Rabbit dodging and ice dropping

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I had a nice surprise on the bus from Chalten to Calafate, Die Hard 4 was the chosen film, and it was in English. This led to it being one of my favourite bus rides so far.

I had no desire to stay in El Calafate longer than what was required to go and visit the Perito Moreno glacier. It's a hugely touristy, expensive, and not very pleasant city. The advantage of travelling with Israelis is that they always seem to know the tricks of how to save money. In this case, the guys I was with had heard that its possible to rent a car in Calafate, and drive early in the morning to the glacier, thus avoiding paying the 60 pesos entrance fee. Therefore, upon arriving in town, we found a hostel, rented the car, leaving me free to book a bus out for the following afternoon. Job done. I spent the rest of the day in Israel, or so it seemed, as I was the only non Israeli staying at my hostel. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, it was also the cheapest hostel in town. I'm not one for stereotypes but... Anyway, I was happy enough, as I'm a cheap sod too.

The next day, we all woke very early to start our early morning sneak attack on the Perito Moreno glacier. At 6am, there isn't much traffic on the roads, save for hire cars from other people that have heard of this sneaky trick. However, we were still trundling down the lovely paved road at a leisurely 60km/h. The reason for this slovenly pace is that in the morning there exists another hazard on the road to Perito Moreno... rabbits. We'd heard many stories of rabbits plowing headlong into hire cars, and getting stuck in the system, causing the occupants to miss the glacier, and be presented with a hefty repair fee. Still, they at least would get rabbit pie for tea.

We weaved carefully among the rabbit minefield, narrowly missing a few here and there, until just as we thought we were out of the woods, one of the little blighters, clearly feeling suicidal, ran out just in front of us. Ofir, who was driving, slammed on the brakes, and tried to swerve out of the way, but we heard that horrible clunk that signifies a hit. We (and the rabbit) were in luck though, as it appears we only clipped it, so we were free to continue to the glacier, and the rabbit was free to try and run into the next car.

And so to the glacier itself. Just driving in we were afforded amazing views of the sun rising over it, and the clear skies promised we were going to have great views once we actually arrived. And so it proved, as we got out of the car, and could just see this incredible block of ice stretching back as far as the eye could see. At this time of the morning, being as the park is officially closed, there aren't many people there, so I was able to take myself off on a wander to the various viewpoints along the walkways and enjoy the glacier in relative peace, with the only sounds being the frequent, and often large, chunks of ice cracking off the glacier and down into the lake below. Really impressive.

However, the tranquility couldn't last, and as Perito Moreno is one of Patagonia's "highlights" shortly after the official opening time the walkways started to fill up, and now you'd be informed of the ice falling by hearing a collective "Ooooh" from across the way rather than hearing the glacier itself. Perito Moreno is also one of those rare places where budget backpackers and all inclusive holidaymakers are forced to briefly coexist, and so it was that I was stood waiting to see more ice drop while the couple stood next to me were complaining that they weren't allowed to use the golf course at their hotel that morning.

Eventually, it got far too busy to be enjoyable, so us cheapskates got back in the car, and made our way back to El Calafate, saving a wave for the ticket lady, who was now busy collecting 60 pesos from everyone who fancied coming in. Shortly after arriving in Calafate, I was off again, heading on my way to Puerto Natales, and Torres del Paine.

So overall, the Perito Moreno glacier is incredibly impressive, and really does live upto the hype, but seriously, rent a car and go early. Obviously, it has the benefit of being a lot cheaper, but possibly more importantly, you get to really enjoy one of natures wonders before Hank and Barbara and their yankee dollars get there.

Stewart

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Photos

The aftermath
Those rings are bits of ice that have just plummetted from the glacier

Whats left
The blue is where ice has just fallen