Word from the Owner David Perez

Felices Fiestas Para Todos! Please check out our special video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LBFm2JLpTg as the whole staff wishes you a warm Holiday greeting.

2009 was probably the most interesting year we have had at Los Chanares. We had less clients than 2008, but the season was better than anticipated. This proves the Los Chanares brand is extremely strong. Repeat clients once again saved the day! We did receive many new clients as a result of showing up on the first page of google. But that was nothing compared to the repeat clients that returned to the lodge. Thank you very much for coming back this year. We really appreciate it!

For 2010, things look great! We start off the year with our world renowned sunflower season. We already have 250 clients booked for those months, which is amazing. Our goal is to keep improving things at the lodge and make your stay even more enjoyable! Look forward to hosting everybody for the upcoming year!

On a final note, I wanted to wish the best of luck to my beloved Texas Longhorn football team. As many of our clients are UT grads, Los Chanares will hold a special celebration for the upcoming national championship!

SHOOTING UPDATE From Alex Mitri

As usual, we had an amazing Spring season (Sept-Dec). It did not rain until mid November which was a cause of concern. But thankfully the rains came down in November and we finished planting the sunflowers on December 2. This will make for a great Jan-March sunflower season.

The volume of birds is definitely the highest in 5 years on the property. One local farmer complained that the birds wiped out all the planted seeds. They did not even wait for the grains to grow! That is good news. We hope that the crops planted for this upcoming season will be sufficient to feed all the new birds. It would be nice to have more clients to help solve this problem.

We bought one.410 Berretta Silver Pigeon with 28 inch barrels. Some of our clients asked, so we delivered. We will keep restocking our large shotgun supply for those who prefer to rent.

FEATURED EMPLOYEE – Tango

Franca aka Mrs. Logistics is the person you communicate with regarding the pre-trip information and all other questions prior to the trip. Franca handles 1,000 clients between both lodges – Los Chanares and Sierra Brava. Franca also takes care of various other admin and finance issues we have at the lodge.

Franca lives in Cordoba with her husband and works from her home. She has three boys between the ages of 2 and 6 so most of her work is done during school hours and when the boys go to bed.

The Latest and Greatest Improvement

The latest and greatest improvement requires a special drum roll. We are now accepting credit cards! After many years of living in the 50s, Los Chanares has taken the plunge and will now take credit cards. We will accept all types of credit cards, but prefer Visa or MasterCard.

This reminds me of one of my first groups at the lodge. We were all sitting around the living room table paying the bill at the end of the trip. There were 6 big Texans dressed in military fatigues paying lots of cash to my Colombian lodge manager, Alex. I felt like Tony Montana in the movie Scarface. I never thought we would accept credit cards, but I guess we need to progress. So bring your plastic and spend away!

Concerning the plastic, we will be slightly raising certain prices after June 1 to incorporate the credit card fee expense. For example, shells will go up to $11.75. Before June 1, there will be a 5% surcharge for paying your shell bill with a credit card. After June 1 when the credit card charge is incorporated into the prices, we will offer a 5% discount for paying with cash or check. With these increases, we will also be eliminating the check fee in case you want to pay by personal check.

June –August Dates

June-August seem to be booking a little slower than usual as people are not planning as far in advance. To help push the incredible shooting in those months, we will offer a 15% discount for June-Aug if you book 6 months in advance. The advantage of coming during these months is picture-perfect, sunny days with temps in the 60s (and no rain). The shooting is very sporty, which is especially interesting for our growing base of UK clients. You can combine the dove shooting with world class duck shooting. Finally, you get away from the unbearable heat up north. So plan your trip in advance.

I certainly hope you have enjoyed our newsletter, bringing you the latest and greatest on the Los Chanares experience.

Thank you very much for your time and have a Happy Holiday Season!

David Perez

Owner