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Published: March 7th 2006
Frozen Expansion
Perito Moreno Glacier is unique in that it is one of the most active glaciers in the world. We had made the journey and decided ahead of time that it would be a quick trip to El Calafate, an overly-touristy town, built to function as an attrative and comfortable "holding tank" for the scores of visitors to Patagonia who want to take the day trip to Perito Moreno Glacier. The number of backpackers as compared with the hoards of people bussed in on luxury double-decker busses, did not even compare. I can scoff at these tourists only because I long for their reclining seats and lust after their air conditioning...does this justify bitterness? El Calafate is the perfect example of a boom town that was built up from almost nothing only a short time ago. When walking its streets, I secretly gushed inside with joy. There were people drinking coffee-REAL coffee, not instant- at little sidewalk cafes. The buildings were well built and sturdy. Store shops decorated their windows in a tantalizing manner (price tags face down). I stopped short. What was I doing? Was I actually taking comfort in things that appeared to be very....very...American? Gulp. I was guilt-ridden. I felt dirty. How could I let this happen? I came to South America to get away from all
that overpriced showy stuff, and here I was relishing that old familiar feeling- consumerism! I attempted to revert the reverting. "Remember the rule, Mandy," I told myself. "If you will resent carrying it on your back within a week, it is just not worth it!" What could a girl do to escape her demons? My husband came up with the perfect remedy- eat pizza and drink some beer. So, we went into a corner restaurant then Griff and me, and our two British friends, Caroline and James, did just that. I am not a huge beer drinker, as it is too bitter for an every day drink, but for some reason that night’s beverage tasted sweeter, as if sugar....no
Splenda, had been added. Perhaps it was the high I got as I strained to stare out the restaurant window and into the windows of the shops across the way. It’s sick, I know. However, I was sharply brought back into my new backpacker´s reality as all four of us settled down into our bunks that night at an edge-of-town-hostel. I won’t go into the details, but the night involved a lot of noise by our neighbors, several requests for them
to quiet down, lumpy beds, and in the morning, moldy showers that made me sneeze every time I entered the restroom. BUT, this WAS the day we had all been waiting for...a short 2 hour bus ride (more time has been spent in busses thus far on our trip than anywhere else), and then we would be at the glacier!
Let me explain something before I go on. I have seen my share of overgrown ice cubes. I grew up in the northwest where ice and mountain trips are a common occurrence. Two summers ago my sister in law, Megan, took us on an extremely strenuous hike to see an amazing glacier and ice field in Alaska. Heck- I had already seen several thus far on our trip! But...everyone else was going.
If you want to hike around the park that the glacier is in, you have to have a guide with you. Ya, ya, blah, blah, blah....I figured that the LAST thing I would want to do is sit on my rear end all day and stare at a chunk of ice, so of course the hike sounded like something to kill the boredom. Griff and I were in
Larger than life
This shot does nothing to show how huge this glacier is and the power it holds...unbelievable. a group with 4 other people, and after arriving at the glacier’s spot (you can’t see it from the parking area), we all hopped out of the van and began to follow our guide. As we were turning the corner to our "ice cube vista" we heard a loud crash that seemed to echo from every hill side in the surrounding mountain range. Griff ran ahead, knowing full well what the sound was, I laughed at his childlike actions. Why that almost sounded like a really, really big piece of ice falling into a lot of water- and then I turned the corner...
Holy Cow.
How could I have been so dumb? This thing was anything but an ice cube! It was mammoth! And it moved- not in the standard drifting way you are imagining, I mean it was- alive. Every piece of this glacier was something worthy of a million photos. Each jagged shard was unique, and the top of it stretched on forever creeping up over the earth and disappearing into eternity. The edge of the glacier was so abrupt and sharp...and there were pieces of the ice that were a deeper blue than I have ever seen
Falling
At the bottom of the glacier, you can see the splash from where a big chunk of ice fell off of the wall. The noise that this makes is much louder than you would imagine, and the waved that it creates are pretty impressive. in the sea. I had always thought of glaciers as a snowy white, but in this case, I had been very wrong.
Our hike ended, but not before I had stumbled several times over loose rocks in the path... I just couldn’t take my eyes off of that beautiful creature! Our guide informed us that we had some time to check out the glacier from the viewing decks, but be warned, there were bound to be loads of bus people there. Was she ever right!
Our ears were accosted with harsh, loud voices. Everyone was talking to everyone else about all they thought and knew about the spectacle. A million languages filled my ears, and they all seemed to be competing to see who could be the loudest. "What I’d really like to do," I thought, "is just sit on my rear end a while and take this all in- connect with the nature surrounding me." But how? Thank you Macintosh- I reached inside my bag and pulled out my ipod. Usually the ipod is strictly for indoor activities... bus rides, noisy hostels, etc. I like to take in the sounds of things in the real world when I am
outside, but this occasion called for some major noise blockage.
It was a little ironic that the song that immediately came on was, "Your Blue Room" by U2 just as I was thinking about how I had never seen a color like the one in front of me, in my life.
"It's time to go again, to your blue room. Got some questions to ask of you, in your blue room.
The air is clean. Your skin is clear. I've had enough of hangin' round here..." God, are you here, in my head? How do you know what I am thinking? Wait, God, your voice sounds an awful lot like Bono´s- oh ya my ipod is on.... it IS Bono.
It's a different kind of conversation. Your blue room. Saw me calling, somewhere deep inside. Saw me calling you, somewhere I can hide. Ok, well, maybe that’s not such a bad idea. God, ummm....this is pretty cool. I mean, it’s really cool. Why didn’t you make more stuff like this on earth- maybe something we didn’t have to travel thousands upon thousands of miles to see? I think that if there were more glaciers, people might believe
in you more, I mean- this is INCREDIBLE- it’s almost like it was made for me. Okay, that’s silly, not specifically for me, but for my mindset right now. I never want to leave this thing. Why? Why am I so intrigued by it? The Moreno Glacier moves forward two meters a day (no small stride for a gigantic block of frozen water), but never grows or shrinks. Griff had to explain that to me a hundred times before I got it. The glacier, breaks off in chunks at the front, and the pieces fall into the water, and from the back, some snow is being compacted and melding into the glacier, pushing it forward and making it’s perimeter the same. Are we like the glacier God? Constantly changing (the face of the glacier will look completely different tomorrow), constantly moving, but still strangely contained within a divine and pre-determined space and time?
And time is a string of pearls- Your blue room. See the future just hanging there-Your blue room. Woa- this is weird- I was just thinking about time.
And you crave a new perspective. Looking down on my objectives, new instructions.
Whatever their directions-Your blue room.
Do you crave a new perspective on my life God? I am trying to get there myself...I’m working on that part, and if you could help me figure out exactly what that perspective should be, I would really appreciate it. I’m here, and I’m waiting to hear your voice....YOUR voice, not Bono´s....
And then it occurred to me that maybe God DOES sound like Bono. I mean, not that God is Bono or anything weird like that, but maybe I need to be a little more alert to the voice of destiny in my daily life. No one is going to jump out from behind a tree in Tierra del Fuego and say, "Congratulations Amanda Schutt, you may now receive your DESTINY!" There will be no beggars on the street in Thailand with signs reading, "Give me your change, I’ll give you your destiny."
It's alright- your blue room. One day I'll be back-your blue room.
Yeah, I hope I remember where it's at -your blue room Okay, so the chances of me coming to exactly this place again- slim. BUT, I cannot forget what I have seen here or how I feel or what you (with the help of Bono) have whispered in my ear here. Maybe this natural wonder is so far removed from my normal life, and has just been revealed to me, because you want me to feel this way everyday... when I see a student learn something new, when I hold the hand of the most fabulous man on the earth, when I laugh with one of my closest friends, when I hear a song that puts into words exactly what I have been feeling...These are all just as miraculous (if not more so) as the incredible display of pent-up power and potential in front of me.
Zooming in. Zooming out. Nothing I can do about. A lens to see it all up close, magnifying what everybody knows. Never in conflict. Never alone. No car alarm. No cellular phone. Okay- that part was weird too, because AS the lyrics talked about zooming in and zooming out I had reached up that second to adjust my binoculars.
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WStepmother
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Happy Birthday Mandy
Wow, kiddo. This was one almighty page. I want to put it up on my website for everyone to see. Happy birthday, darlin'. Was thinkin' of you on the 3rd. Hope you had a wonderful day celebrating with Griff. Love you heaps, WS.