El Quijote El Calafate

... It was one place we really didnt want to leave and could have stayed watching all day but shar and myself had to leg it come ten past 3 for the bus which was leaving-everyone on bus felt the same as us-that it really was mind blowing. Hopefully the pics will do it justice but i doubt it.
Back we got that night and went to the town to eat out in a trendy bookstore type bar and we booked our next days excursion to Chalten which was to be a very very tiring long ...

... sped across Lago Pehoe, with both Cerro Paine Grande and Los Cuernos in the background, to the Refugio Paine Grande. These mountains are outstanding. From our relatively low elevation of 250m above sea level, these sandstone mountains soar an immediate 2,500-3,000m sheer up in the air and are covered by glaciers and snow. There are no foothills; these mountains "erupt out of the lowlands without preamble" (thank you again ...

... fantastic scenery, reminiscent of the highlands of Scotland on a much bigger scale, we reached the Perito Moreno glacier. I am probably not alone in never having seen a glacier before and to be honest I didn't know what to expect. It was big. It was huge. Like a gigantic sweeping carpet it rolls down off the mountains and advances at a staggering 2 metres per day. The visable wall rises 60 metres above ...

... in a mesmerising show for a couple of hours, we boarded a boat which came up to the side of the glacier, and only then did you appreciate its sheer size. We donned sets of crampons and hiked over the ice for an hour or two, round crevasses, blue blue tunnels and sink holes, and amazing ice shapes. We even downed a scotch clinking with glacial ice at the end of our efforts. An absolutely great day and one of the best things we´ve done in a long time.

... km wide . We h*d lunch here *nd took more pictures, *s we w*ited *nd w*ited *nd w*ited for more pieces of ice to cr*sh into the w*ter. We s*w sever*l more chunks cr*ck *nd bre*k off, e*ch sending loud thunderous sounds to the ple*sed crowds lining the b*lconies, but none gre*ter th*n th*t first one I m*n*ged to c*tch on video. The we*ther w*s f*nt*stic, so we h*d *bsolutely no compl*ints tod*y. Very cool. I'm sure the Superbowl h*s st*rted by now, *nd *ll you ...

... of tourists that populate the walkways overlooking the glacier with people jostling for the best photo opportunities. You got very close to the glacier face and saw the amazing blue colour of the ice and huge chunks of the glacier falling into the river below with an enormous crack which was really impressive. Quite an expensive little trip overall and loads of tourists which spoiled it a bit but it was still something good to see.

... groan and crack and every now and then, if you were lucky, you would see a chunk dramatically crack off and splash into the water. Amazing. The glacier is the largest, advancing glacier in the world, growing 2 metres per day - apparently. After we viewed the glacier from various vantage points scatted around the park. Despite being near a humongous glacier, stretching as far as the eye can see the temperature wasn't cold. We wore summery clothes ...

... would make a great ski resort town with all its outdoor and adventure shops.Surrounding the town is the Lake Argentina, another sublimely amazing turquoise lake, which is the largest in Argentina. The Glacier Tour: We opted for the Alternative Tour of the glacier as it takes the back roads and stops off at a few places which enables one to see more wildlife like birds. We were heading through the park after spotting several Condors up close when we ...

... I've ever stayed in. That includes in the United States. It was amazing-- the most North American-ish place I've seen in this country. Again, my three goodest friends had a suite with two rooms and they continued to move the beds together to make a giant bed. We spent a good majority of the night snuggled in our room and watching movies. It was fabulous. The next morning we woke up for breakfast (a surprisingly AMERICAN breakfast.... we were ...

... waiting coach.

Katie and I thought this was the end of the tour and we were really happy that it had exceded our expectations, as we prepared ourselves for an hour long trip back to El Calafate.

So we were a bit surprised when the coach took a left at the main road instead of a right, before we realised that it was heading on towards the glacier, probably for a few last photos?

In fact the bus carried on PAST the glacier face that we ...