Glaciar Perito Moreno & "Adventurous" Bus Rides

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The last few days since my trek in Torres del Paine have been pretty mellow, and not necessarily by choice. I suffered some sort of overuse injury to my right ankle the last day of the trek, and that prevented me from hiking from El Chalten to see Cerro Fitz Roy and the nearby lakes, which are supposed to be a highlight of Patagonia. Instead, due to the bus schedule I was stuck in El Calafate for a few days. I was able to walk around Glaciar Perito Moreno in el Parque Nacional de los Glaciares. The fact that I was actually a bit disappointed by one of the worlds only stable glaciers, towering 60m over Lago Argentina, is either a testament to Torres del Paine or that I couldnt walk well enough to get away from the massive crowds around the main vistas at the glaciers. The navigacion (boat ride) to the south face of the glacial wall was a bit overpriced and surprisingly less dramatic than from the overland miradors. While exploring the latter, I was fortunate enough to see a 20m ice tower collapse on itself and into the lake below; this sight was awesome, but I was still more fascinated by the cascading avalanches caused by the glaciers on Cerro Paine Grande. Being stuck in El Calafate for another day (and I say stuck because theres literally nothing to do besides visit the glaciers) I chilled out at a nearby flamingo-filled laguna.

On Monday evening I began the long and "adventurous" bus ride from El Calafate to Bariloche via Rt. 40. I dont know why that tag excites rather than raises red flags. Namely since every time I take an "adventurous" bus ride (which is already long and bumpy by nature), the bus breaks down. So instead of 32 hours I had the pleasure of a 42 hour bus ride, although I was able to read 2 books and watch 4 movies, all in English. So it still beats Bolivia. I have 2 days in Bariloche before leaving for Santiago on Friday, and then Lima on Sunday. 100 hours on buses in 10 days.

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