Miguel Almuna was born and raised in the San Fabián mountain range in a family of muleteers. He worked for more than 15 years in tourism in Las Mulas, in the Linares mountain range, taking tourists for horseback riding, cooking, taking care of children during the summer, etc. He knows his horses well and treats them with affection. He plays the guitar, sings, tells stories and the traditions of the muleteers and he will cook the goat on the stick if we go for a walk for several days. He was the first muleteer from San Fabián to follow WAFA (Wilderness Advanced First Aid) and NDR (Leave No Trace) courses! He has been working as a guide at Andeaë Andean expeditions since 2015.
Álvaro Castillo Hernández, a lifelong Chilean and ñublensino, an agricultural engineer by profession and a passionate nature photographer. I was born in the city of San Carlos, but from an early age I began to visit and marvel at the beautiful commune of San Fabián de Alico and its natural environment. Over the years and through the practice of fishing, I generated a close relationship with its rivers, estuaries, mountains and ecosystems, but always with the constant desire to incorporate a camera into the equipment to be able to immortalize fortuitous encounters with plant and animal species, landscapes that I found every time I immersed myself in one of its corners. Over the years and with the desire to one day be able to be a mountain guide, I changed my fishing equipment for photographic equipment and different biodiversity identification field guides, with a clear tendency to my favorite living beings … Birds, beings that were determining factors in making the decision to dedicate myself to nature photography and thus, through it, to be able to contribute to the conservation and care of the environment. The dream of turning that desire into reality to be a guide, led me to take different related courses, among them: Basic Trekking Guide Courses, dictated by the Fundación Trekking Chile, WAFA course (Wilderness Advanced First Aid) and NDR Monitor (Do not leave a trace). The San Fabián de Alico mountain range is a unique and privileged place, I invite you to get to know it together, and in turn learn about nature photography, birdwatching, and to contemplate and value our natural environment. I invite you to visit my photo gallery on my Instagram.
Kora Menegoz, French by origin, agricultural and forestry engineer by profession, mountain guide and botanist at heart… I was born in the French Alps where since I was a girl I was immersed in the world of trekking, mountaineering, climbing, skiing and paragliding. , and where I fell in love forever with the heights, the mountains and the splendor of their landscapes. I have been gaining experience, increasing the challenges of each expedition, climbing high mountains in France, Italy, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, India, Nepal, China, etc. I also took courses in mountaineering, NDR monitor (Do Not Leave a Trace), risk management in tourist activities, rescue in remote areas (WAFA, Wilderness Advanced First Aid) and in avalanches. Life took me to the town of San Fabián de Alico, in the central area of Chile, in a wonderful area of the Andes mountain range where I have set up the Andeaë Andean Expeditions tourism company in 2015. I love teaching others to know and value the incredible natural and cultural heritage of our area, take them to discover the most beautiful landmarks of our mountain range, its incredible native forest, its rivers, lagoons and hot springs, its local traditions … In 2021 I received the Tourism Quality Seal of Sernatur.
I have also organized tourist trips in Chile for paragliders, and for French high mountain guides and their groups to climb Ojos del Salado or go rando skiing in the volcanoes of south central Chile. On the other hand, my studies as a forest engineer and my passion for botany and ecology gave me a good knowledge about the native Chilean flora and fauna. I am the author of the book Flora cordillerana del Ñuble y sus usos tradicionales , and I do botanical work to describe new species in our region. Another of my many activities consists of the elaboration of floral waters and essential oils, some of them based on native plants of our area. (Andeaë Aromaterapia).