Would you like some ice with that?

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From a base in El Calafate, in southwest Patagonia on the Chilean border, we explored Los Glaciares National Park. The five glaciers we saw there are clustered around the vividly turquoise Lago Argentino, the largest lake in the country. Nothing had prepared us for the spectacle we found there! Though technically inanimate, the glaciers and the massive frozen forms that constantly fall from them did truly seem to be life forms. As we watched, they moaned, split, and released mountainous segments into the lake, each with a thundering splash that caused several minutes of high wake. Our boat pulled close to the stunning aquamarine icebergs that resulted, some many times larger that the 200-passenger catamaran we were riding. The icebergs, too, seemed fully animated. They heaved, sighed, and turned, sometimes displaying rivulets of water streaming and spurting to form doughnut hole cavities. The icebergs are either dying or giving birth--probably both.

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Photos

Iceberg From Upsala Glacier
This stunning blue color is caused by the weight of the ice above

Upsala Glacier Iceberg
Many times, icebergs melt from the inside thus creating a donut whole.

Glacial Lagoon
We had lunch at this wondorous place

Near Upsala Glacier
This floating iceberg is about 10 stories tall.

Beech Forest
The Beech is a deciduous tree in the Southern Hemisphere analogous to the Pine in the Northern Hemisphere. Beech is found in New Zealand bordering the fjords as it borders the glaciers of Argentina

Perito Moreno Glacier
Occasionally, after a thundering crack, a huge piece of ice would fall off into the water, creating a huge splash and several minutes of wake on the lake.

Perito Moreno Glacier from Lago Argentino
This Glacier has a face which is 20 stories high. The Glacier is named for a 19th Century Argentine explorer who helped define Argentina's border with Chile

Comments

[Clara Mengolini]

Uou!!!
Uauua!!! Qué buenas fotos!!! I miss you guys...! Have fun. see you... Clarita

[Jude and Taulby]

Cool pictures!
We love your blog and pictures. We miss you very much!

[connie page]

great trip
We are really enjoying your travel blog, especially since we have thought about taking the same type of trip. Now we can go to school on you all. (The pictures are gorgeous, and Tom was very envious of the enormous lake trout.)

[catherine]

Wow!
Amazing pictures! I have to get down there my next trip -- I'm so glad you wrote about it and shared the photos! See you tonight (or tomorrow morning, more likely!) Hugs, Catherine

[Billandcarol]

Wildlife in Argentina
Kim: We are mainly seeing many birds of prey....huge hawks, the everpresent turkey vulture......hundreds going after a downed deer from the hunters (after they have taken the trophy rack of the magnificent Red Deer....not my kind of sport), beavers (introduced and now pests as they have no natural predators), mink (the same), skunks,and wild boar, . We are now in Ushuaia in Tierra Del Fuego and have seen Guanacos (a relative of the camel and the llama),penguins, sea lions, cormorants, albatross, and many other sea birds.

[Billandcarol]

Fishing in Patagonia
Connie and Tom: Thanks for the comment. Would you believe that the picture of the trout that you saw was not from a lake....although I did pull a huge brook trout from a lake near here (in Tierra Del Fuego) yesterday. Those fish that you saw were pulled from the Collon Cura River in Northern Patagonia. This is definitely a place to come to fish if you are excited by beautiful landscapes, few people and huge fighting fish. I can put you in touch with a wonderful guide that I had (Pablo)if and when you decide to come down here. It's a wonderful place and the Argentines have been great to us as we travel around. Bill

[Billandcarol]

Homecoming soon
Dear Taulby and Jude: Thanks for the comment. We miss you too and will be home by next Monday. See you soon! Grandpa Bill and Grandma Carol