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Turismo Aonikenk is a travel agency and tour operator
in Patagonia. We are based in the Chilean city of Punta Arenas that is
located in the extreme South of Chile, on the shore of the Straight of
Magellan that divides Tierra del Fuego from the South American continent.
For the last 16 years, we have been specializing in
adventure and discovery travel, providing personalized, high
quality service at a fair price to our clients.
On our own discovery journeys through Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego,
we have traveled all over to know everything in person - from the best
hotels to the smallest lodges, from the coziest hosterias to the remotest
campsites. We have trekked on and off the beaten treks in the famous
Torres del Paine, Los Glaciares and Tierra del Fuego National Parks as
well as in the still less known areas around Cabo Froward and on Isla
Navarino. We have seen deep blue glaciers, virgin forests, craggy
mountains and vast pampas; sailed through the fjords, the Beagle Channel
and the Strait of Magellan; observed the flight of the majestic condor,
guanacos being born and whales jump just outside the rubber dingy we were
in; smelled the perfume of hidden wild flowers and heard the fierce,
howling wind that is so typical for Patagonia.
You can be sure that we know what we are talking about when we mention
Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego and we are willing to put our experience,
knowledge and enthusiasm into action.
Turismo Aonikenk, that is:
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Marisol Cárcamo Arteaga
Marisol grew up on a small outpost in the heart of Tierra del Fuego
and early discovered that she was drawn to explore the little miracles
in her surroundings. After an internship at the national tourism board,
SERNATUR,
she decided to start showing the beauty of her homeland to others and in
1989 founded Turismo Aonikenk.
Her love for nature lead her to participate in the
"Gondwana GIS Project", an environmental campaign to preserve
the native forest of Tierra del Fuego.
Marisol speaks Spanish and English, and
is currently studying French.
She finds her strengths in the organization of our
soft adventure tours and the
boat trip section.
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Sebastian Borgwardt
Sebastian was brought up in the East German city of Leipzig. His
fascination for outdoor activities has taken him on many different
adventures throughout the world. As a matter of fact, when he came to
Chile in 1999, he made his way down to Patagonia by bicycle and after
falling in love with Patagonia and with Marisol (!) found his new home
at the End of the World. His curiosity for nature and his ability to
switch back and forth between his native German, English, Spanish and a
bit of basic French made it easy to join Aonikenk. Besides maintaining
this website, Sebastian personally leads many of our
trekking tours as a guide.
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Bill Penhollow
Bill is a full-blooded traveler. After studying forestry, he left his
native Oregon to discover the wonders of the world. Fair enough, he has
been traveling for the last 20 years in almost 50 countries, living the
most exciting adventures around the world and
developing a world-wide network of friends, until he came to Patagonia.
After volunteering for the "Gondwana GIS Project" on Tierra del Fuego in
2000, Bill knew that southern Patagonia was home. Bill can now count on
six years of experience in guiding and living in Chile, he is fluent in
Chilean Spanish and English and never seems to have a bad day. During
the Patagonian winter he runs ski and snowboard safaris in the Central
Andes. Trekking Patagonia with Bill
is something you will never forget.
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Bernadette Weber
Bernadette is 20 years old and the youngest member of our team.
A wide range of interests and further the desire of exploring the world brought the very first
Austrian of our company to Patagonia. Earlier she passed one year in Genoa, Italy where she went
to immediately after graduating from an Austrian school, which offered an education based on
tourism and culture. The trainee of our 2007 / 2008 season has a brought experience
in customer support and organisation. In addition she speaks a handful of languages:
English, Italian, Spanish, a little bit of French and of course German.
Based on this she will assist Turismo Aonikenk in numerous projects.
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Jonathan Teuchert
Jonathan grew up in Northern Germany, 25 years old and works as a guide for Turismo Aonikenk.
He recently finished his university studies in geosciences and now his desire for traveling brought
him to the southern hemisphere. During the past three years he lived in northern Norway and on the
Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. He passionately practices numerous outdoor sports like trekking,
skiing, sports climbing, kayaking, cycling etc. as his interests and knowledge emphasize polar and
alpine environments. Jonathan is fluent in German, English and Norwegian while the experience from
numerous private trips makes him the perfect company for adventurous trips in rough weather
conditions. After some years of horizontal snow flurry, he now seeks out the Patagonian horizontal
rains. ;-)
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Nelson Sanchez
Nelson grew up in Punta Arenas and is a environmental risk management
professional. He has worked on many environmental projects studying
natural resources, glaciers, and the effects of modern society on the
environment in Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica. He led the
"Gondwana GIS Project" against foreign timber companies and this is when
he met with Marisol and Bill. As much as he is a naturalist, he is an
explorer with over 20 years of experience in mountaineering in Patagonia,
Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica. Among his accomplishments are: summiting
Mt. Vinson (4,897m), the highest mountain in Antarctica; the first Winter
crossing of Cordillera Darwin (1996); and several expeditions to the
Northern and Southern Patagonian ice fields. One of his personal goals
is to summit the highest peaks of the Arctic zones in Alaska, Canada,
Greenland, Lapland and Siberia. Nelson speaks Spanish and English and
works for Turismo Aonikenk as a
trekking
guide.
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Luis Hernández Sirón
Born and brought up in the Chilean capital, Santiago, he soon made his way down
traveling the whole length of Chile to the sheer Patagonian beauty
and is now living with his family in Punta Arenas.
After working several years as a chef in the refugios Los Cuernos,
Chileno and Las Torres in Torres del Paine National Park
and making himself "immortal" with his uniqueness
(there are very few travelers who have met "El Gordito" in the park and don't remember him),
he joined our team in November 2005.
Luis not only surprises us with delicious meals in our EcoCamp, but is also
in charge of all camp logistics to get the tents and food to the park to begin with! ;-)
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Over the years, we assisted many different people from all over the world
in making their dream of a journey to Patagonia become true. Through the
satisfaction and recommendation of our clients we were honored and given
print in the following travel guidebooks (please click on the images for
more information):
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