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Andes Journeys

About Rios Azules

Our passion for fishing started very early in our lives. (see this picture). Like many kids, this passion was passed along from our fathers to us and from their fathers to them, following a long family tradition.

Our outfitting company, Rios Azules Ltd. is owned by my brother Marcelo Dufflocq our friend Claudio Pumarino (at center) and me, Cristian Dufflocq (standing).

Our families loved the outdoors and living in a country like Chile, they took full advantage of the many opportunities to pursue this passion. In those early days in the mid 1950's, most of the rivers and lakes in the south of Chile and Patagonia, were practically unknown and very difficult to get to as roads were for the most part, non-existent. Additionally, there were only a handful of Chileans that practiced sport fishing and less than a dozen serious fly fishermen in the whole country.

The lack of information and vast unexplored areas lead to the birth of another passion, exploration of remote rivers and lakes. As long as we can remember we listened attentively as our parents and grand parents talked with great passion about fantastic fishing trips in remote territories. As soon as we were old enough we followed them on wonderful adventures and later continued exploring for dream-like rivers in far away valleys tucked deep in the Andes.

Time eventually came when we had to "get serious and responsible" so we went to school and dedicated years to fill our brains with "dry and pure science". Later as Industrial engineers and agricultural experts we engaged in professional careers in our respective fields, our rods and reels gathering dust, tucked away deep in our closets.

Soon it was obvious that something was not right about this scenario so we took out our maps and started organizing an expedition to explore deeper into the Andes in search of a lost valley where there were rumors of a beautiful river teeming with wild Brown trout.

To make a "short story long", we got to this beautiful valley and all of our expectations were fulfilled and surpassed. At the end of the most amazing week where we fished miles and miles of rivers without another human in sight, we felt that we had to share this wonderful place with other passionate anglers and right then and there decided to start our first fishing lodge, Estancia de los Rios.

My brother Marcelo decided to quit his job as an agricultural expert and chose to manage and guide at the new lodge. Claudio and I were going to support the new venture through our respective engineering jobs. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Today after 20 years, we continue exploring remote corners of Chile in search of greater fishing and beautiful natural wonders. We currently own and operate four of the leading fly fishing lodges, each one located in what we believe are the best areas for fly fishing in Chile. We invite you to share our passion.

US Phone: 406-241-8645