El Calafate

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Hello again,

As mentioned in the last post our next stop was El Calafate. People come here for the most part for one reason and that´s Perito Moreno Glacier. It´s considered to be the main attraction of Parque Nacional Los Glaciers, and our sole reason for stopping here. Basically, this glacier is unique for a few reasons,

1) it´s huge (not the biggest in the world, but huge nonetheless) measuring 30km long, 5km wide and 60m high

2) it moves alot- up to 2m per day which is tons for a glacier that size. That much movement means lots of huge pieces of ice calving off the glacier face daily (sometimes chunks the size of house which make huge splashes and small tidal waves after falling into the water).

3) it´s very low to sea-level making it easy to access. This is good and bad. The area was VERY well set up for tourists. Plenty of metal boardwalks to allow for a variety of views (from above, below, right, left, etc.). However, it definetely brought the masses, which meant of a bit of overcrowding, slow moving people, and an overall touristy feel. That being said, WE are tourists, and with a bit of manouvering around the slow people and staying away from the covered lookouts (it was raining for most of the 1.5hrs we spent walking around) you could enjoy watching the glacier in peace on our own for the most part.

We decided to go with a tour for this attraction because there was options to do a mini-trek ON the glacier. The tour was very well organized and worth the money we spent. They picked us up from our hostel in the morning, drove us the aprox. 2 hours to the glacier, allowed us to spend 1.5hrs viewing the glacier on our own from the various view points, and then they picked us up on the bus again for a short ride to where we caught our ferry. The ferry drove quite close to the glacier which allowed for a very unique perspective and appreciation of the size of the glacier! It then dropped us off on shore where we had a short hike and lesson in how glaciers are formed/move, etc., and then strapped on crampons (metal attatchments with spikes for the bottom of your shoes for those of you who don´t know) and then headed out onto the glacier itself for a 1.5 hour hike/tour with a guide (group of about 12 people with us). This was really cool. It was pretty easy, nothing technical or really all that dangerous (we wern´t in harnasses or anything like that like in some glacial treks), but it really allowed for some interesting views of sink holes and cracks in the glacier. Also, there were plenty of opportunities to drink from small streams. I must say, glacial water is unmatched! Truly delicious, and just a really cool experiences in general. The hike ended with a glass of whiskey on the rocks (freshly chipped ice right from the glacier of course) and some chocolate. Very tastey! We then got off the glacier, took off the crampons, watched the glacier for a bit longer, and then returned back to El Calafate via a combo of ferry and bus again.

As for calving ice, we saw 4 or 5 pretty good size chunks break off which was really cool. First there is a loud cracking sounds where everyone all of a suddon jumps to attention to quickly find the area ready to crash and then quite a loud band when the piece hits the water below. It´s quite impressive the size of wave the crash creates and then you see the floating ice chunks bobbing around in the water afterwards- very cool! I was able to catch one break on camera as you´ll see. It´s not the best picture but it´s tough to be quick enough after you hear that crack. Maybe if you had all day to stare at one section and wait for a break you could get a great picture, but that obviously wasn´t our situation.

Overall we spent 3 days in El Calafate (1 day organizing, 1 day glacier, 1 day wating for our 4pm bus). It was nice small town set right beside a large lake and it made for quite a picturesque view from our hostel which was set at a higher part of the town.

El Calafate marked our last stop in Argentina. We must say, Argentina was amazing. A tough place to leave, but we are excited for Chile which brings more great destinations and most importantly, 3 more Kujbida´s! Our first stop will be Puerto Natalas which is the jumping point for Torres Del Paine National Park which is considered South America´s best, and one of the best trekking parks in the world!

Until then, take care everyone,
Greg and Laura

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