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A note from Marcelo Amelunxen and Loreto Bolados: First of all, let me thank you for your interest in Chile Green Tours, Casa el Mosaico, and Antofagasta. Without you, there wouldn't be a reason for all this! This thing we are now calling "El Mosaico" is quickly transforming itself into an information center, a center of activities, a point of interest, a meeting point, a stop-over spot, and a rustic-artistic collage made up of many colorful pieces! The guest house is currently equipped just like home, and we would hope that our guests really feel at home while staying here. We have lots of local info, and can help you to organize some fun here in Antofagasta! The Museo de Antofagasta just opened a couple of months ago, and is really worth a visit. Around the city there are boats available for hire, as well as local activities specialists making trips: dive instructors and paraglide instructors. We are flexible to arrange a wide variety of land and sea activities as well as all the necessary tourism services to bring it all together. Let us know what you're looking for and we'll will do our best to put together a custom package for you at a good value. We hope to provide travelers with great accommodations, access to great places and activities, good information, and good times! Loreto B. was born and raised in Antofagasta. She lived nearly ten years in Santiago and Valparaiso during art studies, and also spent a year in cuba learning restoration and the art of mosaic. She is a really beautiful person, a mother of two, and an accomplished artist. Aside from helping out in the hostel business which is relatively new to her, she paints, restores antiques, restores paintings, does mosaics, installations, sculptures, and exhibits her work all over the world. She will be presenting her life’s works at the fine arts museum of Santiago starting the 28th of September, 2008. (it has changed from the 28th of July). Aside from managing a local restaurant and teaching art classes at local schools and universities, she gives art classes in the evenings in her workshop right here at the new guest house. I, Marcelo A., was born in Latin America, and had a childhood living all over the place because of parents that love travel. After finishing high school by correspondence here in Antofagasta in 1997, I moved to Switzerland to study 4 years of Hotel Management. Work as a hotelier brought me to a few hidden paradises around the world, but my passion for scuba diving and outdoor living brought me back to Antofagasta in December 2006. I started this project right away, and Loreto's art quickly inspired the theme. We have a side project that is just starting right now; it's an art project called "Reciclados," and we will be needing VOLUNTEERS very soon, as well as skilled crafts people. The project is funded by the Chilean government and the volunteer program is sponsored by us. In the next 3-4 months we will be constructing a sculpture out of bottles, steal, cement, and mosaic tiles right across the street. Some of the tasks are: cleaning and earth-moving in the plaza, soaking bottles and stripping labels, building walls, mixing cement, cooking, working with molds. This week we are putting out the collection barrels to start the recycling process, and we are building a model of the sculpture. The major work will start the First Week of OCTOBER , so those interested in participating should get in touch as soon as possible. A note on the weather of Antofagasta: Planning excursions can be made tricky in a lot of places because of unpredictable weather. Despite global warming, weather is quite predictable here! In this region we are blessed with a lot of sunshine. You can plan a picnic months ahead, or plan a camping trip for next year (we do!). It never rains, but in the winter it can get cloudy from time to time as well as a little cold in the evenings. In the summer it's pretty hot but luckily we are close to the beach. In the summer time the water temperature is perfect for a swim! For me, it doesn't get much better then this in terms of weather. So, if you like sunshine when you're on holidays, you will surely find some here! Our commitments We are committed to providing unbeatable service to our customers by keeping them safe, comfortable, happy, well nourished, hydrated, amused, intellectually stimulated, physically entertained, emotionally uplifted, and on the edge of their seat for the whole entire ride (in a good way of course). We hope the service is so good and the price just right that everyone will be talking about Chile Green Tours and Casa el Mosaico as a very special part of their Chile Experience. We are committed to having not only a neutral and passive affect on Mother Nature, but a positive one (whenever possible). There are a few ways we aim to do this. We promote low impact activities. Our tours are designed to do all the "Eco" stuff, like encouraging learning, cultural understanding, and appreciation of the natural world. We Recycle, Re-use, and Reduce, but also Respect, Rethink, and Restore. Happy Travels! Marcelo A.
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