Blogs from Perito Moreno Glacier, Santa Cruz, Argentina, South America - page 11

La Ruta 40 (Route 40) is a long, long, long, long road stretching from the North of Argentina to the very South. It’s the equivalent of having a road going from Liverpool to Timbuctu! Our journey from Bariloche to the town of Perito Moreno took us on only a small part of the road yet was 12 hours or so on the bus, a great part of that being on ripio (gravel) roads and therefore not the most comfortable! The town of Perito Moreno itself is the archetypal one horse town! Other than tourists travelling the Ruta 40 (or a handful going to or from Chile) there is nothing much there. A tourist map takes you to “Swan Lake” or “El Lago de los Cisnes” but it’s rather an over glamorous title. The plaza looks like ... read more

El Calafate. Probably the most expensive place we will be the whole trip. And probably the coolest glacier (do i mean cold) in the whole wide world. We have managed to get a cute little two bedroom house at Los Pinos for 40 usd a night equipped with a well-stocked kitchen, too comfortable beds and a laundromat around the corner. Our first day here, after a big homemade breakfast, we got hooked on the idea of buying a car, even leaving a note on the windshield of this bright yellow miniature 1970s mail-like truck. All of this curiosity and asking everybody we meet if they know anybody selling a car led us to test driving a 1995, rojo Fiat Duna. At 10 pm last night, the sun just thinking about setting, we meet the guy and ... read more

9 December, Saturday... Arrived at about 2pm, went to eat some quality Argentine food (steak and lamb parilla), went to supermarket to buy stuff for packed lunches and checked out buses. After that I read a bit of the guide book and slept (a lot). 10 December, Sunday... Today was the day of the 'Alternative' tour of the Perito Moreno glacier as organised by our hostel and recommended by both the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide. How can you go wrong. Well we had started to wonder at first as the alternative nature seemed to be to take the back roads so they didn't have to pay the toll road and to stop at their friends cafe for tea. But on that road we did see condors, or at least we were told they were, and ... read more

Considered a 'must see´ in all travel guides, we took a day trek to one of the few glaciers in the world that advances 7 cm per day in winter. The short day trek brought us over 80 kms outside of El Calafate (providing us an excuse to rent a car) and be wowed by the immensity of this natural wonder. We were fortunate enough not only to have nice weather and see the glacier stretch out miles before us from its source, but also witness the spectacular breaking off of gigantic pieces of the glacier in the frigid lake below. The noise was surprisingly loud - like thunder. ... read more

We are writing very little this time and we are going to concentrate on our photos....well that was it...... read more