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Published: March 23rd 2009
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South of El Chalten by about four hours is the town of El Calafate, which is the base for a visit to Glaciar Perito Moreno. More about that in a moment, first the town. While pleasant enough, it's not the kind of place that you want to spend more time than necessary: get in, make a trip out to see the glacier, get out again. You certainly wouldn't want to get stuck there for days as our good friends Annah and Andy did because they missed a 3:00am bus departure - we felt your pain guys! We did find a quaint place to stay - Hostel de las Manos. Interestingly, the town is named after the Calafate berry. It is red in colour and once eaten, guarantees a return to Patagonia. I guess that we haven't seen the last of this area - it was in the ice cream which we of course had to sample!
Glaciar Perito Moreno itself is nothing less than spectacular. We were concerned prior to visiting that having come from Canada, where we had access to some of the most beautiful glaciers in the world, that this one would not going to live up to
expectations. Luckily for us this was not even remotely the case. It is difficult to explain just how moving it is to stand before a piece of ice of this size. We couldn't help but think of it as a living creature, breathing and moving in a hostile environment.
One of the reasons that Glaciar Perito Moreno is so popular with tourists is it's accessibility, meaning that people of all ages and abilities can visit and enjoy some time in the presence of this natural wonder. Perhaps the most remarkable feature is that it is one of the only advancing glaciers in the world - up to two metres per day! At a time when global warming is such a controversial issue, this feature makes it exceptional. As the centre focal point of the southern sector of Parque Nacional Los Glacires, Glaciar Perito Moreno feeds in to the 1600 square kilometre trough that is Lago (Lake) Argentino. The lake is the country's largest single body of water. The glacier, one of 48 that make up the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, measures 30kms in length, 5kms in width and stands 60m high. Every now and then, in fact 17 times
Meringue
Glacier Perito Moreno since 1917 and approximately every four years, the glacier advances to the point where it dams the Brazo Rico of the lake which causes the water to rise and an arch to form. The melting ice below is unable to support the weight of the water behind it and the arch collapses in an explosion of ice and water. To be present when this event occurs is in many ways a miracle and certainly unforgettable. A visit to Glaciar Perito Moreno is not only a visual, but also an auditory experience - a treat for all the senses!
There are several different ways to visit Glaciar Perito Moreno. Numerous companies offer tours which include return transportation as well as a boat trip on the Canal de los Tempanos (Iceberg Channel), which allows a unique viewing experience and illustrates the magnitude of the glacier. Alternative boat trips also operate, approaching the glacier from different angles as well as visiting other glaciers of the ice field. The option that we chose was simply for return transportation to the Visitor Centre located within the park. This gave us the freedom to choose how we spent our time once we arrived. The site
60m high
Glacier Perito Moreno is well developed with a series of boardwalks allowing for numerous perspective views of the glacier. We were more than happy to spend the five or so hours that we were there wandering around, sitting occasionally to simply take it all in. We were quick to notice how active it was, constantly making the eagerly waited for cracking sounds as it advanced. Large sections of ice on the face calved off frequently and unpredictably, making for quite a show. It was amusing to watch some people's reactions as they raced to the edge of the boardwalk hoping to catch the calving in action but barely making it in time for the ripples to spread out across the lake due to the delay in time as the sound travelled the distance to us. We mentioned earlier about the collapsing arch. Well, as luck would have it, we were visiting the glacier on the day of the most recent collapse. Now we could be honest and tell you that we didn't see the 'actual' collapse due to wandering a section of the boardwalk where the view was obstructed with trees, but damn it we were there - we saw it before, we
Steve
Glacier Perito Moreno saw it after and we heard the rumble while we ran to catch a glimpse!
Enjoy the photos!
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