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Solar Eclipse Plus ...

Solar Eclipse Plus ...

Old Jan 2, 2020, 8:10 am
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Central Florida
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Solar Eclipse Plus ... (Argentina/Chile December 2020)

Ideally, this is a question across Chile and Argentina, but as Argentina is its own forum, I'm starting my thread here, as Argentina is technically within South America :-)

On December 14, 2020, a swathe across Chile and Argentina will experience a Solar Eclipse. Here is a map showing the areas where totality will occur within. I wish to watch the eclipse and then spend some time enjoying scenery around the region (and more, depending on wallet and time). Because school is on during that time frame, family will be unable to accompany me for the eclipse. However, they will join me afterwards (maybe by 19th or so). We will then be in the region until after Christmas, returning maybe right before New Year. We are not daredevils but would love to do a hike or two - family consists of me, DW and two teenagers. Love scenery, not too much interested in the cities as such, though wouldn't mind walking around if that is only option available when we are at a stopping point for the day or something. One other thing is that we are vegetarians and I have heard that it is a bit difficult for vegetarians in South America. How bad might it get? If we are in the smaller cities, should we take bread and cheese/butter/jam or something with us, or would it not be that big a deal?

- when would be a good time to purchase the flight tickets and is it better to get the tickets up to, say Beunos Aires/Santiago and purchase local flight tickets later, or is it better to plan everything in advance and get tickets right to the final destination?

- is the scenery better in Argentina or Chile around the eclipse band? This is a general question and will not impact where I will be for the eclipse (which will depend on a couple of buddies) - but if the scenery is better in Argentina and I watch the eclipse in Chile (or vice versa), I'll have to figure out how to get from one place to the other.

- some friends recently visited the area but they used a professional - and for whatever reason are reluctant to share the itinerary - and they were saying that visiting a national park is very expensive over there. Now, they didn't tell me how expensive and which national park (I know they were in Chile). So, would it be as expensive just to enter the national park, or is it for actually staying in the park and doing the activities? There was also some hint that they needed to use guides for hikes - is this mandatory? If so, is there a safety reason or just because? And if we need to get the guides, is it on a per person basis, or do they have it at a group level where we might be able to join some other group?

- could you share ballpark median prices for a) accommodation and b) car rentals? I don't want exact numbers of course, but just want some idea.

- I see that roads in this area don't appear to be in perfect shape and we are not really mechanically minded. With that in mind, should we abandon considering driving anywhere? If so, are there any alternatives? Or is there a service similar to AAA that the rental agencies offer?

That's all of the questions I can think of right now, but I am sure I will have more coming :-)

Thanks in advance for your advice and suggestions.

Last edited by an_asker; Jan 2, 2020 at 9:59 am
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