CHILE & ARGENTINA September 5-16, 2019
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CHILE & ARGENTINA Santiago - Valparaíso - Viña del Mar - Mendoza - Buenos Aires September 5-16, 2019 The Wine Country and The Andes in Mendoza Province EASTER ISLAND pre-extension September 1-5, 2019 URUGUAY Post-Trip Extension Colonia del Sacramento - Montevideo - Punta del Este September 16-19, 2019 Wednesday, September 4 DEPARTURE Depart San Francisco on overnight flights to Santiago. Thursday, September 5 SANTIGO, CHILE (D) Arrive in Santiago in the morning. This afternoon visit the Plaza de Armas, Palacio de la Moneda, site of the presidential office. At the end of the day take the funicular to the top of Cerro San Cristobal for a panoramic view of the city. Enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight: Hotel Diego de Almagro Providencia View from Cerro San Cristóbal - Santiago Friday, September 6 SANTIAGO (B, D) Visit Colegio Israelita de Santiago and meet Jewish high school students. Continue to Palacio Cousiño a magnificent house built in 1878 in the Second Imperial style of architecture. This was the first house in Chile to be wired for electricity. Enjoy lunch on your own at the famous “Mercado Central,” followed by a free afternoon. Attend a Kabbalat Shabbat at the Conservative Sephardic Congregation, followed by Shabbat dinner with local Jewish community members. Overnight: Hotel Diego de Almagro Providencia Saturday, September 7 SANTIAGO (B) Visit Barrio Bella Vista, Santiago’s Bohemian quarter that is known for its galleries, restaurants, boutiques and bars. Visit “La Chascona,” the quirky house that Pablo Neruda built for his lover Matilde Urrutia. Free time for lunch. In the afternoon visit Los Domínicos Village, a craft market created from a historic pueblito founded by the Dominican Order in the 16th century. This evening is at leisure to further explore Santiago independently. Overnight: Hotel Diego de Almagro Providencia Sunday, September 8 VALPARAÍSO & VIÑA del MAR (B) Drive one hour to Valparaíso. Founded in 1536 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003, Valparaíso is Chile’s most important port. Ride some of the city’s hundred year-old funiculars that connect the port to the upper city and visit Pablo Neruda’s home, “La Sebastiana. ”Free time for lunch. Continue to the neighboring city of Viña del Mar. The “Garden City” was founded in 1878 and is so called for its flower-lined avenues. Stroll along the city’s fashionable promenade and visit the Wulff Castle, an iconic building constructed in neo-Tudor style in 1906. Return to Santiago. Evening at leisure. Overnight: Hotel Diego de Almagro Providencia Historic Funicular - Valaparaíso Monday, September 9 CROSSING THE ANDES (B, L, D) Drive two hours to Chile’s Andean border with Argentina, known as “Paso de los Libertadores.” Drive beneath the Andes through the 10,000 foot-long Tunnel of Christ the Redeemer to Argentina and, after completing immigration and customs formalities, enjoy lunch and then descend the eastern slope of the Andes on into the Uco Valley. Arrive in Mendoza and enjoy dinner at the hotel. Overnight: Hotel Huentala Mendoza Plaza Maipú - Mendoza Tuesday, September 10 MENDOZA, ARGENTINA (B) Explore Mendoza’s city center on foot. Visit its picturesque plazas and important monuments and enjoy lunch on your own along the city’s popular pedestrian mall. In the afternoon drive to Parque General San Martín to see the stunning entrance gates originally made for Ottoman Sultan Hamid II and the monument to the men who crossed the Andes and liberated Argentina, Chile and Peru. Visit Mendoza’s local Jewish Community Center and meet its leaders. Dinner this evening is on your own. Overnight: Hotel Huentala Mendoza Wednesday, September 11 WINE COUNTRY (B, L) Enjoy a full day excursion along Mendoza’s wine route. Mendoza is the center of Argentina’s wine industry and accounts for approximately 70% of the country’s total output. Nearly all the country’s major wineries are concentrated in this province, whose signature grape is the Malbec. Taste wines at various wineries and enjoy lunch set against the backdrop of the majestic Andes Mountains. Return to Mendoza and enjoy an evening on your own. Overnight: Hotel Huentala Mendoza Casa Rosada at Plaza de Mayo – Buenos Aires Thursday, September 12 BUENOS AIRES (B) Depart Mendoza at 9:35 am on flight # AR1537 , arriving at Aeroparque, the capital’s domestic airport, at 11:00 am. Visit the imposing Obelisk, located on Avenida 9 de Julio, the broadest avenue in the world. Shop like Porteños along fashionable Peatonal Florida and visit the capital’s imposing Cathedral, Plaza de Mayo and Casa Rosada, site of Eva Peron’s famous balcony appearances. Walk along Avenida de Mayo to the Plaza del Congreso, stopping to admire the traditional French architecture and to observe the magnificent Parliament Building along the way. Tonight, visit the popular waterfront district of Puerto Madero with its impressive pedestrian bridge “Puente de la Mujer” and popular restaurant scene. Overnight: Hotel Own Recoleta Buenos Aires Friday, September 13 BUENOS AIRES (B, D) Take a tour of Jewish Buenos Aires guided by local scholar Salito Gutt. Explore some of the capital’s most important synagogues, including the Gran Templo Paso, one of Buenos Aires’ largest, located in the district of El Once, where much of the capital’s Jewish life is centered. Continue to the rebuilt AMIA building (Jewish Community Headquarters) and observe the memorial to the 85 people who were killed in 1994 when the building was bombed. This evening participate in a Kabbalat Shabbat at Templo Libertad, an impressive synagogue which is home to the Congregación Israelita de la República Argentina and then enjoy a Shabbat dinner. Overnight: Hotel Own Recoleta Buenos Aires Gran Templo Paso Synagogue – Buenos Aires Saturday, September 14 BUENOS AIRES (B, L) Wander past imposing mausoleums at the haunting Recoleta Cemetery, where the Argentine aristocracy, including the Perón Family, has buried its dead for generations. Stop for a coffee at the exclusive Belle Époque Alvear Palace Hotel, which has always been a center of Argentine social, cultural and political life. After lunch continue to the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano (MALBA) whose mission it is to collect, conserve, study and disseminate Latin American art from the early 20th century to the present. Examine the works of some of Latin America’s most prominent artists including Frida Kahlo, Fernando Botero and Diego Rivera. Overnight: Hotel Own Recoleta Buenos Aires Sunday, September 15 BUENOS AIRES (B, D) Discover the treasures of eras long past and witness spontaneous tango demonstrations as you explore the extensive weekly antiques fair in the lively San Telmo neighborhood. Continue to the colorful neighborhood of La Boca with its historical 19th Century conventillos (tenements). Walk along Caminito, the famous street of brightly painted homes for which a famous tango was written. At night enjoy a farewell dinner with tango show at “La Ventana”. Overnight: Hotel Own Recoleta Buenos Aires La Boca – Buenos Aires Monday, September 16 DEPARTURE (B) Continue to explore Buenos Aires independently, then transfer on your own to Ezeiza International Airport for an overnight flight home. This trip is operated in conjunction with Liberty International Argentina Easter Island pre-extension September 1-5, 2019 Saturday, August 31 DEPARTURE Depart San Francisco on an overnight flight to Santiago. Sunday September 1 SANTIGO, CHILE (L) Arrive in Santiago in the morning. After check-in at the hotel enjoy a walking tour in Providencia neighborhood including lunch. Free night. Overnight: Hotel Diego de Almagro Monday, September 2 EASTER ISLAND (B, D) Flight LA 841 departs Santiago at 09:30am and arrives at Easter Island at 12:55 pm DESCRIPTION HALF DAY AKIVI Hours: From 15:00 hrs. Duration: 2.5 hours. Difficulty: Easy During this circuit we will visit Ahu Akivi, it is one of the few platforms where the moais seem to look towards the sea, with 7 moais in the present it is said that they represent the 7 explorers sent by King Hotu to Matu¨a before his trip colonizer. After this visit we will continue to Puna Pau, a small crater of red scoria in which the Pukao, hats or crowns of the moais were made. Since the cave of te pahu is no longer visited due to the poor state of the road (we passed over the lava cavities and that is now in danger of collapse), and now we visit a platform very different from the others on the Island, because it is a single moai erect, but with the particularity that has 20 fingers: Ahu Huri to Urenga. It is also perfectly aligned to the winter solstice, and it is at this point that people meet at the right moment. Transfer to a local restaurant for dinner. Tuesday September 3 EASTER ISLAND (B, L, D) DESCRIPTION FULL DAY Hours: From 09:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. approx. Duration: 7 hours Box Lunch: It is a lunch that is served in the Rano Raraku quinchos. Difficulty: Easy, except the Rano Raraku volcano which is of moderate difficulty Starting the tour from your hotel in the town of Hanga Roa, the tour will take you to the south-east and northeast coast of the island to visit the first platform called Ahu Akahanga, formed by 4 platforms, 12 Moai, 8 pukao. From there it is possible to appreciate one of the best-preserved villages on the island. Continuing towards Rano Raraku volcanic crater formed from consolidated volcanic ash, Rano Raraku is a visual record of moai design vocabulary and technological innovation, where 397 moai remain. Lunch in the picnic area on the slopes of this volcano. We continue with the magnificent platform called Ahu tongariki, the most amazing ahu on the island, with 15 huge moai.