Perito Moreno Glacier and Tierra del Fuego

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Upon arriving in the town of El Calafate, we ventured into the local bird park on the shores of Lago Argentina and discovered how windy Patagonia is. I could hardly see the birds for the sand blowing in my eyes.

The next day we set off for our trekking adventure to Perito Moreno glacier. Mum laughed in the face of their age limit and suggested to me that the warnings were pointed out to us because the tour agent thought I was pregnant (after the family friend faux pax of last Christmas perhaps). We had a couple of hours to explore the walkways to get different views of the 25km long glacier and listen to the creaking and cracking of the glacier as parts of the front of the glacier wall kept falling into the glacial lake.

Then we were escourted on a boat over to the other side of the lake to begin our mini-trekking. We donned our crampons and, after an initially un-co period, were like mountain goats exploring the summits and (from not too close) the crevasses of the glacier. Finally we finished up with a chocolate biscuit and some whiskey over ice from the glacier.

The next day we headed down to Ushuaia, the city 'at the end of the world'. The island of Tierra del Fuego is a pretty rugged and moody looking place, where the weather turns constantly. We had a day exploring the Tierra del Fuego National Park - saw a grey fox (but didn't have camera ready) and a beaver dam (but they are nocturnal - although it goesn't get dark until about 11pm and apparently they come out around 7pm) but not much else in the way of wildlife. Finally, we spent the day building excitement for our departure to Antarctica (i.e. waiting around near the port since the Ushuaia shops shut for a random new public holiday that nobody knew the significance of).

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Photos

Admiring the view
And waiting for the next calving of the glacier

El Calafate
It is pretty windy

Patagonian Goose
Honk

Trekkers
I love crampons! Somebody needs to invent an equivalent to stop me falling over on concrete

Pura Veda
Best meal of our entire trip - Patagonian beef stew cooked in a pumpkin - yum!

In training for the towers
Tierra del Fuego national park

Comments

[Marita]

Fantastic photos, Fi!
Fi, sounds like you're enjoying southern Argentina (I loved it, too). Guess you're en route to Antarctica - looking forward to the photos and blogging, but still jealous! What a great experience to share with your Mum. Marita xx

[Dancing Dave]

BEAUTIFUL
Beautiful part of the World. Your panoramas were fantastic.