holiday to burma, luxury tour to burma, tailor-made holiday to burma, tailor-made holidays to burma, tour to burma | Leave a comment

Best of Burma: Sunset over Pagan (Part 3)

By Annabel | Published: January 18, 2012

Part Three of Hannah Busby’s “Best of Burma” blog.

Watching the sun set over Pagan

From quite a young age I had heard about the temples at Angkor and, when I finally got to see them for myself, I fully appreciated how impressive they are and why they are a must-see of any trip to South East Asia. However, I only learnt about the temples of Pagan very recently. With over two thousand temples and stupas, most of which were built in the 11th – 13th centuries, Pagan has around double the temples of Angkor and only a tiny fraction of the tourists, making this a very special place.

Each of the temples is quite exquisite in its own right. They represent a variety of architectural styles depending on the period they were built, some are huge and others are only very tiny, some have been restored whereas others are crumbling after a number of earthquakes over the centuries, some still have gold gilding and some have ornate frescoes painted inside. Regardless of what state they are in, all are important religious sites and are treated with the utmost respect.

Whilst visiting the individual temples is fascinating, actually climbing to the top of one of the temples and taking in the whole panorama is the real highlight. It is only when you get above the ground that you can really appreciate the scale of the place. At about 5:30pm, all the tourists in Pagan congregate at the top of temples and stupas to view the sunset. It used to be possible to climb any of the temples, but now this is restricted to just a few, so some do get quite busy. Our tour leader ensured we went to quieter ones. Once at the top, seeing the silhouettes of all the temples and stupas against the backdrop of the fiery sky, makes for a truly memorable experience.

Cox & Kings organise tailor-made holidays to Burma.

Posted in Burma, Burma, burma | Tagged best of burma, burma highlights, holiday to burma, luxury holiday to burma, luxury tour to burma, sunset over bagan, sunset over pagan, tailor-made holiday to burma, tailor-made holidays to burma, tour to burma | Leave a comment

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250 Years of Discovery

Patagonia – Following the Flock

Where to go in 2012

Best of Burma: The People (Part 5)

Best of Burma: Inle Lake (Part 4)

Best of Burma: Sunset over Pagan (Part 3)

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250 Years of Discovery

Patagonia – Following the Flock

Where to go in 2012

Best of Burma: The People (Part 5)

Best of Burma: Inle Lake (Part 4)

Best of Burma: Sunset over Pagan (Part 3)

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