These wonderful holiday weeks are unique – the time of the year when, almost simultaneously, we reflect on past months and anticipate those coming. In the swirl of memories from 2009, a number of images and new discoveries stand out with clarity and sparkle.
Today, it’s SOUTH AMERICA!
There are two very special properties at opposite ends of Chile. Located in San Pedro de Atacama, an oasis in Chile’s desert landscape, Awasi has 8 cottages of adobe,stone and wood, fashioned with a stylish simplicity that honors light and shadow, textures, rounded forms and privacy. www.awasi.cl
Along six miles of spectacular beach at the foot of Chile’s Patagonia, The Cliffs Preserve offers a diversity of activity in a remarkably rich and intact ecosystem. www.cliffspreserve.cl
Passing through Argentina’s capital city, Buenos Aires, stay in one of the 36 rooms of Casa Sur Art Hotel located in the Recoleta neighborhood. The smallish rooms are perfectly outfitted with well-placed, uncomplicated, cutting edge technology, lighting, storage and fixtures. Loved it…great location,great service. www.casasurhotel.com
Argentina’s Northwest is a must for the landscape, the world-class drive, the light, and the freedom of lostness. Two musts: The 2-room, beautiful Finca Santana; Estancia Colome’s museum dedicated to the artist, James Turrell, and his nine light installations. Turrell’s installations are one of the most moving art experiences I have ever had.www.innsofargentina.com and www.innsofargentina.com
Moving over to pastoral Uruguay, Estancia Vik is the newcomer and remarkably beautiful. Dominating the rolling hills just ten minutes from Pueblo Garzon, home of Francis Mallmann’s divine restaurant and inn, and ten minutes from the beach in Laguna Jose Ignacio, it is a destination in itself offering the activities of a chic Uruguay heretofore unavailable. www.restaurantgarzon.com and www.estanciavikjoseignacio.com